Orthodonitic Insurance

[dalton165]

My son is going to need braces. I wanted to know if anyone has or knows of a good insurance company that covers some of the costs.

thanks

 

[jmartinez1895]

We have BCBS and our plan covers 90 % of the cost. I have heard that Alfa has good dental plans as well, but not sure what they cover.

 

[dalton165]

thanks I'll look into it

 

[dd50]

My son is going to need braces. I wanted to know if anyone has or knows of a good insurance company that covers some of the costs.

thanks

Most won't pay if it is preexisting so read the fine print.

 

[ceecee]

I have been in the dental field for a long while and have never heard of 90% coverage. Most is 50% up to a lifetime maximum of $1500-2000. Also a lot of plans that you purchase on your own have higher premiums and a waiting period so check that as well.

 

[Cindy B]

CIGNA dental has decent orthodontic coverage.. we've been happy.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Both my DHs insurance and my companys insurance ( I don't have it, but I know the coverage), covers $1000 lifetime. I thought this was pretty standard in the industry. If you can find 90%, that's amazing.

 

[stitchlovestink]

we have MetLife dental.
Our plan covers 50% up to $2500. Ours just went from $2,000 to $2,500 in 2010.
AND.... if you have MetLife and your ortho is an 'in network' they cannot balance bill you and can only charge you the 'allowable' amount according to the MetLife Contract which 'can be' a huge plus!!!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We have Guardian Dental thru DH's employer and they pay $1,000 maximum for orthodontia.

 

[DebMcDonald]

We have Delta Dental through our employer and they cover $1400 lifetime max.

 

[drinkme]

we have MetLife dental.
Our plan covers 50% up to $2500. Ours just went from $2,000 to $2,500 in 2010.
AND.... if you have MetLife and your ortho is an 'in network' they cannot balance bill you and can only charge you the 'allowable' amount according to the MetLife Contract which 'can be' a huge plus!!!

We also have MetLife and it only covers a max of $1000. Our share is around $5000.
I'll have to look into the "in network" coverage.

 

[mandalyn]

I work for an insurance company as a dental underwriter, the co-pay and maximum are determined by your employer. There are many employers that cover anywhere from 50% - 90% of the service up to a lifetime maximum..generally that amount is anywhere from $1000 - $2000 on average but can vary by employer. Note that the co-pay is not as important as the lifetime amount. Whether the plan pays 50% or 90% they will ultimately only pay whatever the lifetime maximum is because the total cost of ortho treatment is in the $5000 - $6000 range.

You would be looking in to an individual dental plan which you will probably have to get a family plan and as a previous poster noted there will probably be waiting periods, like 12 or 24 months enrollment in the plan before the plan will pay. So make sure you total up your total premium costs per month before the plan will pay all of the maximum to see if it is cost adventageous for you.

 

[Kitzka]

We have both Guardian through DH's employeer and Delta through mine. The Guardian plan covers $1500 lifetime for braces but my Delta plan covers $1500 per year. It's how the plan was written with our respective employeers.

The first year of the braces we maxed out the Guardian plan and were not able to use any of the Delta plan. this year we were able to get about $900 from the Delta plan. I was thrilled that our out of pocket is going to be a little less than anticipated.

lara

 

[ceecee]

You will probably find it hard to find a decent orthodontist "in network" just because of the huge write offs. I know in our area, it's hard to find a decent general dentist in network let alone a specialist.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Our United Healthcare Dental coverage is $1000 for a lifetime. Sadly, braces are WAY more expensive than just $1000. I think the retainer comes next. I can't wait to find out how much THAT will set us back.

 

[valleygirl]

We have Metlife through DH's employer and they covered $2,000 for each of our kids' braces. Not sure if the max has gone up since DS got his braces off 8 years ago and DD got hers off 2 years ago.

 

[mickeyboat]

Check to see if you have an HSA available through your employer. You can put away money weekly tax free into the fund and use it for braces. Make sure you get all the details of the plan though to make sure you can carry over balances from year to year and to make sure you can use it for orthodontics.