Ask HN: What do you use for Dental Insurance?
I am a contractor for a major company. And with that am offered no dental insurance. What do you guys use as cheap && reliable && quality dental insurance.
3 comments
My bank account. Dental care simply isn't expensive enough for me to consider it something I would insure for. Insurance, to me, is for catastrophic events (and medical care, because the US health care system is so screwed up that even day-to-day care is vastly overpriced). Dental care can never cost more than a few thousand dollars in a given year, even in the event of horrible problems...and mostly it's less than a couple hundred each year.
It seems pretty crazy to use your 'bank account' alone, when there are dental plans that cover up to 50% of costs for as little as $100 per year. I am just trying to figure out which one of those is the best option. If anyone here has had a good experience with one of them, please let me/us know.
Crazy? Really? You think it's crazy to not use insurance for something I consider a trivial expense? I also don't insure for optometry care.
That $100 per year is constant. My dental care is usually less than that, even without discounts, and even when it's not, I can comfortably afford to pay for it out of pocket.
I think our culture of insuring for everything vaguely health related is a big part of the problem with our health system, as it takes the decisions out of the hands of the people best able to make them and puts them into the hands of bureaucrats. I'm certainly not going to contribute to breaking dental care by insuring for it, as well.
Anyway, I insure against serious problems, not against normal care. If I could do the same with health care, I would. I shouldn't need to go through my insurance company just to go in for a checkup. It's stupid that it's the way things are done...so I certainly don't want to have the same hassle with dental care (or optometry, or veterinary care for my dog, etc.).
That $100 per year is constant. My dental care is usually less than that, even without discounts, and even when it's not, I can comfortably afford to pay for it out of pocket.
I think our culture of insuring for everything vaguely health related is a big part of the problem with our health system, as it takes the decisions out of the hands of the people best able to make them and puts them into the hands of bureaucrats. I'm certainly not going to contribute to breaking dental care by insuring for it, as well.
Anyway, I insure against serious problems, not against normal care. If I could do the same with health care, I would. I shouldn't need to go through my insurance company just to go in for a checkup. It's stupid that it's the way things are done...so I certainly don't want to have the same hassle with dental care (or optometry, or veterinary care for my dog, etc.).
Let me ask you this: is your opinion of dental insurance in any way related to your age and lifestyle? You have a strong opinion but, from an outsider, it seems that this is one of those, "This works for me therefore it must work for everyone" cases. A family of six with three under the age of 10 would likely have a different perspective. Is it possible that, as you reach 60+ years, your perspective will change? From seeing my own grandparents and parents expenses, I'd guesstimate most elderly spend upwards of $10-$30k on dental work from 60-80.
Let me ask you this: is your opinion of dental insurance in any way related to your age and lifestyle? You have a strong opinion but, from an outsider, it seems that this is one of those, "This works for me therefore it must work for everyone" cases.
You're wearing your "voice of reason" face, without actually adding anything to the conversation. I believe I've made my position pretty clear about why insurance for trivial expenses is a bad investment. But I guess we'll go over it some more.
From seeing my own grandparents and parents expenses, I'd guesstimate most elderly spend upwards of $10-$30k on dental work from 60-80.
That's not even plausible for "most elderly". My dad has always had serious dental issues, and is in his sixties now (as is my mom, though her dental issues didn't start as early as my dad's and have never been as serious). Combined they spend less than $10k per year on dental care, without dental insurance.
Anyway, my position is, and will not change with age, that insurance should be for catastrophic events, not day-to-day expenses. Insurance is designed to pay for the occasional rather than the regular. Insurance is not designed to save you money...it is designed to help you get over the major bumps in expenditures that come up every now and then, by surprise. Dental care is, generally, a regular, mostly predictable, expense.
Do you believe insurance companies are doing what they do at a loss? Are they giving everyone more than they pay for? If not, it's unwise to pay them for things you can pay for out of pocket, because in the long run, the insurance company always makes money. Buying insurance is like gambling. When it's something like health care, which can explode into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of expenses, you must accept the bet; otherwise you're risking your health and risking bankruptcy. When it's something like dental care, which can never be more than a few thousand dollars (cosmetic dentistry can add up to more, but that's never covered anyway), unless you expect to be the very expensive outlier, it's a poor investment.
If you like making poor investments, or if you are the outlier that requires frequent and expensive dental care, then you should get dental insurance. Otherwise, you're paying for both your dental care, and the profit margin of your insurance company (and probably for some of the outliers that require a lot of care, since insurance distributes cost, as well).
