Yeah, I know - you don't have "benefits" because you don't work for a corporation. Or you have your own plan but it's basically just major medical and it costs you an arm and leg each quarter. That's what I have through Horizon BC BS NJ and believe me, it ain't cheap. In this economy I know that I'm not alone in wondering how I can get better bang for my buck and make my money stretch farther.
So let me introduce you to something I recently discovered: Dental Plans (www.dentalplans.com)
I'm talking about nationwide, consumer-driven, discount, dental plans and healthcare savings programs many of which have additional programs as an alternative to dental insurance.
For an additional $150.00 per year for an individual or $200.00 for a family you can enjoy discounts of 30%-60% on dental services. There are no health restrictions, no annual limits on program usage, no paperwork hassles, no referrals required to see a specialist and orthodontia is included (for those of you with teens or a mid-life crisis). Additionally, many plans have additional features and discounts such as: 24 hour nurse hotline, emergency travel assistance, senior care advocacy, and discounts for prescriptions, vision care, behavioral counseling, hearing, alternative medicine, chiropractic service, physical therapy, diabetes supplies, and health club memberships.
These aren't insurance plans, rather memberships in a discount program that helps reduce the expense of obtaining care and treatment helping you save on everything from: routine cleanings and filings, crowns & root canals, orthodontics, bridges, and emergency and specialized dental needs.
My sister recently needed emergency root canal which included a temporary crown and then the final porcelain crown. For those of you who know, that's a pretty pricey set of dental visits, often costing upwards of $2000. Using her dental plan she was able to save well over $600 on the total cost.
How does this work? By aggregating the purchasing power of hundreds of thousands of consumers nationwide so that members take advantage of deeply discounted fees usually reserved only for insurance companies and health care plans.
No. It's not an insurance plan. It's a membership based, discount, dental program that will help you reduce your costs of obtaining care and treatment.
And yes, if you choose a plan that has additional programs like discounts on prescriptions and eye care you can use your discount plan along with your current insurance for even greater savings.
So check out www.dentalplans.com online. You can look up your general dentist and see what plans they accept. Mine accepts 3 different plans. I choose Alliance HealthCard Gold Card which was the most comprehensive of the 3 plans and cost me $150.00 per year. Given that I never miss a check-up or cleaning, I'll save that much easily in a year. I also wear contacts and glasses and require several on going prescription medications. My plan will also get me discounts at LensCrafters for my eye exams, contacts and glasses and on my prescriptions at Target - both places I currently shop. And if I should require anything additional, well, then that will be just money in the bank.
Lastly, let me be clear on one point - this is not an insurance policy and is not regulated by state departments of insurance and does not give you comprehensive health coverage. It is not a substitute for health insurance coverage. Just simply a "discount plan" that provides the member with savings on medical, dental, vision, hearing, prescription, counseling, and other related services.
However, if you are one of those people who cannot get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, health discount plans are sometimes a good solution as most do not exclude you from joining.
All that said, I hope this will help you save money during this challenging economy.
