The last few months of the year are a hectic time for most families. You may be busy shopping, getting ready for family gatherings, and preparing for the new year. It would be easy to let your dental care slip your mind. But you should make every effort to visit your dentist before 2019 comes to its close. Doing so will not only benefit your oral health, but it will also let you get more out of your dental insurance policy. Let’s discuss how and why you can maximize this year’s coverage — don’t waste your benefits!
Benefits Do Not Roll Over
Most PPO dental plans have an annual maximum, which is the highest amount that the insurance provider will pay out for benefits within a calendar year. Usually, the maximum is $1,000 – $1,500. If any portion of that money does not get used by the end of the year, it does not roll over into the following year. It disappears forever. Therefore, if you only visit your dentist when you have oral pain, or if you only attend one cleaning and checkup each year, you could be losing hundreds of dollars of benefits annually. Over the course of a lifetime, you could miss out on tens of thousands of dollars of benefits!
Policies Change
It is common for insurance providers to change their policies from year to year. They may raise their premiums, adjust their coverage for certain services, and make other changes that directly affect you. If you know such changes are coming, you might be thinking about shopping for new dental insurance, which can mean that you may have to go through a new waiting period before you are eligible for certain treatments. It’s best to use your current policy to the full right now before you lose it.
How to Maximize Your Benefits
Schedule a Checkup ASAP
Most PPO plans allow policyholders to attend two preventive appointments each year. Since these visits are usually 100 percent covered, you could receive a thorough checkup and a refreshing cleaning for nothing out of pocket. If you haven’t had your second checkup of 2019, get it on the books ASAP. If your checkup reveals any developing oral health problems, you might still have time to get those taken care of with this year’s dental benefits.
Plan Your Treatments
If you need a major treatment that will exceed your annual maximum, you might be able to split it up across multiple appointments and multiple calendar years so you can utilize both this year’s and next year’s annual maximum.
Are you getting all you can out of 2019’s dental benefits? Time is running out on your current plan, so it is in your best interests to visit your dentist as soon as you can. Your smile and your pocketbook will thank you!
About The Author
Dr. Kenneth A. Bell is a gentle, kind, and skilled general dentist with more than 25 years of experience. He understands the financial concerns of his patients, which is why we are an insurance-friendly practice. We are even in-network with most PPO plans. To learn how we can help you maximize your benefits, contact us at 502-749-2355.