You're wearing your "voice of reason" face, without actually adding anything to the conversation. I believe I've made my position pretty clear about why insurance for trivial expenses is a bad investment. But I guess we'll go over it some more.
From seeing my own grandparents and parents expenses, I'd guesstimate most elderly spend upwards of $10-$30k on dental work from 60-80.
That's not even plausible for "most elderly". My dad has always had serious dental issues, and is in his sixties now (as is my mom, though her dental issues didn't start as early as my dad's and have never been as serious). Combined they spend less than $10k per year on dental care, without dental insurance.
Anyway, my position is, and will not change with age, that insurance should be for catastrophic events, not day-to-day expenses. Insurance is designed to pay for the occasional rather than the regular. Insurance is not designed to save you money...it is designed to help you get over the major bumps in expenditures that come up every now and then, by surprise. Dental care is, generally, a regular, mostly predictable, expense.
Do you believe insurance companies are doing what they do at a loss? Are they giving everyone more than they pay for? If not, it's unwise to pay them for things you can pay for out of pocket, because in the long run, the insurance company always makes money. Buying insurance is like gambling. When it's something like health care, which can explode into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of expenses, you must accept the bet; otherwise you're risking your health and risking bankruptcy. When it's something like dental care, which can never be more than a few thousand dollars (cosmetic dentistry can add up to more, but that's never covered anyway), unless you expect to be the very expensive outlier, it's a poor investment.
If you like making poor investments, or if you are the outlier that requires frequent and expensive dental care, then you should get dental insurance. Otherwise, you're paying for both your dental care, and the profit margin of your insurance company (and probably for some of the outliers that require a lot of care, since insurance distributes cost, as well).
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You really seem to be missing the point. Yes insurance in general is currently not in the best shap, but it still does work for some people. It seems to me that you have been letting the negative connotation of current situation of health/whatever insurance go to your head without seeing that it currently does have benefits for some people right now. Yes right now. I too think the insurance industry sucks, but if it can benefit a particular person, then why not use it. It makes no sense not to.
The perfect example being that dental insurance can work in some instances. I have personally used it successfully in the past in have saved a lot of money using it on a fillings procedure. And that is just one example.
Again the only reason why I am asking here is to find a solid company that a lot of others recommend. It looks like the latest comment is one of them.
The perfect example being that dental insurance can work in some instances. I have personally used it successfully in the past in have saved a lot of money using it on a fillings procedure. And that is just one example.
Again the only reason why I am asking here is to find a solid company that a lot of others recommend. It looks like the latest comment is one of them.
Don't get me wrong. I agree that insurance should only be used on 'serious problems'. That is exactly why I am asking.
You only pay $100 dollars/year on average. But that is just you. For instance, a good majoriy of people will get a cleaning and then the Dentist will find some decay or a cavity, which will require a second visit. That second visit is what can really put a dent in someone's pocket. I'll take the risk of buying a $100/yr dental plan for this case. If it the plan ends up sucking, then big deal $100 bucks down the drain. But that is one of the reasons why I am asking here-- to avoid throwing that hard earned money away.
What Dental plans have people had positive experiences with?
You only pay $100 dollars/year on average. But that is just you. For instance, a good majoriy of people will get a cleaning and then the Dentist will find some decay or a cavity, which will require a second visit. That second visit is what can really put a dent in someone's pocket. I'll take the risk of buying a $100/yr dental plan for this case. If it the plan ends up sucking, then big deal $100 bucks down the drain. But that is one of the reasons why I am asking here-- to avoid throwing that hard earned money away.
What Dental plans have people had positive experiences with?
Sorry but I agree with Swelljoe. I added dental to our health plan earlier in the year. It was a joke. It was weird coverage and there was a cap that my wife hit after a root canal. After 3 months we were paying premiums and receiving zero coverage.
I've since dropped it and just pay out of pocket for routine cleaning. If something expensive is required, most offices will let you get on a payment plan.
Make sure you read all the details/fine print. A $100/year plan will likely have some serious limitations and a cap.
I've since dropped it and just pay out of pocket for routine cleaning. If something expensive is required, most offices will let you get on a payment plan.
Make sure you read all the details/fine print. A $100/year plan will likely have some serious limitations and a cap.
My dad told me about "Careington" the other day and says that it saves him money: http://www1.careington.com/index.aspx
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