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gow

Last Updated: 5/21/2007

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Gender: Female
Status: Single
Age: 36
Sign: Capricorn

Country: IN
Signup Date: 5/21/2007

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Monday, July 09, 2007

Factors You Should Consider Before Buying Dental Plans
Current mood:

chipper
Category: Life

1. Monthly or Yearly Subscription: Most dental discount plans are yearly subscriptions. However some offer monthly subscriptions at a slightly higher rate. Supposing you have bought a dental insurance and it will be sometime before it is activated or planning to get a dental insurance then you can buy a dental discount plan for the interim period on a monthly basis. This will be a money saver for you.

2. Dentists In Your Area - Find dental plans that is being accepted by dentists in your local area. Buying a dental plan with no local takes is a waste of money. Check out if the specialists also accept the dental plan you plan on buying. You can get discount even on specialist care that way.

3. Cost Vs Discounts - A higher subscription dental plan may offer greater discounts than a low cost one. So, plan carefully. If you and your family will be needing a lot of costly dental treatment than it would be better to get a higher cost dental plan.

4. Dental Plan Company Track Record: Find a company that has a good track record. Some fly-by-night dental plan operators sell discount dental plans which no dentist will accept. You will be left holding worthless piece of paper.

5. Waiting periods - Most dental plans are activated with in 3-7 business days. If it takes longer than that may be it is not worth buying it.

6. Does specialist treatment also qualify for discounts? Are there enough specialists in your area?

7. Check the discount payment structure of the various dental plans, call up a few dentists and find out what additional charges will be added to particular treatments costs. Make an educated buying decision.

8. Remember that dental plans are not dental insurance and you will never get hundred percent discount on any treatment.

9. Don't buy dental plans that have limitations,restrictions,waiting periods.

10. Most dental plans offer free dental cleanings, x-rays, and twice yearly check-ups. Find out if your plan offers these.

For more details on dental insurance and dental plans visit:

http://www.a1-dental-insurance.com

Dental Insurance Plans

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3:06 PM

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Sunday, July 08, 2007

What ADVANTAGES Do Dental Plans Have?
Current mood:

cheerful
Category: Life

Dental Plans have a few advantages over dental insurance which might be useful when you don't have traditional dental cover:

No Annual Limits: There are no annual limits on your spending on your dental treatment with your dental plans. You get discounts on all dental services through out the year.

Minimum Activation Time: Your dental plansdental plan takes less than 3 business days to activate. You can start using your dental discount plan almost immediately - which is a definite advantage when you have an emergency.

No paperwork, forms to fill: No claims forms to fill, no paperwork to do. All you have to do is get your membership card to the dental office and claim your discount straight away. Ofcourse the dentist should be a participating dentist in the dental plan.

No Restrictions: There are no restrictions on any treatment or procedure. You can get the treatment you want and at a discounted price.

No Waiting Periods: In dental insurance you have a waiting period for most procedures. You have to wait from 6 months to two years. With a dental plan you can straight away get the treatment you want or need.

No LEAT, No UCR: No clauses and restrictions that prevent you from getting the right treatment. You can get the best treatment and claim your discount too.

Available to all: Everyone can get a dental plan - families, individuals, self-employed.

9:48 AM

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Thursday, July 05, 2007

Flaws in Dental Insurance

Dental Insurance has its flaws. But to really understand and gain the maximum from your dental insurance policy you need a clear understanding of them. So, here are the majar drawbacks of dental insurance in a nutshell:

Limitations: The following limitations can be usually found in your dental insurance policy:

1. Dentist you can avail treatment from
2. Limitation on cost per type of treatment
3. LEAT - least expensive alternative treatment will be the basis for payment
4. There will limit on how much you can spend for dental treatment in a year called the annual limit
5. Deductibles - You dental insurance will come into effect only after you have paid a minimum deductible established by the dental insurance company

This limitations are included in the dental insurance policy document to safeguard the dental insurance company from excessive claims.

Waiting Periods:

You can not buy a dental insurance policy and immediately start availing the benefits. You need to wait a minimum of 6 months to one year for most major treatment categories and for some you need to wait atleast a couple of years.

Claims Process:

The claims process can be long and tedious. You need to fill in the forms and attach the payment receipts and submit directly or get it endorsed by your dentist. Some policies require the dentist the send in the claims process. After the claims forms have been submitted you have to wait for certain period of time till everything is verified by the dental insurance company and the payment will be sent to you if you have paid the amount or directly to the dentist.

Pre-existing Conditions

Most policies will not pay for pre-exisiting dental conditions. If this is your major area of treatment then you will shelling quite a bit of money out of your pocket while paying the dental insurance companies their premiums and getting nothing out of the deal from them.

