No Dental or Vision Coverage- Now What?
POSTED BY Amy at 4:16 PM
My husband's health insurance with his new job is so much better, but now we no longer have dental or vision coverage. Ethan & I went to get our teeth cleaned last week and the bill came to $350. We do have an FSA, but it still hurts to fork over that much.
Does anyone have any companies that they have worked with that they could recommend? I am curious what others are doing that are missing their dental and vision coverage? Do you just suck it up or is it worth it to get an individual policy?
Thanks so much for your help!
Labels: Health
28Comments:
Lin AKA D.A.
"I work in a dental office and you're right, dental costs for a family can become ridiculously high.
Most of the patients in our office have company/group dental policies, but some patients with families have individual dental plans.
The cost for taking care of children's dental needs with insurance can do a lot to help defray out of pocket costs, so we/I recommend getting dental insurance as soon as possible.
There are many dental plans that are reasonably priced, so I would suggest getting some quotes from insurance companies, and be absolutely sure to read the small print such as:
If there will be a waiting period for any major treatments like crowns, bridges etc and even orthodontics if you're children are approaching that age.
By the way, I found your blog through Lynnae's blogroll on beingfrugal :) I'm subscribing too."
"I'm a health care advocate, and I have to support Lin's encouragement about getting dental and vision coverage.
Two resources that I suggest exploring are www.healthbenefitsdirect.com and www.ehealthinsurance.com. Both are online brokers.
While you can purchase polcies through these two options, I freuently use them to guage how much a policy might cost in different areas.
Another option is to contact some insurance companies directly. If you are happy with your current dentist I would ask them for a list of the companies that they participate with. Then you can contact those companies directly.
Either way, best of luck!"
Avlor
"Try delta dental for the dental insurance. Have had good luck with them.
Have had to go with out vision coverage for years. We just have to set aside the $ each month to cover vision appointments and glasses every other year for our glasses wearers.
Glad you have better health insurance. ;)"
akimbo
"You might check if there is a Dental School in the area that offers reduced prices for being worked on by students (it takes longer, but they're overseen by professionals!). They might also have ideas for inexpensive plans as they usually deal with people with less means.
For glasses, when I'm not covered I go to Costco."
"We also pay out of pocket for our dental expenses. Our dentist actually gives us a 5% discount for paying cash or check at the time of the visit. Until you have dental insurance, ask about discounts. By paying directly you are saving them time and money of filing claims with insurance. They should provide some sort of discount for that! Jessica"
LaMaman
"I was going to say find a dental school! It does cost so much less. Plus if you are looking for a place to workout & get insurance than look for your local YMCA. If you work there minimal part-time then you get free membership plus insurance benefits like dental & vision. Good luck."
"This is an issue for us as well, My husband works for the Fed. Govt. and we have preventative $20 copay included in our plan but our dentist dropped our plan for the company not paying him enough, now we have to locate someone else who will take the coverage. In researching supplemental it will cost our family of 3 $1200 in premiums a year.....so we decided it may be worth not getting the supplemental plan for now....but for you w/ no coverage, ouch! that is $1400 a year for all 4 of you to go for 2 cleanings/xrays a year.... will have to research some of the sites others suggested, good luck Amy!"
Ginger Jager
"I work for the federal govt and they only recently started offering an alternative dental/vision plan. Prior to that, we didn't have it, and only paid $75 for cleanings, $50 for x-rays. Now that we have a 20 month old and another baby due in July, PLUS I needed an old crown replaced, we ended up getting dental and vision through my husband's work. I don't remember the details offhand. I'll be using it for the first time in the next week or so. I think with kids, you've got to have SOME kind of coverage."
Shell
"I work for an optical shoppe in NC. Alot of people just have to "suck it up" and pay for their glasses. There are many hidden discounts with you medical insurance that most patients and providers don't know about. As far as you eye exam, if you have a medical problem, like diabetes, dry eyes, allergies, headaches, you medical will pay (just make sure you don't need a referral). If you email me the name, usually all I need is the name of the medical, no person info necessary, I can tell you if you have anything!
