Orthodontic insurance anyone?

[bjscheel]

Just back from the dentist...anybody have orthodontic insurance? If so, how did you like it and where did you get it? Apparently both kids are a mess

 

[Magic Mom]

Our dental insurance has orthodontic coverage, but it doesn't cover a whole lot. It pays out 1500 total lifetime per child and nothing for me. Braces came to about 4800 for DS. So I still had a large out of pocket expense.

 

[Snoozan]

I've never heard of orthodontic insurance - it's usually added as a rider to a Dental plan. Do you have dental insurance? If so, call to see if they cover ortho. Even if they do - most plans cover like $1000 or $1500, but I hear some plans now cover $2K or more.

 

[mjkacmom]

Our dental insurance covers $1500, leaving us to pay $5000 per child.

 

[bjscheel]

The dentist brought it up. Usually dental insurance doesn't cover it, he said you have to get ortho insurance. We are actually adding the kids to DH's plan next month, and if you don't sign up for the dental now, you can't do it unless there is an 'event'. But it specifically excludes ortho. So that won't help anyway. Googling yields some results with info about ortho ins, but not necessarily from companies that you can purchase it from.

 

[Cindy B]

The dentist brought it up. Usually dental insurance doesn't cover it, he said you have to get ortho insurance. We are actually adding the kids to DH's plan next month, and if you don't sign up for the dental now, you can't do it unless there is an 'event'. But it specifically excludes ortho. So that won't help anyway. Googling yields some results with info about ortho ins, but not necessarily from companies that you can purchase it from.

I would check with your HR/benefits rep at work. I'm saying that some dentists know a little bit about a lot of health plans, but they know a lot about teeth. (I would be checking the health insurance with the insurance counselor/office manager/billing rep in the dental office)

Secondly, I would go to an orthodontist for a consult, not a dentist. The dentist, while good, does not have the specialized training an practical experience an ortho has in straightening teeth.

My ortho coverage for both my kids was about $2100/2400. It paid for about 1/2 of it. I then used FSA account to fund the difference, so we got a tax break, a cash up front discount at the ortho and no bills!

 

[nexttrip4us]

Both mine and DH's dental insurance have ortho coverage...between the two I got 3500 leaving us with about 1300 out of pocket which we paid with FSA dollars...not too bad! Haven't heard of "specific" ortho coverage...

 

[torinsmom]

Guess I was lucky! My ex's dental insurance covered ortho for $1000 per year. So it paid $2000 of the $4300 bill.

OP, you might want to find an ortho that does a no downpayment payment plan. DS's ortho was like that and it was really helpful. And double check that the insurance doesn't cover ortho.

Marsha

 

[bjscheel]

We will be going to an orthodontist when the time comes...

DH's and the kids health insurance we purchase ourselves. I just got the book today with the app to add the kids to the insurance and it says excludes ortho. So what companies do you have that cover some ortho? This is Wellmark BC/BS.

 

[golfgal]

Our dental insurance didn't cover orthodontia so I looked into AFLAC. With the AFLAC plan you had to have the coverage for 2 years and then it would only reimburse monthly for your expenses but you still had to pay premiums, which were the same as my monthly payment at the ortho. It would have cost more to have the AFLAC then just pay out of pocket. If you had 3 kids in braces at the exact same time it would have been worth the coverage but any less than that and it would have cost more then just paying the ortho.

 

[tvguy]

My company offered an optional orthodonic policy.
Premium was $27.75 a month per covered person, and required a 3 year commitment to the plan.
The benefit was limited to $1,000 per person.
They I did the math, $27.75 per month premium x 36 months = $999 !!! Wow, my insurance company was kicking in a whole dollar above the premiums.
Our orthodontist offered 0% interest over a set period of time and easy ayments. We did that with our oldest.
The orthodontist also offered 25% off the price if you paid in cash up front. We did that with our youngest due to a windfall from an inheritance.

So I have come to the conclusion, that generally speaking, orthodontic insurance is a waste of time.

 

[Cat0727]

I'm covered under my boyfriend's insurance and it pays about $2700 of the total cost of treatment. However this is city insurance and the orthodontists that take it...well, let's just say you get what you pay for.

 

[Art 1]

Ours covered come of the costs.

 

[bjscheel]

The benefit was limited to $1,000 per person.
They I did the math, $27.75 per month premium x 36 months = $999 !!! Wow, my insurance company was kicking in a whole dollar above the premiums.

This is what I'm afraid of. It's like our health insurance- some people would rather pay the higher premiums for a lower deductible, but if you take the time to add it up, they are paying just as much in definite premiums as we would have to IF we actually had to meet our deductible. Insurance isn't always a great deal I'm thinking I will just pay as we go, IF we have to do all this. I actually grew out of my underbite, I don't suppose that's typical.

 

[mom2boys]

We looked into it. It covers $1500 per kid but it had a two year waiting period. We felt we'd waited long enough. The boys were both in high school already. We didn't want oldest still in braces his senior year.