Cosmetic Dentistry Excluded

Depending on the dental insurance policy and amount of premimums you pay many categories and sub-specialities of dentistry may be excluded. Cosmetic dentistry is excluded by most and certain treatments like implants, braces etc. may be excluded too. So, verify with your dental insurance policy before you avail of expensive dental procedures. There is added problem of annual limits.

Heavy premiums - limited cover

You will be paying high premiums and getting only limited coverage of dental treatment costs.

Biggest drawback - not available to individuals and families independant of the employer:

Dental insurance is typically offered only through employers. You won't be able to get it outside of your employer. Self-employed and the unemployed typically don't have access to dental insurance.

2:55 PM

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Dental Insurance Plans For The Poor?
Category: Life

p>It is ironic but true. Over $130 million dollars that were allocated to provide dental care for the poor have not been spent over the past seven years in California and was returned to the Government as unutilised money. While there are thousands of poor patients looking for affordable dental care and not getting it in California.

The disconnect in this situation can be traced to the high entry barriers that the state has put up for dentists and health care providers to be part of the Denti-Cal dental insurance program. This program jointly funded by the State and Federal Governments is intended for those who can't afford the cost of dental treatment.

The dental insurance program. is being run by Delta Dental.

The state officials won't agree that there was any disconnect. They say it is simply a accounting transanction because they were unable to forecast the acutal need for dental care in California and had allocated a larger amount than was necessary.

That reasoning is far from the truth according to the dentists and other health care providers.

Dentists are not willing to treat Denti-Cal patients as the State pays them about a third of what a privately adminstered plan would pay for the same procedure. Apart from that there are other barriers too. The 24 thousand strong dentists assoication boasts many memebers in the Denti-Cal program. But not many treat Denti-Cal patients. The hassles are too many to bother with the State-run program.

Inspite of the State and Federal government setting out to provide affordable dental care to the poor in California it is in the implementation that the dental insurance program suffers.

Meanwhile thousands of poor patients wait to be accepted by dentists. The Denti-Cal dental insurance program is their only hope for quality affordable dental care. Will, the state officials wake up to this reality and make the dental insurance plan more relevant to the people for whom it has be created.

11:46 AM

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Saturday, June 30, 2007

Dental Insurance Plans Annual Limit Exceeded. What Can You Do?
Current mood:

chipper
Category: Life

I have a serious problem. I need root canals done but I have already reached my dental insurance plans annual limit. What options do I have?

Call your dental insurance company and explain to them your problem. You can ask to talk to a few higher ups and ask them what options you have under your dental insurance plans.

Will they consider some kind of cost sharing where you pay more than your usual share and they pay a part of it. You never know what loop holes there might be that you are not aware of which you can exploit. Just a thought!

Apart from trying that out you have the following options.

1. For really cheap treatment but reasonable quality care find a dental school near you, register with them if they will take you as patient and get the work done.

2. If that doesn't work out get yourself to your local county hospital. Most have a dentist attached and you will get good quality care for almost free or for a nominal fee.

3. Option 3 is to get a dental discount plan that is local to your area, that has a dentist near you who is willing to accept it and that offers substantial discounts on the treatment you are seeking. Check this out at http://www.a1-dental-insurance... You will pay atleast 50 percent of your costs if not more with this plan.

4. Option 4 is talking it out with your dentist, ask him what is the basic minimum that he will charge. Tell him you don't have dental insurance and will he take you up with out one. Many dentists prefer treating patients this way as they don't have to deal with dental insurance companies and getting paid after a lot of paper work. You can also plan out treatment over the course of year so you can pay the money over a longer period.

5. Option 5: It is something I discovered recently. Border towns in Mexico are offering dental treatment at less than one fourth what it costs in the States. You can travel to these towns and get treated. I can't give you

6. Option 6: Explore whether you can get treated in another country like India, Romania, Eastern European countries. They have good quality medical centers that treat you at less than 1/10 th of what it costs here. But you have to figure travelling and accomodation charges and also food and distruption at work and home. But you get a free holiday thrown in!

3:17 PM

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Thursday, June 28, 2007

Dental Insurance Plans : What out-of-pocket expenses should I expect?
Current mood:

content
Category: Life

What is the usual out-of-pocket expense with a good dental insurance plans?

Dental check-ups, cleanings, x-rays will be usually covered 100 percent by your dental insurance plan.

Usually, dental insurance covers anywhere between 50-80 percent of dental treatment costs. Typically the lower end jobs like fillings, cavities, tooth extraction will be covered at a higher percentage. So if a tooth extraction costs 100 dollars you will pay about 20 dollars and the dental insurance plans will pay 80 percent of the cost that is 80 dollars.

