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Health Plan Add-Ons: Dental and Vision Coverage

Many health insurance plans exclude dental care and vision care. You may want to consider adding these coverages to your small business's array of benefits.

Dental and vision expenses differ from medical expenses. Dental care is largely focused on preventative care, since examinations and x-rays are often all it takes to diagnose a problem and inaugurate a course of treatment that will prevent major dental disease. Likewise, vision care focuses on regular checkups and the fitting of glasses or contact lenses.

Most often, examinations, diagnoses, and treatments in both dental and vision care involve only a single practitioner, rather than a number of specialists.

For these reasons, dental and vision expenses are much more predictable than medical expenses, and the cost of dental and vision insurance is generally quite affordable.

Nearly 50 percent of Americans are now covered by dental insurance plans. Increased access to regular dental care has dramatically reduced the incidence of dental problems, including dental decay. Half of today's children have never had a cavity.

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The small business owner considering a dental benefit plan has two options:

• A dental service corporation is a non-profit organization that negotiates and administers dental care contracts. Delta Dental Plan and Blue Cross/Blue Shield are two major dental service corporations.
  
  
• Insurance carriers are for-profit companies that underwrite the financial risk of, and process payment claims for, dental services. MetLife, for example, provides a PPO with over 80,000 participating dentists.

Dental plans fall under three main categories:

• Indemnity plans pay the dentist on a traditional fee-for-service basis, typically between 50 and 80 percent, with the covered individual paying the remainder. There may also be a deductible.
  
  
• Capitation plans, including Dental Health Maintenance Organizations (DHMOs), provide comprehensive care to covered individuals through designated provider dentists. Co-payments may be required for each visit.
  
  
• Direct reimbursement plans are self-funded plans in which the business owner reimburses a certain percentage of employees' dental expenses, up to a maximum amount.

Dental insurance plans do have their limitations. Certain services - for example, orthodontics - are often excluded.

Similarly, vision insurance is a cost-effective benefit that many of your employees will require, often on an on-going basis. Nearly all companies that offer health insurance policies also offer vision insurance. Some, such as Humana, offer vision insurance at no additional charge to employees who are covered by a HumanaDental plan.

Request a quote from a carrier offering Small Business add-ons in your area >>