If you don’t read dental insurance policies for fun in your spare time – you’re not alone! However, unless you take the time to familiarize yourself with your unique benefit plan, you may be missing out on making the most of your dental insurance. Fortunately for most patients, a knowledgeable dentistry team is familiar with all the ins and out of dental insurance, and what’s even more important, they’re happy to help you make the most of your coverage. Keep reading to find out more about maximizing your year end dental insurance benefits.
How Dental Insurance Coverage Works
Before we talk specifically about maximizing dental insurance, let’s review some of the fundamentals.
- In-network coverage – means a dentist has a contract with an insurer who then determines what prices, materials, and services can be used for patients covered by their policies.
- Out of network coverage – dentists process and file insurance claims, but they are not beholden to any insurer when it comes to what treatments and materials to use.
- Maximums – the highest amount the dental insurance company will pay during any plan year.
- Deductibles – the highest amount you will pay out of pocket within any dental plan year before your insurance provider offers full coverage.
- Copays – are predetermined prices you pay in agreement with your insurance plan in addition to a percentage of treatment costs.
Maximize Your Dental Insurance Coverage
A good dental team will help you make the most of your benefit plan. For instance, if you’ve already met your annual deductible through copays and other out pocket costs without exceeding coverage maximums, you may want to consider one or more necessary treatments that would be covered entirely by your plan after you’ve met the deductible. Additionally, the dentist can make the most of your annual maximums by splitting an advanced treatment into smaller procedures completed and processed in two different plan years, so your insurance will cover more of the cost. The easiest way to maximize dental insurance is to keep up to date on all of your preventive dentistry needs. Most plans cover preventive dental care at 80 to 100%, so these treatments are going to have the least out of pocket costs. When patients keep up with preventive care, they are less likely to need the more advanced dental treatments that are covered at a lower percentage.
Meet Dr. Passidomo
If you’re looking for a dentist in Centerville who will help you maximize your dental insurance before the end of the year, it’s time to pay a visit to the dentistry practice of Daniel J. Passidomo, DMD. He and his trusted dentistry team are happy to process and file dental insurance claims to help patients get the most out of their dental benefit plan before any remaining coverage is lost. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our knowledgeable team any time of year to find out more about your dental insurance policy. We’re always here to help.