Let me know how I can help. Dental and Vision (Vision from experience) can be a difficult bird to deal with.
Shelliertyson@ctc.net"
Bloggin' Mama
"You have gotten some really great advice about this, but I wanted to add that though I have vision coverage it ONLY covers one eye exam each year. It doesn't cover anything toward glasses, etc. but because the military pays the premium, it's better than nothing. But I would be sure when you're looking at vision plans that you're getting enough for what you're paying, otherwise it might not be worth the premium. There are always vision places in malls, etc. that have onsight drs. and charge less for your exam if you're purchasing your glasses from them."
Hello, I'm Sally.
"When I didn't have vision coverage, I went to Costco. It costs about $70 for an eye exam and is very inexpensive for contacts and glasses. When I didn't have dental, I just didn't go, terrible. But now we have kids and we need it. It was WAY too expensive through my husbands work, so I got an individual plan for just the kids and I. I talked to an Insurance Rep. it's free, the companies pay them for getting people to sign up. Good luck!"
Frugalicious
"I disagree that you have to have dental or vision insurance. I agree with those that say to shop around and negotiate with the dentist for cheaper services. They are saving money by not fighting with the insurance company and filing paper work. When I had "insurance" I found I paid more into the insurance company monthly than the services they covered. I saved money by paying the doctor myself. All they would cover was $50 for the cleaning!
As for vision, doctor's offices in my area (Austin) do offer cheaper rates to those without insurance. I am constantly getting coupons in the mail for inexpensive glasses that you cannot use insurance with to get the deal. Don't forget Costco or online places for your glasses or contact lenses. They will need a Doctor's prescription, but you do not have to purchase your stuff at the Doctor's office.
Find a Doctor that will work with you. Those that balk at lowering their rates because they are not fighting the insurance company is no Doctor you want to work with. Money doesn't grow on trees!
Also, I don't know if your state has HSA's but you might want to consider it in addition to your FSA. That can help with the expensive costs later should they come up.
Good Luck."
"we dont have dental either-- we justhave to separate everones visit and do the most important things first-- not fun as my daughter just began the braces process this week!!!"
"look into individual coverage (if you are just covering 2 people) take that $350 and make it $700 (two cleanings a year) and see if dental coverage comes out to about the same as $700 a year with 100% prevention paid. That would work.
My husband's company will start elective dental on June 1 and for he and I will will be $53 a month. That's 636 a year and it covers 100% of oral prevention. 80% of something else and 50% of oral surgery. So for us it seems worth it.
As for vision insurance. We don't have any. My husband and I both wear glasses but if we need to go we will just pay for it out of pocket. Because your eye prescriptions are good for 2 years you don't need to go every year or every 6 months like with dental or medical."
"look into individual coverage (if you are just covering 2 people) take that $350 and make it $700 (two cleanings a year) and see if dental coverage comes out to about the same as $700 a year with 100% prevention paid. That would work.
My husband's company will start elective dental on June 1 and for he and I will will be $53 a month. That's 636 a year and it covers 100% of oral prevention. 80% of something else and 50% of oral surgery. So for us it seems worth it.
As for vision insurance. We don't have any. My husband and I both wear glasses but if we need to go we will just pay for it out of pocket. Because your eye prescriptions are good for 2 years you don't need to go every year or every 6 months like with dental or medical."
matt and joelle
"Great advice- we do not have dental coverage either- but we do have vision which is a blessing caause 3 out of 4 boys wear contacts or glasses but be careful , most insurance will only cover one or the other. As far as dental- we have not gone in two years- that is when we lost the dental coverage but will be sucking it up to at least have cleanings in the near future, hopefully that will include xrays as well but x's4 to at least get the boys seen is going to be 4oo dollars alone not adding the mom and dad. Ouch!"
