How Discount Dental Plans Benefit Members

By Nelda Powers


Discount dental plans allow members to get discounts after using the services of a dentist. Plan participants get to choose the dentist to visit from a list of participating dentists. These plans are different from dental insurance in that members do not pay monthly premiums. They only pay a single yearly fee and they can visit any dentist listed in a plan to enjoy discounts.

Participating dentists benefit by having their listing displayed regularly to a large list of potential patients. They therefore agree to charge lower service fees. The discounts in these plans vary. Typically, you will be reimbursed based on the class of services you use. For instance, diagnostic and preventative services may be covered at a hundred percent of the cost of the procedure, while basic restorative services may be covered at eighty percent of the procedure.

Under many dental plans, you may receive certain services like annual checkups and annual teeth cleaning free or at very low rates. The value of such a plan is that you do not have to refrain from visiting a dentist because of the expenses associated with using the services of this professional. It does not pay for the services you receive but rather allows you to pay discounted rates for these services.

Most plans require dentists to register their fee schedules. This makes it easy to detect if a dentist is overcharging. The other benefit of these plans is that they can allow you to include the members of your family, regardless of the relationship. This is beneficial for people who are not immediate family members.

Discount plans usually have cost sharing elements for members like coinsurance, copayments and deductibles. They help ensure that members pay low fees. These programs usually have a limit on the number of times a member can receive specific services. The age of a member can also determine the kind of discounts that he or she can receive.

Dental programs also have a dollar limit that they pay for in a year. After the annual maximum is reached, these programs do not provide coverage for additional services, until the beginning of the next plan year. You will probably not reach your yearly maximum if you only utilize routine care services like cleanings, X rays, and exams.

In order to ensure that you do not get confused after receiving a bill from the dentist, you should get an estimate to know how much the services of a dentist will cost upfront. You should then request your dentist to submit the treatment plan to your insurance company for an estimate of the discounts you can receive for being in the dental plan. This professional may have to submit supporting documents or X rays in order for the service to be pre approved.

Insurance companies can provide patients with estimates that show the amount of money that a plan can pay, the amount of money remaining towards their deductibles, the fees they have to pay and if they are about to reach their benefit maximum. Patients should sign up for discount dental plans that cover the services they need and list the professionals they wish to visit. These programs usually come with detailed descriptions about the services covered, limitations, exclusions and requirements.




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