Any good dental insurance companies?

[AfterBurners]

You guys have any suggestions?

I was thinking about Delta Dental PPO plan because I can go to my own dentist I've been going to for 25 years but it seems between what you pay for the policy per month say $55 and the fact that you have wait 6-12 month before you can use it for anything major and the insurance companies pays about 40-50% in most cases, what are you really saving if you pay $660 a year plus half the work being done. If you get $1300 worth of work done, where is the benefit and you have a $1500-2000 cap.

Maybe a credit card would be another options. If you are making monthly payments what's difference?

I wish dental insurance was like car insurance. You pay so much a month or year and if you need work done you pay a deductible and your insurance picks up the rest of the bill. That might be worth having then. I mean a car insurance company wouldn't expect you to pay 50% of lets say $9000 in damages. You pay your $500 deductible and that's all.

I work as a contractor and I can get dental insurance through my agency for about the same price ($52.00 a month or thereabouts), but I have to use someone in their network. I'm just reluctant to do so. I've heard horror stories about dentists who are incapable of doing their job. If I get a referral I rather it be from someone I know and who's been going to the dentist for awhile.

20 years ago I had a root canal done by a dentist in a one of those "networks" because of the insurance I had at the time had limitations on it. A few years back it had to be redone because it was done incorrectly. Again more money out of my pocket even with my insurance. Nothing like paying for something twice.

I was with Aetna last year until I canceled them. Two reasons I had some bite adjustments done and $378 dollars later I had to pay the full amount because they don't cover things like that. About 6-8 months I needed crown. My dentist submitted the necessary information to my insurance company and he mentioned that they would hear from them as well as I should get a letter stating if the work will be approved. Never heard from them so that's when I canceled. I followed up with my dentist and the same thing. No word from them. Now it looks like the same tooth will be in need of more work...

I don't hate dentists just the insurance companies.

It seems today no matter what you do someone is always trying to get one over on you. Something very simple IE why does gas have to go before Memorial day by 15 cents a gallon? Exactly my thoughts.... oh yeah the 4th is coming up so I'm sure gas price will rise once again. Its all BS if you ask me. All we do is pay pay pay

Just sorta ranting guys ...I'm sorry

 

[Marc_G]

Delta dental is generally recognized as a premiere provider, though the difference between individual and group/company plans may override that. There's a big value difference in paying ~$9 per month as a corporate employee with the company picking up most of the tab, and ~$50/month as an individual. Even so, they only pay for routine cleanings and something like 50% of any real work. I loved Delta; this year my company changed plans and now there are all sorts of billing problems with my wife's new crown. Sigh.

My own personal view is that basic health / prescription / dental / vision services should be run in a medicare-like model, with optional supplements for better coverage. But it will never happen because insurance has become a political football, and too many insurance company lobbyists are out there. It will not happen no matter who is in office, so not worth a ban-worthy political argument.

In your situation, you may well be better off saving a certain amount each month in an account dedicated to your dental needs. Best of luck to you.

Marc

 

[AfterBurners]

Delta dental is generally recognized as a premiere provider, though the difference between individual and group/company plans may override that. There's a big value difference in paying ~$9 per month as a corporate employee with the company picking up most of the tab, and ~$50/month as an individual. Even so, they only pay for routine cleanings and something like 50% of any real work. I loved Delta; this year my company changed plans and now there are all sorts of billing problems with my wife's new crown. Sigh.

My own personal view is that basic health / prescription / dental / vision services should be run in a medicare-like model, with optional supplements for better coverage. But it will never happen because insurance has become a political football, and too many insurance company lobbyists are out there. It will not happen no matter who is in office, so not worth a ban-worthy political argument.

In your situation, you may well be better off saving a certain amount each month in an account dedicated to your dental needs. Best of luck to you.

Marc

Marc -

If you don't mind me asking is that accurate about what some people pay as a corporate employee? I would never know because I'm a contractor. I'm just curious that's all. I wish I had that going for me.

 

[blackjack2564]

In the 90's I was married to American Airline flight attendant, now divorced.

I paid 35.00 per month and coverage was 85% dental. [If I remember right, I know it's close]

 

[cwbullet]

I have delta dental for my wife and son. it is not bad. Dental insurance in general is terrible.

 

[DavidMcCann]

I have delta dental for my wife and son. it is not bad. Dental insurance in general is terrible.

every time i add up dental insurance, I'm better off just paying out of pocket. then again for health insurance I pay about 7 grand a year, and my employer pays the other 76%. Staying alive is apparently not cheap.