"I also work in a dental office as well. If you are going to do ANYTHING besides cleanings, get insurance. If your teeth are basically healthy and you are probably not going to need crowns or anything major in the next year or two, get a plan that covers 100% of preventative services and 80-100% of the basic services like simple fillings (NOT including major work, such as crowns). A few cavities for each member of the family, and you are easily more than you would pay in premiums. BUT, it is worth it to shop around. Some plans are scams, others are better. I think the dental school idea is a good one too. I know we are more than willing to sit down with someone as talk about insurance options in our office. Hopefully your office could look at some options with you and help you decide what's worth the cost. It could easily mean you pay $120 instead of $600- that's a HUGE difference. Check out delta dental and metlife. Both are value insurances."
minnemom
"I've looked into dental coverage several times and never could get the numbers to work out. The premiums were high, and there were so many exclusions--maximum coverage amounts, waiting periods before coverage began, and so on. I ran the numbers over and over with a number of companies and for us it makes much more sense to just pay out of pocket and use the 5% cash discount. Maybe there are more policies available in other areas, but for us it doesn't work."
Shannon
"I know our town and the neighboring ones have dental clinics in the evenings for people who don't have dental insurance. The dentists are volunteering their time. I haven't tried it out yet though. We are currently in between medical plans. The husband had to have an x-ray of his foot the other day and they took off twenty percent right then, since he paid before he left. We are also trying to decide which dental plan is best for a family of six."
"Be careful about buying insurance. If you have good oral hygiene and usually limit your visits to twice a year you can spend less money paying the dentist cash than paying premiums. In our office we will significantly reduce the cost of the visit if you are willing to come in during a last minute call or during a time which is not usually busy for our office. also ask them if they would rather have a check or a credit card. Alot of insurance that is purchased individually is generally a discount plan and there are sometimes waiting periods."
"I am not sure where you are located...but my sister in St. Louis is without vision insurance as well and she goes to America's Best. They have an everyday price of two pair of glasses and an eye exam for 69.95, childrens and adults. They carry high quality designer frames too. She loved them! Check them out at...
https://www.twopair.com/"
Kim Moldofsky
"We don't have this coverage either...and we have a $5,000 medical deductible. Ouch! Due to a vision concern, I see an opthamologist, so my vision exam is covered ahem, after we meet the deductible. Shockingly it usually only takes 6-8 months to meet it. A mammogram gone bad here, and MRI for a herniated disc there. It adds up fast.
I go to ForEyes for inexpensive glasses, but may check out Costco.
Costco also provides one of my meds for literally about $2,000/year less than my med. insurance provider's pharmacy program."
Marva
"We have dental through hubby's work. $12.52 a week for a family plan.
No vision coverage, some of mine is covered under our medical. Hubby had to have surgery for astigmitisms (3 years ago)and it was $4600. Ouch!!! I feel your pain! Blessings!!!!!!"
Amy
"Wow, thanks everyone for your responses. It looks like I have some stuff to research now. I appreciate ALL the suggestions!"
Alyssa
"Hi Amy! We have the same issue. On the advice of Dave Ramsey, we opened up an HSA. We are very happy with this decision. Have you considered one?"
Frugalicious
"One more thing Amy, I was listening to Clark Howard today and he mentioned a site:http://zennioptical.com for inexpensive eye glasses. One of the station's employee's was talking about it. They are cheaper than costco, and she was pleased."
Chris from St. Mary's
"When I wasn't covered by optical insurance, I went to Walmart. I don't belong to Costco.
Some counties offer discount programs for those who don't have dental insurance. My county has it for free. Might check with the health department."
ValueForYou
"I use supplemental coverage which saves me a ton of money out of pocket. AmeriPlan has an awesome Dental plan www.mybenefitssave.com"
Post a COMMENT
28 comments
Subscribe to this blog
STUMBLE This
Add to KiRTSY
Add to MIXX
It's DELICIOUS
Most of the patients in our office have company/group dental policies, but some patients with families have individual dental plans.
The cost for taking care of children's dental needs with insurance can do a lot to help defray out of pocket costs, so we/I recommend getting dental insurance as soon as possible.
There are many dental plans that are reasonably priced, so I would suggest getting some quotes from insurance companies, and be absolutely sure to read the small print such as:
If there will be a waiting period for any major treatments like crowns, bridges etc and even orthodontics if you're children are approaching that age.
By the way, I found your blog through Lynnae's blogroll on beingfrugal :) I'm subscribing too."