How Dental Plans Work
Most dental insurance plans are a contract between your
employer and a dental insurance company such as Delta Dental, Cigna, or
MetLife. The type of insurance and the amount of coverage your plan provides is
negotiated and largely based on how much your employer wants to spend to
provide benefits to their employees.
Cost-Control Methods
Another way that dental insurance companies control their
costs is through UCR, Usual, Customary, and Reasonable Charges. The UCR fee for
a certain procedure is the maximum amount your insurance company judges a
procedure is worth. Unfortunately, the insurance company can set the UCR amount
at whatever they want, and that does not often match what current actual fees
are.
UCR fees are set at one rate, no matter if the dentist is a
specialty provider or a general dentist and does not take into consideration
the additional fees for more complex
treatments. Each insurance company has its own
formula to determine UCR fees, and they
are not required to disclose their methods or formulas.
Levels of Coverage
In general, your dental procedures are categorized into types of services, and each one has a different level of coverage. Preventive services
such as cleanings and exams are often covered
completely. Basic restorative treatments are usually 75-80% covered, and major
restorations drop down to about 50% coverage. Cosmetic services are usually not
covered by dental insurance because they are not considered to be medically
necessary.
Benefits of Dental Insurance
Those who get the most benefit from dental insurance are
patients who don’t need a lot of treatment. Most policies do a good job at
covering preventive services and maybe a little more. Keeping current on your six-month
checkups and cleanings and a strong home-care routine is the best way to keep
your treatment needs to a minimum and reap the benefits of your dental
insurance policy.