 

[cwbullet]

every time i add up dental insurance, I'm better off just paying out of pocket. then again for health insurance I pay about 7 grand a year, and my employer pays the other 76%. Staying alive is apparently not cheap.

That is sometimes true fi you pay cash. The same is true with medical if you are young.

 

[AfterBurners]

In the 90's I was married to American Airline flight attendant, now divorced.

I paid 35.00 per month and coverage was 85% dental. [If I remember right, I know it's close]

wow that's excellent!!

 

[dhbarr]

I have delta dental for my wife and son. it is not bad. Dental insurance in general is terrible.

Three different insurances for separate bits of your face. It's crazy.

 

[Zeus-cat]

We have a dental policy through United Concordia as my wife just retired from the federal government. The policy has limits similar to the ones mentioned. It sorta makes sense, but is no great deal. We actually dropped it for a year or two, but since I seem to have dental issues regularly we picked it up again before she retired. I am getting another crown on Monday. :eyeroll:

An individual plan probably isn't worth the expense. The employer subsidized one is sorta justifiable for us.

 

[AfterBurners]

I have one of those sonic brushes and I floss and no matter how hard I tried there's always something wrong. Every time I walk in the dentist I'm always doing something wrong...blah blah blha it gets old after awhile.

Our teeth age like us and over time things happen. We lose fillings, crack or chip etc. Just wish dental insurance made more sense and was more affordable.

 

[mkadams001]

If you use the insurance it is worth the cost. If not, you would be better of saving money for dental or maybe setup a HSA if that is possible in your situation. You may be able to use those funds to pay for dental or use it in conjunction with your Dental insurance policy. Delta Dental is fine. I have been with them for many years and never had an issue.

 

[michigander]

I'm paying 20.26 every 2 weeks for 2 people delta .. all employee funded no corp help , pays about the same as you have posted not much

insurance wise best deal I get is VSP vision $4.63 for 2 people every 2 weeks no corp help

 

[Marc_G]

Marc -

If you don't mind me asking is that accurate about what some people pay as a corporate employee? I would never know because I'm a contractor. I'm just curious that's all. I wish I had that going for me.

Turns out I mis-spoke a bit. If I were single, it would be about $9 per two-week pay period, not per month. As it is, with a wife and two kids, I'm paying ~$25 per pay period, or $650 per year for the family. Given two cleaning/checkups per person, and the occasional filling (and rarer other work covered at ~50%), it's worth it for my family.

 

[T-Rex]

When they decided that Brat Daughter needed braces, then it became worth it. Until then with just routine stuff, I think I would have made out better just paying cash.

If you can handle credit, look into a Care Credit account. I have one, it works great for spreading the cost on big stuff (braces, root canals/crowns, vet bills, etc) with "same as cash" financing (only for >$200). I don't normally encourage credit, I don't handle it well myself, medical expenses are a necessity.

 

[o1d_dude]

I have Delta Dental and have been happy with coverage for ME. My family on the other hand is not nearly as well covered. Don't know the percentages but significantly less than mine.

Employee gets the gold plan while family gets the copper plan.

 

[Screaminhelo]

I have MetLife through my employer. I pay ~$30/month, give or take, for my family of four. We have been happy with the coverage, especially with one just out of braces and one that needs them.

 

[AfterBurners]

I checked into a company called "Physicians Mutual"

They have 3 basic plans you can choose from.

Each plan offers a certain dollar amount of coverage for different types of services performed.

The highest paying plan is $39 a month and covers $841 toward a root canal and crown. Not as much as I would like, but something is better than nothing.

Two things I like about the insurance is there's no cap on the coverage like $1500 or $2000 and you are free to pick any dentist to go to.

If the dentist does not accept the insurance the company will just send you a check toward the services done for coverage.

I just might go with this insurance.

Sounds good to me.

Here's the link if any of you want to look into it

https://www.physiciansmutual.com/cs/products/dental/dental-insurance-coverage-overview.html?WT.mc_id=696294&WT.srch=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=physicians%20mutual%20dental&utm_campaign=Brand%20-%20Dental%20-%20Exact%20-%20Google&utm_content=Brand%20-%20General&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4cLKBRCZmNTvyovvj-4BEiQAl_sgQhhRJkoBasgvXYyY2kmMQfeo_wj4ZlvpY_AOHQLjvUIaAuXU8P8HAQ

 

[Marc_G]

Looks good, but you might check with your dentist first.

If your dentist doesn't take that insurance, then they don't have negotiated rates as a starting point.

