Individual DMO (Dental Maintenance Organization) Plans
When asked about dental, my first question is “Are you willing to change dentists?” If the answer is “yes” or “maybe” the following should be considered.
The best value in dental coverage is a DMO – HMO-style dental coverage.
- Limitation: Benefits are provided only within the network.
- Benefit: No pre-existing condition limitations. More expensive plans often have waiting periods.
- Benefit: No maximum. More expensive plans often have a $1000 or $2000/yr maximum
- Benefit: You pay only the listed copays for treatment. It’s easy to anticipate the cost for procedures.
- Benefit: Premiums are considerably lower. Generally less than $200/year for a family.
- Benefit: Discount plan can be utilized the day of activation.
DentalPlans is a great site to compare DMO policies. It’s easy to use. Simply enter your ZIP code to see dentists in your area (perhaps even your current one!). When you’ve found a dentist, click on plans to see which of the DMO plans they’re on.
Review plan benefit and cost grids. I would be most concerned about restoration and major items. Paying a couple of dollars more for a cleaning is probably worth saving real money on fillings, crowns & root canals.
*I am personally covered by Preferred Network Access by CIGNA (Dental Only)
By investing 20 minutes on this self-service website, you should be able to search and be enrolled.