Choosing the right plan, questions to ask, etc.
I've been doing a bit of research on choosing the right dental plan that will meet my family's needs. I've written before about my own little dramas when it comes to going to the dentist and my baby girl #2 having dental surgery at the tender age of 3.
Although I do make sure my children get all of their medical needs taken care of, i.e., vision, medical, dental, it's never as perfect as I would want it to be. Because there never seems to be enough money to take care of everything that needs to be looked after all at once and so some things gets put off until they can be taken care of.
If you have never had to do this in your lifetime, lucky you! If you're a working parent or individual who have had to do this, then you know where I'm coming from!
Choosing the right doctors and dentists can be a daunting task. Even choosing the right optician can be daunting although there are so many places around now that will take care of your vision needs in an hour, not all of them can do what you need them to do.
I like having a relationship with the person who is taking care of our family's needs, one wherein I know I can call them up at a moments notice, ask a question, get an emergency visit and be fitted into the schedule, and they have to be able to take the time to 'visit' with us when we have our appointments.
Have you ever been to the doctor or dentist and wait for over an hour and then when you finally sit in the 'chair' you get only five minutes with the doctor? Talk about dental or medical nightmares!
So last year when I had to choose from Open Enrollment from my job, I decided not to sign us up for a dental plan anymore. Why? Because it's been a waste of time! I've had them withdrawn money for the entire year, over $200 for my family plan, and have barely used their services! It's not entirely the plans fault, I'll be honest about that. We've been on the routine and preventative care which still cost out of pocket for each of us for each visits. It makes me wonder why the heck did I pay that monthly premium!
However, the things that needs to be done for each of us are going to require some extensive work and it's going to cost. Now since I was unable to come up with all of that money all at once and that's times 5 mind you, I decided to take a different approach for this year.
Firstly, I increased our reimbursable account, that is money is withdrawn from my salary (and my hubby's) for a certain amount. Whenever we have a medical, optician or dental visit, I can have those fees reimbursed.
Secondly, I plan to have the one with the most dental problem taken care of first, namely hubby. Then baby girl #1 (who is not a baby anymore, but she's still my baby!) will have to have her wisdom teeth out, that means oral surgery - yikes! Then the routine visits will be taken care of as needed for all three kids and me. I need some care too, but as usual, I'm on the back burner.
Thirdly, after doing my research on the plans that are out there, via the Internet of course, I found one that will suit our needs. They offer individual and family plans and they have some dentists in my area that aren't too far away. I won't regale you with the tale when we were on the dental plan from my work of having to go to the dentist and not realising that said dentist was 43 miles away until we got there! Needless to say we didn't go back!
I placed a link in the comments of my last blog [about the 12 year old boy dying of a toothache] to a website where you can find out more about dental plans offered in your area if you don't already have a plan with your job. That link is: Link
Here are some of the questions to ask when making the decision about which dental plan is right for you:
(1) Does the plan allow you to choose your own dentist? - i.e, can you use the dentist you already have or will it have to be their own?
(2) Are there restrictions when choosing the best treatment options? - i.e., is their a cap on how many visits you can have, etc.?]
(3) What does the plan cover? - i.e., what type of dental care will you have, cleaning, root canal, planing...etc.?
(4) Who is covered under the plan you choose - i.e., each family members, Aunt Sally who lives with you?
(5) Can you schedule appointments anytime? -i.e., how flexible are they with appointments?
(6) Will you be saving any money on the plan you choose? - i.e., if a plan is available through your employer, is that a less expensive plan?
I'm linking the source for the questions I've stated above, it's a very good article and has some great recommendation.
Link
I also recommend reading this article - Link
Here's to having better dental care!