So, for a typical medical/dental situation, imagine the following numbers I made up for illustration. However, these numbers are directionally similar to what I see all the time.

Provider billed amount: $1500
Negotiated rate for service: $900
Insurance payment at 50%: $450
Out of pocket cost for subscriber: $450

If you have the insurance paying YOU instead of working with the dentist on contracted rates, your out of pocket at the end might be much higher than otherwise, due to the often very significant discounts applied per contract between the dentist and the insurance provider.

Marc

 

[AfterBurners]

Looks good, but you might check with your dentist first.

If your dentist doesn't take that insurance, then they don't have negotiated rates as a starting point.

So, for a typical medical/dental situation, imagine the following numbers I made up for illustration. However, these numbers are directionally similar to what I see all the time.

Provider billed amount: $1500
Negotiated rate for service: $900
Insurance payment at 50%: $450
Out of pocket cost for subscriber: $450

If you have the insurance paying YOU instead of working with the dentist on contracted rates, your out of pocket at the end might be much higher than otherwise, due to the often very significant discounts applied per contract between the dentist and the insurance provider.

Marc

Good point Marc I wish I could remember the "Negotiated" rate with my last insurance company. This totally makes sense and maybe something I should look into further. I always noticed that on some of my bills in the past not a big amount was ever really negotiated, which kind of pissed me off. This is something I have to look into for sure and thank you for bringing this up.

 

[OzHybrid]

Here's the thing...... All insurance companies are a business.......Policy revenue- claims-operating costs=profit. If there's no profit, it's not worth running the insurance company.
Of course, you could individually self-insure. Pay cash for any required dental work, negotiate a discount for cash, and move on.
Many people see insurance policies as a cash cow to pay for their dental work at the expense of others who are paying a policy cost and not claiming..
I'm not saying I love insurance companies...... But I really do not like people who cost the rest of us more because they've managed to bend the rules to make themselves better off at the expense of the rest of us. ...

 

[jqavins]

"Any good dental insurance companies?" Short answer: no. It's been my experience that all dental insurance sucks. But if you're considering a credit card instead, be sure to include the interest you'd pay on that in your calculations. If you don't pay the balance off fast then the credit card may well suck even more.

On the other hand, dental work is very expensive. Without the huge deductibles and coinsurance, and low caps, the premiums would have to be a lot higher. I grumble that they all suck, but I have to admit that it kind of makes sense. So then I have to grumble about the high cost of dental care. I seriously doubt that all dentists are becoming zillionaires, so what gives? And what can be done about it?

Here's the thing...... All insurance companies are a business.......Policy revenue- claims-operating costs=profit. If there's no profit, it's not worth running the insurance company.

Not quite. Claims come after revenue in time, which means the company ends up holding a balance. And they invest that balance.
Premiums + return on invested holdings - claims - operating costs = profit.

In theory, the way insurance was invented to work, (premiums - claims) = 0, and (return on invested holdings - operating cost) = profit. The first equation is the sharing of risk, and the profit comes from providing a service, i.e. managing the mechanism of sharing. It's fundamentally the same as a bank, where (deposits - withdrawals) = 0, and, once again, (return on invested holdings - operating cost) = profit. In reality, insurance companies make up ways to profit from (premiums - claims), and banks make up ways snatch away deposited money, and both are able to screw us because we're over a barrel.

(In a credit union, [return on invested holdings - operating cost] is returned to the depositors, and in a mutual company it is returned to the insured. But dental insurance from a mutual company is hardly any better than from any other, because- see paragraph two above.)

 

[Hobie1dog]

insurance= socially accepted gambling, At the end of the day, just like a Casino, the house always wins.

 

[jqavins]

Insurance = risk sharing. "The house" takes a cut in return for services rendered.

Most of us are wise enough to refrain from (more than a small, budgeted amount of) gambling. Most are wise enough to not refrain from having insurance on certain types of assets.

 

[Bravo52]

Not sure this will help you but I pay my dentist directly for a "plan" he offers. The amount is basically $65 a month for 2 people that includes 2 cleanings a year each (4 total) and 60% coverage on other dental needs to include crowns. There is a limit of one crown a year basically but if you need more than one, the coverage percentage goes down the more work you get. I've had one crown done on this plan and the out of pocket for me was in the neighborhood of $300.

My dentist and his wife are both in the practice. They only offer the "insurance" to people who don't have other dental insurance. The money goes directly to them. I fell into this program after I retired from the military because "Tritocare" didn't offer any type of coverage. Ironically enough though, my car insurance company offers coverage...it's just really expensive.