Dental Plans

[fisherman]

Has anyone heard of Uni-Care 200 Dental plans? It is a discount plan not insurance.

Now that I have dropped the corporate insurance in favor of a private HSA I am looking to lower dental costs since Dentists typically charge a higher rate for patients without dental insurance. Plans like the one above give you back some control but not all dentists take them. If anyone has used a product like this would you share your experiences?

I have looked at several dental insurance options but the cost does not make it worth while since paying out of pocket seems to be equal.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Couple of things...

You can often negotiate a cash price with any dentist, no cards or discount plans needed.

Many of these plans tend to include dentists that are a bit substandard that are willing to take less to get more customers.

All that having been said, if you cant negotiate a better cash price with a dentist you like, you might find a decent dentist from one of these plans if you vet them carefully.

Sams Club and Costco offer similar "dental HMO" type programs. Maybe at better rates.

 

[mykidslovedogs]

Here is an individual dental plan from Anthem that seems to be fairly priced, and the network seems to be a bit better than the discount networks. Keep in mind there is a 6 month waiting period for fillings and a 12 month waiting period for major services like crowns and root canals. There has to be a waiting period for 2nd and third tier services or else no one would ever buy dental insurance until they needed a root canal. There is no waiting period for preventive services. On the discount plans, there is usually no waiting period, because you're just getting a discount, not true insurance.:

Anthem Blue PPO Dental Plan


If you want a traditional or ANY DENTIST plan, check out this site:

Ameritas Group - home page

 

[mykidslovedogs]

....and a great new individual vision plan that I have recently come across....

Welcome :: Vision Care Direct

I am not sure if they are in every state yet, but the premiums are very affordable, especially if you wear glasses or contacts....or if you are on Medicare and need a plan to pay for materials. I think Medicare pays for an exam, but not materials, so you can use this vision plan to buy a materials only benefit for a very reasonable price.

 

[TromboneAl]

You can often negotiate a cash price with any dentist, no cards or discount plans needed.

Can you elaborate on that, possibly with an example of the dialog?

 

[TromboneAl]

Never mind, I found a video that shows the negotiation process in detail:

YouTube - How to negotiate with your dentist

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Oboy.

Well, the easiest way to do it is to get the price list from one of the 'discount card' people so you have some idea what the 'special' price is.

Then you call your regular dentist, tell them you're going off of the insurance plan, you like them a lot, would like to stay with them, can they offer you a cash discount for paying in full at the time of treatment. Most likely they will. Ask a couple of price questions about a cleaning, filling and basic extractions or onlays.

My dad does this all the time, but then he used to teach the...uh...sport. Dentists, like I imagine all doctors...hate the insurance companies.

 

[Alan]

Never mind, I found a video that shows the negotiation process in detail:

YouTube - How to negotiate with your dentist

Brilliant - my kind of humour

 

[MasterBlaster]

Yeah I really liked the video !

Three Cheers.