Is Vision and Dental Insurance Worth the Money

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If you are wondering if it is worth it to have dental and vision insurance coverage in your plan, the simple answer is yes. Although vision and dental coverage may seem less essential, they are very important- especially if you have family members to care for as well. Keep reading to find out what these plans cover and why they are important.

Dental Plans

Dental plans are available in many different formations. A few of the most common type of forms include HMOs, PPOs and indemnity plans. Dental HMOs are a good choice for those who require preventative dental care. This type of dental plan usually covers the full amount of the care required, but they cost more for more complex care. If you have an HMO dental plan you are required to use a certain network of dentists for your care. PPOs allow you to see any dentist and offer greater coverage. The PPO will pay more if you see an in-network dentist than if you were to see a dentist that was out-of-network. Indemnity plans allow you to see any dentist that you would like, but the premium and co-insurance is usually significantly higher. Indemnity plans are usually offered through employee insurance group plans. Dental plan rates can vary greatly.

Vision Plans

Vision plans that are offered through employers are usually discounts and not true insurance coverage plans. Vision plans are typically designed to cover vision exams, glasses and/or contact lenses. These plans often covered tests that screen your eyes for certain diseases, disorders, and injuries. Health issues that may arise with the eyes (cataracts, detached retinas or eye injuries) are usually covered through medical insurance. Vision plans for individuals are more difficult to find. You should do a bit of research to determine if getting an individual insurance plan for your vision is worthwhile or if you are better off to pay the costs out of pocket.

A few ways that you can determine if getting dental and vision insurance is worth it for you and will meet your needs.

Review the Benefits

You will want to know exactly what you are buying when it comes to insurance. For a dental insurance plan, you should look at the exams, x-rays, cleanings and basic care that is involved. If you require orthodontic work or have children that may require orthodontic work in the future, you will want to check if orthodontic benefits are included. You will also want to see which dentists are within the approved network. When it comes to vision benefits, you will want to check how often vision examinations are covered, and how much coverage is allowed for glasses and contact lenses.

Compare Out-of-Pocket Costs

You will need to keep the deductible, co-pays and co-insurance involved in the plan. You should look out for plans that have a deductible for preventative care. This may mean that you will have to pay out-of-pocket for the services that you wanted your plan to cover. You can compare costs by looking back into your health files and seeing how much that you used these services in the past to help project how much that you may use them in the future.

Consider your Timeframe

You should also look ahead to what your future health insurance needs may be. If you are all up-to-date on your dental and vision exams you may opt to not to get benefits at this point. If you need a dental and vision examination, you may want to look at getting vision and dental benefits so that you can stay up-to-date in your required maintenance and testing. If you are unsure if you should get vision and dental vision benefits soon you should speak with your doctor.