ClearPlus Delta Dental plan

[Kayzmum]

Has anyone had any dealings with this particular plan? It was recommended by the receptionist at my husband's endodontist office. She noticed I was experiencing sticker shock at the $2000 cost of a root canal. She said it would cover 50% and to make sure we got that plan and not to let Dental Dental talk us into a different plan. I checked the Delta Dental website and downloaded a copy of the contract. There are co-pays but no waiting period and no yearly capped maximum. $43 a month for 12 months -- can't cancel the insurance unless you do it within 10 days of the purchase of the plan.

This is in the State of Virginia. I called our general dentist office and was told they participate.



My husband needs a root canal for a badly infected tooth and two crowns so it sounds like a good idea but maybe it's too good to be true? I'm wondering what's the catch.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

There is probably an annual cap on Benefits.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I'm not in Virginia but I have Delta Dental now and they are awful. Mine is paid by my employer and I have no choice about it or options for a different company. But the cost to my employer is less than what you stated and there is an annual $1500 cap. I think they do cover 50% of root canals. I suspect you can do better by shopping around in a market like Virginia. If you can pay $516 for a year of coverage you may just come out ahead, especially since a root canal usually needs a crown and that may be extra. If you were quoted $2000 for a root canal plus crown that is actually not a bad price. But I would still shop around for the insurance if not the dentist.

 

[Pluperfect]

The OP downloaded the contract and said there's no annual cap on benefits. That's also what the website says:

https://www.deltadentalva.com/individual-dental-insurance/individual-plans.html

However, the receptionist said it would cover the root canal at 50%, but it's actually a copay, of $575. For a root canal she says costs $2,000. That merits investigation.

I've never been a fan of dental insurance, mainly because of the annual cap. But this Clear Plus plan doesn't have one, and it has stated prices for the various procedures. However, to the OP: check to make sure how ever many root canals and crowns your husband needs will be covered. I found a Clear Plus document that says the copay for a crown is $740, so I don't think it's the plan that the site I linked to refers to (where the copay is $575), but it does say that it covers "no more than one crown for each covered person every 12 months."

So maybe that's why they can get away with not having an annual cap--maybe they cap the number of procedures it will cover, and that's not made clear on "summary" documents. Check the terms carefully.

I think I'm back to just self-insuring for dental.

 

[Bamaman]

Isn't a $2,000 charge for a root canal excessive?

We have a local husband/wife team of endodontists that have been charging $850 but have recently gone up to $1,000. That's cash or check only--no cards or insurance accepted.

My dentist referred me to an endodontist 40 miles away that takes BCBS dental coverage and he was more like $675. Then I went back to my dentist for a crown that was carved off a solid piece of porcelain in 6 minutes--$750.

We have BCBS dental coverage @ $33 a month. Covers 50% on crowns and root canals with a $1,500 max per year.

I'm just sorry that the prices of dental services are not consistent from region to region.

 

[Pluperfect]

I'm just sorry that the prices of dental services are not consistent from region to region.

I'll say they aren't. A root canal plus crown in the suburbs of Denver last year was $2,700, and that allegedly included a discount. It did seem high, but what do I know about dental prices?