Selecting
the right dental plan involves a lot of factors which have to be considered
with due care.
Dental
insurance plans are basically agreements between the employer and the insurance
company. Most plans offered by dental insurance companies allow for part
reimbursement of dental treatment expenses. Many plans also discourage certain
kind of treatments or allow access to certain of dentists. To consider these
points one has to go through the plan very carefully with a toothcomb. For
example choosing a dentist is not same as choosing a dentist from “the list”,
or if the plan does not cover one kind of treatment, it is wrong to infer that
your regular dentist is incompetent.
Many plans do not
cover pre existing conditions. Some may not cover implants and so on. Due to
these preconditions, the final treatment may be paid for in part only or in
insurance parlance you might be reimbursed for LEAT (Lease Expensive
Alternative Treatment). Dental insurance plans vary in fixing the UCR (usual,
customary, and reasonable) in a certain geographical area. UCR may vary from
plan to plan and company to company despite operating in the same area.
Therefore fixation of this UCR level would define the liability of the patient.
In some plans the patient may have to pay more and in some he may have to pay
less depends upon the plan the employer has offered.
