United Health One Dental Insurance?

[Tinkerbelle32]

Evening all! Just wondering if anyone had United Health One for their dental insurance. Since my hubby retired from the air force in May, we have been without dental insurance. Just paid out of pocket for the last round of cleanings. We could go with the retiree dental plan, but the monthly premium seems very high to me at $110. I came across this plan and just wanted any pros and or cons. Should mention that this plan will run $75 a month. Thanks! Jenn

 

[disneymarie]

Subing interested to hear.
Our local comm. college has a dental hygenist program and clean free, or near free. Had just learned about this.

 

[3boymthr]

Hi,

I don't have their insurance but I am an insurance underwriter.

At those rates you are definitely covering 100% of premium so here are some things you should look at before leaping.

What are the costs of your families dental cleanings? Add those up, do they exceed 50% of the cost of insurance premiums or even 100% of the cost. At $110 the annual premium is $1320. At $75 the annual premium is $900. If yes, then the plan is worth considering, if no and you all have good teeth and no one is approaching the age that they need wisdom teeth removed, then you may want to re-think insurance.

If you decide you want to go with insurance some things to think about when comparing plans:

99.99% of dental insurance has an annual maximum. What is the maximum on each plan. Is the maximum $750, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 or $4,000. So if the $110 plan has a $2,000 vs a $750 for the $75 plan you would proably want to go with the $110 plan as you are getting much more bang for your buck.

What is the deductible on each plan? Are you getting a $25 or $50 and how many times must you meet the deductible per family?

What are the benefit limits? 100% preventive /80% basic /50 % major /50% ortho or 100 major /50basic /50 major or 50/50/50 or 80/50/50, etc. and are there any excluded benefits and does your preventive apply to the deductible.

HTH.

 

[Krischaser]

Hi--I have a question. Can I email the diser who said they are an insurance underwriter? Thanks

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Thanks 3boymthr for your advice! There is a $50 dedectible, but you do not pay that on preventative, ie cleaning, ex-ray, exams. That is mainly what I'm looking for right now. There would be 4 of us on the plan. If we paid out of pocket again, it would be about $125 each. So a total of $500. We were told that we could cancel at any time. There is a 6 month wait on all other work besides preventative work. There is a $1,000 cap per person, but like I said right now I'm mainly concentrating on the ex-rays, cleanings, etc. They pay 80% of fillings, etc. and 50% for the major work. Seems the same as with our policy when hubby was still in the military. I will call my dentist and see what they think. Thanks so much!!

 

[3boymthr]

A couple more thoughts when looking at the two plans....

Is one a PPO or HMO and one an indemnity plan?

If one is a PPO/HMO make sure your dentist is a participating provider not just with the carrier but with that PLAN. For dental, it makes a difference, believe it or not. Because it could translate into are they covering 100% of the cost or 100% of R&C; which translates to Reasonable and Customary - or generally 80% of the average paid to dentists for your area.

After you look at that then that I'd say a go for it on the $75 plan if they really do have a $1,000 annual maximum as this plan would actually be a break even on just the cleanings or money saver for you if you have to have any fillings or other dental work done after the 6 mo wait is up.

 

[Td1290]

We use Eastern Dental Plan. SAves you 25% off all prices at participating dentists and even saved me a bundle on orthodontics. Annual cost was $199, saved about $1500 in one year with two kids and myself

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Thanks for the reply. I will check them out!

 

[ceecee]

Watch when buying dental ins. if there is a waiting period or a missing tooth clause. I can't tell you how many people get ins over the internet, etc. thinking they can get dentures (missing tooth clause) or their fillings and have a one year wait on anything other than preventative.