Dental/Vision Insurance Recommendations

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I'm losing my Cobra Insurance in a couple of months and I think I've figured out a reasonable policy for Vision with Humana Insight plan. I've not been able to find a reasonable dental Insurance plan so far. I did talk to my dentist who said many plans are not worth the premium cost and I may want to just go with their cash price. My gums are receding a bit but nothing major. Last year I had 2 dental checkups and 2 cleanings with the hygienist and the year before the same plus a broken tooth that resulted in a bridge. I'm a great believer that if you have insurance nothing bad will happen so I'm loath to just drop the insurance without fully checking all my options. Any advice?

 

[travelover]

Most here don't carry dental or vision insurance unless it is subsidized by an employer or former employer. If you do a search here, this has been discussed at length multiple times.

 

[Senator]

If you are a Veteran, they have veterans dental insurance through Delta Dental which is not too bad.

 

[kaneohe]

..................... I did talk to my dentist who said many plans are not worth the premium cost and I may want to just go with their cash price. My gums are receding a bit but nothing major. Last year I had 2 dental checkups and 2 cleanings with the hygienist and the year before the same plus a broken tooth that resulted in a bridge. I'm a great believer that if you have insurance nothing bad will happen so I'm loath to just drop the insurance without fully checking all my options. Any advice?

I was/maybe still am a believer in that the dentist said. You get limited benefits......typ. 1-2K. Still,under the conditions,it might make sense. I had the same receding gums.....or maybe the dentist thinks I was brushing incorrectly so I had deep grooves just above gumline on many teeth. Dentist proposed filling them which would have been a significant cost. Convinced myself that the AARP Dental PPO was reasonable and accepted by dentist.
Surprisingly to me cavities are covered immediately (not crowns and some others which must wait 1 yr) and so these accumulated filling plus the2 regular checks/cleaning/X-rays will be more than the premiums the first yr. After that
the benefit becomes questionable except, as you say, to ward off the evil spirits.

 

[Midpack]

I have Manhattan Life dental-hearing-vision Insurance. But I’ve filed one claim and it didn’t help much, and it has a cap so it won’t cover any big dental expense, so I’m not sure it’s going to prove to be worth having, we’ll see.

 

[VanWinkle]

I have company subsidized Delta Dental Insurance in retirement. It costs about the same as 2 checkups with cleanings per year, so I come out even if no fillings. I just completed a root canal and my share was 150.00 and it pays the balance. I asked my dentist about the plan, and he said the premium was low so I should probably keep it.

 

[Bir48die]

I have Delta Dental since coming off Cobra. I’ve had a crown done each year and two checkups. It’s saved me maybe a few hundred dollars a year if I did OOP

 

[Spock]

Even when I had an employer dental plan, the premiums where more than if I just paid out of pocket... The dentist's charge was $85 cash, $80 "U&P" rate. Annual benefits were capped (no pun intended) so low that max benefits paid would equal the annual premiums. The only benefit was lower negotiated rates per procedure... BUT... negotiated rates don't disclose the dentist's cash price.
Do some math with the plans you have available and see what you get.

 

[kfsinc]

I just went on COBRA -- stayed with my Dental plan @$50 per month. Pretty much break even if I need any work. Generally very good dental health, so I may be over insured.

I dropped the $9/month Vision as I never really used. I buy glasses/contacts online for significantly less than retail, and a bi-annual refraction. However I need to confirm that cataracts or other age related eye issues are 'medical' and not vision. I may need to re-think the vision.

I have several friends who are MDs and Dentists - all are open to 'cash' discounts as they are all in private practice.

 

[Aerides]

I have a discount plan with my dentist, we pay an annual fee which includes cleanings and normal visits, then offers a discount on big stuff if it comes up.

Similar to the Delta Dental program offered through costco (includes CA, not all states).

 

[WestUniversity]

I have Delta Dental through a website called eHealth Insurance. The plan I’ve got is similar to my old plan with MegaCorp. When I bought it they linked me in to a benefit group called Morgan White Group. Through that group we also get member discounts like we do through AAA, although not quite as extensive...

 

[ziggy29]

It's worth checking to see if your dentist is part of any discount plan (not insurance) or if they offer a discount for cash payment up front. Many will. Some also have plans where you pay so much per year for preventative cleanings and X-rays as recommended, and then significant discounts on additional work.

These are not traditional "insurance" since these have no claim forms and you pay up front, but if your dentist offers anything like these, it makes paying for non-subsidized dental insurance an even tougher sell.