Choose Momentum Plans for Dental Coverage Your Family Can Rely On
At a time when employers are reducing costs by cutting benefits, one of the first things to go is often employer-sponsored dental insurance. This means millions of Americans are scrambling to find their own private insurance providers, without any guidance on how to sort through their insurance options.
Choosing the right dental plan for your family is a serious decision. Pick the wrong plan and you may discover that you don’t have the level of coverage that you need in an emergency, saddling you with thousands of dollars in bills. On the other hand, overpaying for coverage can put a financial strain on the family on a month-to-month basis.
Factors to Consider When Purchasing Family Dental Insurance
As you consider your dental insurance plan options, there are several key factors to examine. Take your time in deciding which plan is right for you and your family.
Ages of Family Members
Dental care for young adults centers primarily on preventative care and diagnostic services, like x-rays. Once you reach age 40, your dental needs change slightly. At this point the wear and tear on your teeth may necessitate reparative services, like crowns or root canals. If you are approaching retirement, long-term treatment of chronic conditions, like gum disease, are of greater concern, as are very expensive procedures, like being fitted for dentures.
You can change your dental plan as your life situation changes. Adding more services and a higher level of coverage becomes necessary.
Cost Considerations
Wisconsin dental insurance plans have associated costs that include: your monthly premiums, copays, and your total deductible. It’s imperative that you strike the right balance between the two costs in order to use your insurance effectively. Plans with low premiums often have high deductibles or copays for major procedures. This means that your trips to the dentist for a cleaning are likely covered completely by the dental plan, but you may have to pay several hundred dollars in deductibles before your insurance steps in to cover part of a major procedure. A low deductible reduces your financial risk for expensive procedures, but you will have to pay more premium for the coverage each month.
A final important cost consideration is the annual maximum covered by your plan. Young families don’t often need to worry about approaching the annual maximum, but for older adults, the maximum limit is a real concern. You may need to choose a plan that has higher monthly premiums and a higher maximum if you have expensive reparative or restorative dental procedures in your near future.
To find the right balance, talk over your insurance needs and expectations with an insurance specialist who will walk you through your options.
Network Size
An inexpensive dental plan often comes with a significant drawback, namely a strict limit on the number of available dentists who accept your plan. As you consider your insurance options, ask about the size of the network and the number of dentists from which you have to choose. A large network allows you to find a dentist with whom you feel comfortable and who provides the services that you need close to home.
Momentum Insurance serves cities throughout Wisconsin, including:
- Milwaukee
- Madison
- Racine
- Green Bay
- Oshkosh
- Fond du Lac
- Waukesha
Levels of Coverage
Not all insurance plans cover all dental procedures. Most plans use a three-tiered system.
- Preventative: These services include your cleanings, x-rays, and dental exams. A typical plan allows for two visits per year.
- Basic: An expansion of a preventative plan to include coverage for fillings and other common dental procedures is known as basic coverage. Almost everyone that uses a preventative dental plan will benefit from the additional coverage of a basic plan.
- Comprehensive: For the most expensive dental procedures, you need major dental coverage. This tier includes services such as root canals, crowns, and dentures. A major dental plan does offer the highest level of coverage, but it’s often not the right choice for families who don’t expect to need major services in the next year or two.
Most individual plans don’t cover cosmetic procedures and you may need a special plan to cover orthodontics for your children. Be sure to consider this if you believe your children may need braces.
It may take some time to find the right dental plan for your family, but it’s important that you do so in order to have the coverage that you need when you need it the most. Contact Momentum today to learn more about our coverage options for your family.