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Unlike other types of insurance, dental plans are not a safety net against an unlikely event in the way that emergency medical services or homeowner’s insurance is. Hopefully, if you have dental insurance, you take advantage of it frequently and don’t keep it just in case of emergencies. By opting for group dental insurance, you can lower the cost of your premiums while still enjoying the benefits of regular dental cleaning, preventive care coverage, covered services, and oral health checkups. Here are the three main types of group dental plans:
Preferred Provider (PPO) – A dental preferred provider organization (PPO) works the same way that it does for medical insurance. Basically, you choose from a group of participating dentists that are part of a network of providers. As long as you get your dental care through a member of that broad network, you enjoy the maximum benefit and coverage options provided by the insurance company. With dental PPO plans, you can also opt to go to a licensed dentist that is not in the network, but you typically have to pay a higher portion of the cost as out of pocket costs.
Visit the Mouth Healthy website from the American Dental Association to learn more about dental care and how to keep your teeth healthy at any age.
Dental HMO – An HMO, or health maintenance organization, is similar to a PPO in that it involves a network of dental providers. With an HMO, however, you usually need to see a dentist in the network in order to receive any dental preventive care. HMOs can sometimes be a good way to offset the costs of more expensive procedures since in-network services are generally most cost-effective.
Indemnity Plans – Indemnity plans, sometimes called fee-for-service plans, are a good option if you want to stay with a particular dentist who is not part of a network. Indemnity plans will sometimes use a reimbursement process by which the employees pay the total cost out of pocket and later gets a percentage paid back to them by the group dental insurance policies. An indemnity plan is often more expensive as it offers personalized support and services related to gum disease, quality care, and preventive care.
Group dental insurance plans are a scheme offering employees a cover for their dental treatments, such as fillings, check-ups, bridges, and crowns. The benefits can be offered as a fully-funded group dental plans.
Every employee wants group health insurance benefits. One of the most sought-after employee benefits is a health plan. But dental plan is also popular as a benefit among employees. 87% of employers are of the opinion that dental benefits aren’t negotiable. All employees want them along with health plan.
If you own a small business and wondering if you should offer group dental insurance, take a look at the benefits given below-
Studies have shown that 68% of eligible employees enroll for dental benefits when it is offered by an employer. It is the highest rate of participation in comparison to the other non-medical benefits.
With time, many employees are choosing dental plans for preventive care. So, it is a desirable option for the employees.
The health statistics related to the people who have health insurance vs. the people who don’t have the benefit are staggering. And, it is not just about dental healthcare.
If someone doesn’t have dental health insurance, they might have other serious issues with their health. 67% of the people who have gum disease have high chance of getting a heart disease
So, good dental health can be associated with overall health. Your employees will be in good health. Hence, they are less likely to be absent from work.
Research performed in 2018 unveiled that about 300 million work hours on average were lost in just a hear in the US. The lack of poor dental coverage options has forced employees to go missing from their work.
The same study had shown that of the more than 300 million lost working hours, 84 million hours had been lost for emergency surgeries and consultation, while 159.8 million hours for planned checks ups and routine care.
The lost hour might be attributed to thousands of dollars worth of working hours, which could have translated to productive working hours. The dental health plan can increase the working hours by taking care of all these issues.
If an employee is not satisfied then they can just leave your company when they get a better job offer. The services provided by the employer play a major role in retaining good employees.
As per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 60% of the local and state workers and 40% of the private employees have access to dental preventive care benefits, at present.
Most private American firms are grappling to provide dental preventive care benefits to the employees that in essence can transform how satisfied workers will be in their organization. Studies have shown that an employee receiving health benefit plans from their employers tend to be less stressed in comparison to the ones who don’t receive any health plan benefits.
Stressed employees who are not satisfied with their job might tend to be mentally troubled. But it can also cost employers a lot more. Lack of dental health plans might make employees feel that they are not doing enough for themselves.
Group dental insurance is funded by the employee, as well as the employee. So, it can lower the actual costs for premium paid by the employees and offer more job satisfaction.
Who likes being sick! With a group dental health plan, you can improve employee health and wellbeing. Upgrading employee dental and health benefits are linked to job satisfaction. Money is lost when employees have to take time off from work to take care of their teeth, and hours lost to undergo dental-health-related issues.
