More Americans Without Dental Coverage

A growing number of Americans are finding themselves without effective dental coverage to treat and maintain their dental health needs. The ability of the American consumer to maintain good oral health, and have pre-existing dental problems addressed, is essential to a healthy lifestyle. Businesses increasingly cutting back on dental benefits for their employees is a result of unrealistic coverage and costs of Dental Insurance. What this results to is people having to start looking elsewhere to explore their dental benefit options. What most people ask is, “What’s the difference between Dental Insurance and Discount Dental Plans?” The difference is it empowers the Doctor and the patient with ability to work together as a team in deciding what’s the best course of action to providing the patient the care they need, as well as a higher discount percentage than “traditional insurance.“

We all know there are distinct differences between the way “traditional dental insurance plans” and “discount dental plans” work. The savings with the “traditional dental insurance plans” and the “discount dental plans” can be a 30% difference in favor of the dental plans. Dental insurance is utilized by large groups and businesses to cover their employees’ dental care, often leaving the small business owner and their employees out in the cold. Dental insurance requires paying high monthly premiums along with a deductible for defined coverage and let’s not forget the co-pay. With a Dental Plan there is no defined coverage; the annual coverage is usually lower than the deductible for two family members, a higher discount than insurance, and no co-pay. Traditional insurance commonly leaves out individuals and small business employers, causing them to have the inability to provide dental insurance for themselves, their own families, employees, and their families. The unwillingness of the traditional insurance companies to provide dental insurance stems from the fact that they can’t make enough money off of them to be worth their while. The dental insurance includes spending maximums, deductibles, waiting periods for certain procedures, limitations, no pre-existing, and exclusions on care, taking away the ability of the provider to have patient care in the forefront. The tedious claims forms to fill out and submit sometimes causes the Doctors to drop the insurance company. What dental insurance usually covers is the cost of preventive services after deductibles are met and your annual deductibles will vary from $25 to $50 per covered individual, depending on the policy. The cost of deductibles and co-pays should be considered when calculating the overall costs associated with dental insurance. While you are able to use any dentist with traditional insurance, if you can get an appointment, the monthly premiums for dental insurance can be well over $100 per month for family plans, $30 per month for individuals or more.

Discount dental plans, on the other hand, provide the millions of Americans that do not receive dental benefits through their work or business the Dental Coverage they need. The higher reduced savings percentage rate of Discount Dental Plans are designed to provide consumers access to dental networks that traditional insurance cannot compete with. Discount Dental Plans are the most widely available dental programs for individuals or families, and the annual costs are about what the deductible is for your dental insurance for two family members. The Discount Dental Plans are very affordable to join and do not require contracts to sign. The Consumer Driven Need for these plans provides consumers with real and substantial savings on most dental procedures. These membership-based programs provide coverage on an annual basis at considerable savings. The membership fee is in exchange for secured discounts on most dental services, such as dental exams, routine cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, dentures, crowns, and braces. The plans typically save our members 25% to 80% on most dental procedures when visiting a participating network provider. The provided “fee schedule” with the Dental Plan is listed in the membership materials to ensure that consumers will receive their promised savings. The contracts with the providers in the network prevent them from raising prices to compensate for the discounts the members are entitled to.

It essentially breaks down to this: with up to 50% savings, for $360 a year plus co-pays, you as an individual can have “traditional dental insurance.” If you are a family of four it breaks down to this: for $1,440.00 plus co-pays, you can have “traditional insurance.” Now let’s look at the “Dental Plan” costs. With up to 80% savings, for $180.00 a year, you as an individual can have an open “Dental Plan,” with no co-pay. The average family “Dental Plan” will costs a family of any size $240.00 a year as opposed to $1,440.00 with a co-pay and a cap limit.

The differences between “traditional dental insurance plans” and “discount dental plans” are in the favor of the consumer. In certain situations, to maximize savings, they can also be used together. You will find that the Discount Dental Card can be used as a stand-alone. You can visit our website to look for group dental insurance via your business or employer, look in the Group Dental Plans section. As an employer, when you sign up five or more employees under the group plan, it is pre-tax and payroll deductible. If you are an individual or family looking to save money with a Discount Dental Plan, please use our website to find providers within our network available in your area.

Tags: braces, crowns, dental coverage, dental exams, dental insurance, dental services, dentures, discount dental plans, extractions, fillings, root canals, routine cleanings, traditional dental insurance plans