“Do you take my dental insurance?”
It’s one of the most common questions we get from new patients coming into our office. There are a multitude of dental insurance plans out there, and we are contracted with many of them. We are currently in-network with Cigna, MetLife, Premera, Delta Dental, Ameritas, GHA (Connection Dental), and Lifewise.
Many of our current patients are out-of-network, and you may come to us as a referral and are out-of-network too. While it depends on the details of your insurance coverage, “out-of-network” does not necessarily mean that your insurance will not cover our services; your insurance policy may still offer reimbursement for out-of-network care. The best thing to do to find out what your insurance policy will cover for out-of-network care is to contact your insurer. While we are not experts with all the various dental insurance plans, we are happy to help you figure out your options … just give us a call at (425) 865-8128 or send us an email at office@moritadds.com.
What’s a Dental Deductible?
Your dental insurance may come with one or more deductibles. A deductible is the amount of money you must pay out-of-pocket for dental care before your plan starts to share those costs. Once you meet your dental deductible you and your plan start sharing a percentage of the costs for your dental care. This is called coinsurance. Your dental insurance may also have an annual maximum. This is the most your plan will pay for dental care in a plan year. After that you will pay any additional costs for care. Some plans also require you pay a small fee at the time of a dental visit. This is called a copay.
Preventative Dental Care is often no cost
This depends on your specific dental insurance plan, but periodic exams, cleanings, and X-rays are often covered at no cost to you; after all, it is in the dental insurer’s best interest to have your mouth be as healthy as possible! Also, children’s needs are different than adults, and may have more routine care provided at different intervals.
Types of Care
Dental insurance coverage is broken down into certain types of dental care, such as preventive, restorative, orthodontic, etc. The amount that your dental insurance covers may vary. There are a wide range of options available, from basic plans with a low monthly premium, all the way up to full-coverage dental plans with much higher monthly costs.
In-Network or Out-of-Network?
Depending on the plan you get you may or may not be required to see dentists in the plan network. Not being in-network with our office doesn’t always mean you will pay for the full cost of care and receive no reimbursement. If you have any questions about your insurance coverage, give us a call for a free benefits check.