Most of the benefits are interlinked and show that dental care can bring a big difference. Dental insurance isn’t about having access to orthodontic or dentist checkups, frequently. It comes to how employers are treating their workers and if they have any compassion for them.
There should be a limit on the amount of effort and time employers shed out when they launch a group dental plan for dental services and group plans. The better benefits employers offer to their employees, the more inclined they are to the workplace.
A survey performed by Willis Towers Watson shows that about 39% of the employees don’t have the financial backup to spend $3000 at out of network providers if there is an emergency. This might appear to be a small amount but the stress that it causes can negatively impact your staff.
Having group health insurance for dental care from a dental insurance company gives employees improved quality dental care procedures, annual maximum preventative care, and lower cost for cosmetic procedures. Mostly there are no waiting periods for the dental insurance product as per the eligibility requirements and state laws.
More than 49% of the employees might be struggling with financial stress causing them to be depressed or anxious. All of these can be tied to the well-being of an employee. Providing a dental plan implies will have to endure lesser financial stress that in the long run might become a bigger problem for workplace satisfaction. Small businesses should offer their employees a way to easily manage the insurance for the plan year.
Dental insurance provided by an employer is only going to be active until the time you are working with the employer. In case you lose the job, you might lose dental health coverage.
But some exceptions might be applicable. Some states mandate continuous coverage after what is known as a decisive. It is basically the initial appointment for a multiple-step procedure. Dental insurance offers coverage for some problems if your dentist submit the proof for the same. A dental plan’s coverage needs to continue until the whole process is complete.
Cost is another drawback of dental plans. Simply because your employer provides dental care insurance does not mean you will not have to pay any money. Insurance provided by the employers has deductibles, premiums, annual maximum limits, and other possible restrictions that vary based on the plan. So, make sure that you check out complete details before signing up for dental health insurance.
A dental insurance plan makes sense if you just need coverage for minor procedures and checkups. Based on specific deductibles and premiums, insurance can help in saving money at in network providers. But if you have severe dental issues, a dental insurance plan will be a different story. Insurance doesn’t cover or apply wait times for dental procedures, such as root canals, fillings, and more. You might not receive the coverage you want for a minimum of six months and you are solely responsible for it.
Coverage provided under a dental health insurance plan might vary as per the chosen plan and the insurance company, just like any other form of health insurance. To know what is being covered, you need to take a look at the plan document before buying it.
But generally, the following benefits are covered-
Usually, a dental health insurance plan provides coverage for basic dental work and there are some self funded procedures, which aren’t covered under the insurance plans. A few things, which have been excluded from the dental insurance are-
Dental insurance coverage is good for small business owners. You need to go through the whole coverage limit to learn about what is being covered and what is not.
The cost of a group dental services, also referred to as the premium, is usually an important factor for most people when choosing coverage. For the most part, these premiums will correlate with the level of care that’s covered by the insurance plan–like anything else, you get what you pay for when it comes to dental insurance.
Though there are limits on dental coverage, there are several basic treatments that should be included as a covered benefit in a group plan. These include things like cleanings, tooth fillings, X-rays, and root canals at in network providers. The extent to which they are covered may vary from plan to plan, but most dental insurance plans should meet these criteria.
For the most part, insurance carriers that offer group dental plans will have individual coverage limits that cap out annually, usually between $1,000 and $2,000. This is an important consideration, especially if you anticipate needing major oral surgery because you’ll have to cover the expenses that exceed the yearly plan limit.
In case you know a dentist, ask which insurance plans they are going to accept. As we have already mentioned, an indemnity insurance plan will let you use the dentist of your choice, but HMO and PPO plan restricts you to in-network dentists in the network. If you are to choose a new provider, an HMO or PPO might be suitable for you.
Yet, it is wise to be wary. It is possible that a new dentist that you plan to visit will say that you are going to require some preventive services. So, check the discount plans and insurance the practitioners accept.
While getting group dental health insurance, make sure that you go through the entire document carefully to know in advance how much you have to pay or what will be covered.
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Todd Taylor with Taylor Benefits gives our small business the kind of personal service we need. Insurance benefits are important to our employees and Todd helps us find a balance between benefits and value. Todd responds immediately to my phone calls & e-mails. He has even gotten in touch with me on a Sunday when we were in need of coverage answers immediately. We are very pleased with the hands-on service Todd and his staff provide.”
-Ken and Linda Orvick, Orvick Management Group, Inc.
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