Last November in Tucson, Arizona, I sat at Hollis Grant’s kitchen table with a twelve-page open-enrollment packet and three sticky tabs, looking for the dental insurance providers on page four, and I tabbed the vision page instead, so we read about eyeglass frames for ten minutes before he said that didn’t look like teeth. I felt silly.
Dental insurance providers all say they’re the easy choice, and Hollis’s packet said it twelve times. I’m no broker, so I stick to HealthCare.gov and to what I fumbled at his table. Here’s how I’d narrow the field before picking one.
I opened the vision page by mistake in Tucson, then ran five checks on dental insurance providers before I trusted any of them. Here’s the list.
Dental insurance providers and the three ways to buy
Hollis’s packet had the word provider on nearly every page, which confused us both. In plan papers it can mean your dentist or the company behind the plan, and only the company has the in-network list. The dental insurance providers he could choose from were all on page four, under a coffee ring.
Through a job
A job is the common route, and the employer picks a short menu. You choose among what’s offered, so the packet is the whole map. I mixed up the vision page and the dental page, and that’s a mistake the packet doesn’t help you avoid.
Through the Marketplace
HealthCare.gov says dental comes inside a health plan or as a separate stand-alone dental plan. Child dental must be offered, though you don’t have to buy it. Adult dental isn’t one of the benefits the law makes insurers offer. In states that use HealthCare.gov you can choose a stand-alone plan after picking a health plan. Hollis came through work, so we skimmed all that, but I’d read it before buying on my own.
Five checks before you pick
Matching dental insurance providers to your dentist
Start with the dentist, not the brand. The same handful of names turned up on every list I scrolled through, Delta Dental, Cigna, Aetna, MetLife and Guardian among them, and none of those pages could say whose network Hollis’s dentist sat in. Only the insurer’s own lookup can, and lookups lag. So I phone.
Here’s what ended up on the card:
- Is my dentist in the plan’s network today?
- Which route am I buying through, a job, the Marketplace or direct?
- What are the annual maximum, the deductible and any waiting period?
- Is it a plan where I can use any dentist, or one where I pick from a list?
- Who do I call about what? The insurer for networks and coverage, the dentist’s office for the visit itself.
Hollis taped that inside a kitchen cabinet next to his dentist’s number, and he crossed out the insurer’s number because I’d copied it wrong. Twice.
Prices and rules change by plan and by year, so I won’t quote any, and I’d confirm everything with the insurer and the dentist’s office. This is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice. Check with a professional.
FAQ’s
1. Which dental insurance providers should I compare?
Start with the ones your employer offers, since a job usually gives a short menu. On your own, the same few names show up on most lists, but a list can’t tell you who covers your dentist, so check that first. Hollis’s packet had four choices and one of them was vision.
2. What’s the difference between a dental insurance provider and a dental provider?
An insurance provider is the company behind the plan, and a dental care provider is the dentist, hygienist or specialist who treats you. Ask the insurer about networks and coverage and the office about the visit. That word tangled Hollis and me on page four.
3. Can I buy dental insurance on its own?
Often yes, directly from an insurer or through the Marketplace as a stand-alone dental plan. On HealthCare.gov you can choose a stand-alone plan after picking a health plan. Adult dental isn’t something the law makes insurers offer, so plans vary a lot.
4. How do I find out if my dentist takes my plan?
Use the plan’s own lookup, then phone the office and ask about your exact plan today. Lookups lag. Compare dental insurance providers only after that call, because a plan your dentist doesn’t take can cost you more.
5. Is dental coverage required for kids?
Dental coverage for children must be offered on the Marketplace, but you don’t have to buy it.
Conclusion
Choosing between dental insurance providers got easier once Hollis’s five checks were taped inside a cabinet door. The tabbed vision page cost us ten minutes. He still crosses out the number I wrote wrong, and I let him.
