Dental insurance plans are eminent for its waiting period in almost all types of services. One of the reasons for this could be that the demand for dental makeup is rising high and everyone wishes to have a bright, radiant smile. Unlike general insurance and health insurance, while enrolling for dental insurance, you might be astonished by the unexpected waiting time period.
The coverage takes a lot of time for its operational use after the enrolment. The onset of services is usually started a while later after the enrolment is done. Hence in case of an emergency, if you enroll for dental insurance, do not expect it to be at your hand in no time. Thus it is always advisable to have a dental insurance plan well in advance because the delay period is absolutely uncertain. It could range for a six-month delay to a year-long delay.
There are of course ways to get away from the delay period and avail the insurance plan at a faster pace. But for the same, one needs to have a thorough knowledge of the dental insurance industry. A company can sell its plans at a higher price seeing an urgent demand or the need.
Dental Insurance Plans:
To avoid getting stuck in this kind of trap, one should always consult a contractor or an agent before buying an insurance plan. The waiting period seldom drifts away people from signing up. Hence nowadays companies are coming up with plans that offer insurance with lesser delay.
There are insurance companies which offer almost zero waiting period for preventive and diagnostic services. There are alternatives to dental insurance plans also. These include group plans, PPO and discount dental plans.
Group Plan
This type of plan is mainly offered or organized by an organization or the employer. There is no waiting period involved in the group plan as it is an employer or organization sponsored group plan. With the plans being offered by the company itself, they have everything well planned and organized in advance, hence there is no waiting period.
Most of the employees prefer using the group plan as it allows them to attain the dental insurance plan instantaneously. The company buys the best health insurance plans in bulk and hence it gets major discounts and offers on the same. There is timely delivery of plans as well by the insurance provider to the whole of the organization. Not only is the group plan cost-effective but also time-efficient.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)
PPO is a playground wherein the players are closely knitted together though a shared network. PPO is a game of networking and connecting with various people on all grounds. You can easily ace the game if you have a good network. In case of dental insurance plans, the insurer prefers to provide the insurance first to those who are in his or her network or contacts.
Hence the name, ‘preferred’ provider organization. Since the plan is provided on the basis of the preference, there is no waiting period and one can easily avail the plan by leveraging their robust connections. In this type of insurance, the preferred provider gives the reference of a dentist who is in the insurer’s network.
The plan covers various advantages at different rates and degrees. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield has a plan with no waiting period that offers preventative services and many other types of non-surgical procedures. United Health One is yet another example that fits into the PPO category. Some of the major surgical procedures and treatments may delay the waiting period but that can be easily curtailed if someone is choosing some other dental insurance plan.
Discount Dental Plan
The discount dental plan is not exactly the type of insurance plan but is a facilitator of the same. The main point of difference in the dental insurance plans and discount dental plan is that in the later you are supposed to pay the annual fee, unlike in the former where the pay can be made in monthly installments.
A dental discount card is provided to the insurance holder which he or she needs to show whenever they visit a dentist to avail their services. The card helps the holder to overall obtain certain discounts on dental services.
A major drawback for dentists in this plan is that the dentists do not get reimbursed for offering they gave at a discounted price. Hence the discounted dental plan only works for whose companies who share a good relationship with a dentist and can convince the practitioner to provide the discount, provided the former brings in more customers to the door.
A lot of negotiations go into deciding a discounted price rate in order to create a win-win situation for all. Just like other plans mentioned above, this one also does not hold any waiting period, which is yet another advantage coupled with the other advantages on the table.
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List of Best Dental Insurance Plans:
The six dental insurance plans with no waiting periods are the specific dental insurers which are as listed below:
1. Delta Dental
Delta’s plans are designed in a way that they offer no waiting period for services such Type I diagnosis and other preventive services which include x-ray tests, dental examinations, mouth cleanings, and many more. Delta Dental is a plan that will cover 100% of the Type I services in its insurance plan.
The type II services will be covered at a percentage of 70%. The type II services include filling the gaps in the teeth, extracting the tooth, root canal. The difference between type I and type II is that the latter has a six month waiting period.
There are this level of services also which are popular for the type III services. These include big, major procedures such as enamel recovery, dentures. These services have a waiting period of around 12 to 24 months.
2. Humana
Humana dental plans differs from state to state and condition to condition. It is quite subjective in nature. While some plans under Humana have no waiting period, the others have a six month-long waiting period for some major services such as fillings, oral surgery, dentures.
A plan by Humana called the HumanaOne Dental Loyalty Plus program helps in getting immediate coverage. Reason being, there is no waiting period. This program has an additional benefit that it offers no waiting period even for the oral surgeries.
The intriguing part with Humana is that initially, in the beginning, the coverage amounts are at a lower percentage. As the year increases, the coverage amount and percentage rises as well. It is on the peak in this third year of the plan.
3. Cigna
Cigna’s Dental plan has many offers. The 1500 Plan provides a wide range of benefits. It has 100% in-network coverage for services such as various examinations, X-ray scanning, mouth fillings, and cleanings. These services offers with zero waiting period.
The catch here is that the services mentioned are offered with no waiting time only to those who had their dental coverage previously. Other services which are basic in nature have a six-month-long waiting. The major services have a one year wait period.
The magic of using the plan of Cigna is that it waives off the waiting period for basic and major services if a full proof is shown and is accepting of the previous dental insurance with Cigna. The scheme is put forth such that it offers $1,000-lifetime orthodontic benefit with major services, with only a one-time $50 deductible.
4. Spirit Dental
Spirit Dental is popular for providing full dental coverage for all the types and levels of services. This unique feature makes it the most user-friendly. One condition that hinders the advantage of the waiting period is the state of your residence or the locality.
Basis the locality, the dentists differ and so the services. Hence if in a given area if the network, the known dentist is not located, it becomes difficult to provide a plan for that place at no waiting period. The coverage also differs from the conditions put by the state rules and regulations.
The Spirit Dental has plans ranging from Spirit MaxCare Silver to Spirit MaxCare Gold to Spirit Dental Indemnity Gold. The cost of the services keeps on going up until the third year. After that it can settle for a higher annual maximum on the basis of the premium you decide to pay.
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5. Denali Dental
Denali Dental is another company in the top list of companies that have no waiting periods for any type of service. It helps by offering a multi-range of coverage which is largely relies upon the premium you pay. It is just like Spirit Dental. The coverage increases with the increase in the number of years. The coverage amounts and rates vary geographically due to various state regulations.
6. Physicians Mutual
Physicians Mutual is the plan for those who reside in an area where dental care is at a cost that is inexpensive in nature. The plans and policies of this company have no waiting period for services which look into preventative care. For the basic services, there is a waiting period of three months. And for the major services, the waiting period goes up to twelve months. On the basis of the plan you opt, the company pays a decided amount for each service or procedure, irrespective of the location you reside in.
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