The Search for Dental Insurance

We had dental insurance through NAFMD (National Association for Medical & Dental). It was a Delta Dental plan and we were relatively happy with it. It was reasonably priced and had good coverage. Then last November I got a "Welcome" letter from my new Solstice dental plan. That wasn't good since I hadn't changed dental plans.

I phoned up to find out what kind of identity theft or fraud was going on and learned that Delta Dental had upped the premium and rather than pass that on NAFMD had decided to shift people into other plans. It seems they had put us into a plan that was about $20 less per month than what we'd been paying, but covered only exams and cleanings. If we needed crowns, root canals, fillings, or essentially anything - we'd be on our own. And to add insult to injury, our dentist was not even on our "new" plan.

I opted to leave it in place until I had time to research what is available and make an informed decision. But then last week I got a call from their telemarketing folks who wanted to sell me a plan. When I said I already had one that I wasn't particularly happy with she told me that I didn't  - they'd cut it off in November. I guess that was okay. Neither of us went to the dentist between November and January.

She said that when Delta raised their premium prices, they had made the decision to move everyone who was on it into a "better" plan.

"How is a plan that covers only exams and cleanings better than a plan that covered crowns and root canals? You know that every time you go to the dentist you're told you need a crown!"

She said, "I'm sorry that in your case, you didn't get moved to a better plan."

Then she went on to tell me how wonderful their HMO Dental Plan is. I'm not buying it. I'd heard horror stories about HMOs ever since they came up with the idea. I got my first taste of an HMO with my Medicare Advantage (advantage is a misnomer, by the way) and given a choice I won't have another one. I want to choose my own dentist. I want him or her to have a real practice and not a corporate identity. If I need a root canal, I'm going to an endodontist. And I don't care if I have to pay extra for the nitrous oxide. It's worth every penny.

I was having a very difficult time explaining to this woman that I was not going to buy an HMO plan no matter how affordable. It's not about the premium. It's about what you get for that premium.

In fact, unless you need a root canal or a crown, most dental insurance is nothing more than a deferred payment plan. If all you need in a given year is an exam, a set of x-rays and a couple of cleanings, you can buy that for the same, if not less than what you pay in premiums. No return on investment.

So today I started looking to replace what I had. It's surprising. Most of the things that come up on a Google search are paid ads. But I was attempting to do my best due diligence and trying to figure out whether it's worth it since most of the policies have a $1500 per person calendar year limit and only pay 50% of crowns and root canals anyway. How much work do you need to have done to make purchasing the insurance worthwhile? One crown? Two crowns?? Hard to say when you don't really know what you need.

One of the companies I was attempting to look at provided really generic information on their web site. They offered HMO plans and PPO plans. (Okay, so does almost everybody.) But their website said for faster service, phone. So I did. I phoned and all representatives were busy but I was assured they would phone me back. I didn't even have to leave my number.

They did phone me back and gave me a price of $119.00 per month for the two of us. Calendar year limit of $2500 each (better than most of them) and a $70 deductible. What he couldn't or wouldn't tell me is the rate they pay on fillings, root canals, etc. He said they were all different.

"Do any of the rates go below 50%?"

"Yes."

"Can you send me an email outlining specifically what is covered and at what rate?"

"No. If you sign up, you have 30 days to review it and cancel."

"You know, I'm not really good at remembering to cancel things within 30 days so I'd really rather just research what I'm buying before I plunk down any money."

You know what he said? "That's not how we do business."

You know what I said? "Perhaps your company is not right for me."

And now I'm looking into the Dental Discount Plans. I've got a call in to a friend who works in a dental office. I'm guessing she can shed a bit of light on the subject.

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