As the cost of treatment increases the dental insurance plan will pay a lower percentange and you will have to pay the rest. Usually all these will be found in the dental insurance booklet that the dental insurance company provides you with when you sign up with them.

Again all this applies to a PPO dentist. If your dentist happens to be just filing for the dental insurance then he can charge you the difference in what the dental insurance pays and what he actually charges. Say he charges $100 but the dental insurance company pay him only $50 then you have pay him the rest.

For most procedures you have to pay the minimum amount called the deductible. It is the portion of any claim that is not covered by the insurance provider. It is normally quoted as a fixed amount and is a part of most policies.The deductible must be "met", that is, paid by the insured, before the benefits of the policy can apply. After you this amount only the dental insurance kicks in.

Again, some dental insurance policies have something called co-pay. Copayment is a flat dollar amount paid for a dental service by an insured person. Dental insurance companies use copayments to share dental care costs.

4:19 PM

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Cheap Alternatives To "Lack" Of Family Dental Insurance
Current mood:

cheerful
Category: Life

Since the survey on family dental insurance, dental insurance plans and individual dental insurance last week - I seem to be focussing on topics - like alternatives to dental insurance, what to do if you have no dental insurance and so on.

Well, I will be continuing on the topic and giving my attention to that section of society that's at the fringes and does not have many alternatives. I am talking about the illegal immigrants who swarm into the USA with dreams of making it big.

The passion for "making it big" and the realities of survival staring them in the eye every day leaves them with no alternative but to be successful! A few make it big. But, many eke out their living doing the low-end jobs that no main stream American would want to do.

There are many among this toiling masses who simply can't afford the high costs of health care and dentistry in the USA. They do not have employers to provide them with benefits like health insurance and dental insurance. They do not have the income to pay for it themselves.

This is where our Southern neighbor steps in. The border towns along the US-Mexico border offer the low-cost health care and dentistry that our low-income families crave for.

Lacking family dental insurance, the illegal immigrant families swarm into these border towns getting cheap dental care. Dentists from every part of Mexico have dental offices in the border towns offering every kind of dental service at rates that are affordable to their target population.

Patients from as far away as Alaska and New Jersey who have no dental insurance fly into Mexico to avail of these cheap dental care that costs less than quarter of what it would normally cost in the States. As it is almost impossible to sue a Mexican dentist they don't have to pay high malpractice insurance so, they can afford the lower costs.

The American Dental Association and dentists particularly in border states of America are clearly not amused. They tell of horror stories about bad dental care, wrong diagnosis and high infection rates.

Well, the residents of the border towns on both the sides of the border are not complaining. If I was an illegal immigrant with kids and no family dental insurance I wouldn't be complaining too.

2:05 PM

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Monday, June 25, 2007

How Can You Protect Your Child's Teeth When You Have No Dental Insurance Plans
Current mood:

accomplished
Category: Life

Do you know that there are thousands of children in USA who are not covered by any kind of dental insurance plan? They absolutely do not have any access to dental care. This group is also at the most risk of dental cavities and tooth decay. How can there teeth be protected? How can major dental problems be prevented from cropping up in this group.

Remember the story of Deamonte Driver. The 12-year old died due to complications arising from a "rotten tooth abscess infection". His mother desperately tried to find a dentist who would accept her Medicaid policy. By the time they could find help the tooth infection had spread to Demonte's brain. After 6 months of treatment the boy suddenly died. All he needed was a timely dental care to remove a tooth that would have cost about $80 dollars.

His treatment finally ended up costing more than $250,000. Still, his life could not be saved.

Well, there are many more Demont Driver's waiting to happen in this country as they lack basic dental insurance plans coverage. What little cover they have is woefully inadequate with many dentists refusing to see them because of hassles and paper work involved.

Many people are waking up to this reality and are aware that ultimate costs may be too high to pay. Senators and States have taken up the issue to find a way to provide affordable dental insurance plans for kids who are risk.

The United Way of Salt Lake, a Utah based foundation, has launched a program that may be an effective solution for this problem. A thin coating of plastic applied to the teeth could save thousands of Utah children from a lifetime of serious medical conditions caused by poor dental care.

The coating takes hardly few minutes to apply and the whole process can be finished in less than 10 minutes by trained volunteers. The totally painless procedure has been welcomed by all including parents and care givers.

The dental sealant combined with flouride is applied to the top surfaces of molars which are most likely to be affected by tooth decay. It has found to be almost 100 percent effective in preventing tooth decay.

The program known as Sealants for Smiles has been running since March 2005. About 2,000 children have had their teeth sealed another 3,000 children have been checked for any existing dental problems, and 3,600 kids have been educated about proper oral hygiene.

