Question:
I have no health/dental insurance, age 23, living in New York City.
Does anyone know anything about how to get affordable dental coverage?
Have you heard anything about Careington Dental plan or Ameriplan?
Are these plans good?
I will need braces on my teeth, so I want to find out what dental plan
will help me most because braces cost about $4500 in total. I talked
to the orthordontist but he just gave me a vague idea. Maybe he
doesn't want to give a specific name/dental plan.
Answer:
Any "plan" that you purchase as an individual is not likely to help.
Plans like Ameriplan are a losing proposition for the dentist who is
honest. I participated in a similar "plan" when I was a little baby
dentist about 25 years ago.
If you can get on a dental plan through your place of employment, the
story might be different.
Another thing to consider, is that the vast majority of dental plans DO NOT
cover orthodontic treatment for adults. Usually age 19 is the cut-off age.
Definitely something to check.
You are asking for something which does not exist. You cannot buy fire
insurance for your house after the fire starts. You cannot buy theft
insurance for your car after being car-jacked. No insurance carrier is
going to sell you an individual policy that is going to pay more than they
take in premiums. The insurance carrier will insist on a profit over and
above what they pay out. To obtain $4,500 orthodontic insurance coverage on
your own, (no large group to spread the risk out over), will cost you $4,500
plus a profit for the carrier--so figure $5,000.
The discount plans could reduce your out-pf-pocket costs, but beware. Many
offices participating in these plans will use the Bait-and-switch tactic.
Lure you in for something cheap on the plan, but sell you something big not
on the plan.
Your best bet is just like a used car. Get a loan and make payments. Your
dental office should be able to arrange the entire loan process for you.
I agree. If your general oral health is good, pay as you go! If your on your
own, without the benefit of a large group to buy with, it's cheaper this way.
Start a bank account just for dental, put in $35 a month and call that your
dental insurance.
With braces on you won't need xrays, if you keep your teeth clean, you're
likely not to need fillings or complicated dental hygiene visits.
Do I sound like somebody's mother?
I always participated in Medicaid plans, even though they paid say $19 for an extraction, whether
easy or difficult. In my mind somewhere, I rationalized that all people, human beings, should not
have to put up with the agony of a dental disaster regardless of financial position ...... (Best
film of this genre is "Affliction" with Nick Nolte .....)
Along comes this AmeriPlan with people making more, lots more money than I do, and they have an
expection of the same welfare-style discounts ........
What a rude awakening is in store for them ,,,,,,,,,,
Life in America, the good the bad ..........
I think you're taking a very snotty attitude. The fact is medical
insurance DOES cover needed medical procedures that save thousands of
dollars for those who have it. There is no reason why dental insurance
shouldn't be the same. Not everyone can afford to spend $4500 on
dentistry, in fact many can't. I think you have some nerve, sitting
there with your high income as a dentist and putting other people down
for looking for an insurance plan that might make dental work
affordable!
Dentistry should be just like medicine: it should be available and
affordable for all people!