The Foundation has big plans to cover most of the children who at risk. Dental Select - a dental plans company is covering most of the administratives costs of the Foundation for running this program.

Maybe other states will follow the way shown by Utah and protect our children by giving this free dental sealant protection even if they don't have any dental insurance cover.

3:03 PM

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Sunday, June 24, 2007

Individual Dental Insurance Benefits To Go
Current mood:

cheerful
Category: Life

Many employers are considering reducing or dropping family or individual dental insurance benefits from their list of perks for their employees.

Scary but true. If and when they reduce your dental benefits you will be in the unenviable position of having to pay for dental treatment costs. The usual cleanings, check-ups and x-rays may not cost you much but if you needs bridges, implants, fillings and crowns well, you'll need quite a bit of money.

Recent data as collected by National Association Of Dental Plans figures are revealing. Only 57% of Americans under 65 have dental insurance. Most of these people are covered by their employers. As more and more employers drop individual dental insurance for their employees these numbers are going to get worse.

Many employers are actually demanding their employees to contribute more towards their dental insurance plans premiums and treatment costs. Every year you could end paying more $500 dollars towards your dental bills.

This may not seem much. But if you have to start paying for your briges, crowns, veneers and implants well you could be set back by a few thousand dollars.

Dental illness unlike major health problems won't wipe out your family's wealth but it can cause a significant dent in your yearly finances if you or some other member of your family needs major dental care.

The problem is it is almost impossible to get family or individual dental insurance on your own. Most dental insurance plans are offered by the major players only through the companies. They do not offer it to individuals. The most you can get are dental discount plans.

The last week was survey time at Dental Insurance Plans Website. Many people offered great suggestions about how to get around this problem of lack of dental insurance.

A suggestion that I particularly liked was - put what ever premium you are planning to pay the individual dental insurance company into a dental fund.

Don't touch the money unless you need it for dental care. Continue paying into it every month or yearly. Every year you will accumulate atleast $500-$1000 in your account. Over 5 years you will have enough to pay for bridges, crowns, root canals or what ever it is that you need treatment for.

I know this requires lot of financial discipline and lot of people will never get round to doing it. For such people set up a systematic investment plan - leave instructions with you bank to put a fixed amount into recurring deposit or safe investment option to which you will have access when you need some kind of dental treatment.

I am reminded of the dental student's advice - regular check-ups, proper brushing, cleaning and flossing that's all is neccessary to keep my teeth in perfect order. Yes, I know a lot of people need a lot of dental attention and individual dental insurance is almost a necessity for such people but right now I am trying to keep that need at bay by following my dental routine.

2:07 PM

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Friday, June 22, 2007

My Dental Insurance Plan Survey Continues.
Current mood:

contemplative
Category: Life

Here are some more replies that I received over the week about my dental insurance plan survey

An 28 year old mom has this to say. No dental insurance plan for me. I like to pay with cash any time. No red tape. No hassles. Let me clarify. People who claim that dental insurance will pay for itself in the long run are fooling themselves. They pay your treatment costs with the premiums you paid them in the first place. They usually have waiting periods, maximums, and only pay a percentage of your dental work.

A very satified 50-year old says: My dental insurance covers basics like fillings and root canals. Major restoratives like crowns and bridges get only about 50 percent payout. I have to pay some amount as the initial deductibles. My dental insurance plans cover dental specialists too. Check with your plan so you can take complete advantage of your dental insurance plan. I am completely satified with my dental insurance plan and the service offered.

A 40 year old lady who had dental veneers says that " No dental insurance plan wants to cover my veneers. It's considered cosmetic. Come on give me a break. But thankfully my veneers came with a 5 year warranty. Thanks to that I can sleep peacefully at night!"

A couple with 4 children are completely satisfied with their dental insurance plan. They say "My dental insurance company is great and I highly recommend them. With 4 kids dental emergencies are a fact of life and having family dental insurance has made our life so much simpler"

A young man has this to say: Getting individual dental insurance on my own was expensive and it did not cover my problems. So, I did the next best thing. I found a dentist who accepted care credit. These companies act as a loan for dental work - so they pay the dentist for the work and you can create a payment plan to reimburse them - their finance fees are very competitive. They sort of act like a credit card, except that in most cases they will not charge any interest for the 1st 90 days or something like that.

A 50 plus gentleman has these suggestion for our readers: If you're at least 50 years old AARP is a wonderful organization that can offer a lot of inexpensive benefits including health insurance and possibly dental insurance plan too. There are many discounts that are offered.

Check your local colleges and universities--do a search for dental schools. They do really good work and because it's a teaching hospital, it's almost free.

6:20 PM

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