Dental Plans
Many typical medical plans do not provide
dental coverage, which often must be purchased separately. As a result,
dental plans can be a highly attractive employee benefit. The four main
types of dental coverage are:
- Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO). Like a Health Maintenance Organization, a DHMO features a primary care
dentist. Patients must generally see dentists within the DHMO network
to receive coverage.
- Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) or Participating Dental Network (PDN). Dental patients in a Preferred Provider Organization or Participating
Dental Network may generally see any licensed dentist; however, patients
pay lower costs for choosing a dentist within the PPO or PDN network.
- Dental Point of Service (POS). Patients in a dental POS plan have the choice of seeing a dentist either
in or outside of a network. Out-of-pocket costs are usually greater
for visits to a dentist who is not within a network.
- Dental Indemnity. Dental indemnity plans permit patients to
see any licensed dentist. Patients pay a deductible and sometimes
copayments or coinsurance.
A Table or Schedule of Allowance Plan is a type of plan that provides a list of covered services with an
assigned dollar amount. That dollar amount represents the amount the
plan will pay for those services that are covered. The patient pays the
difference.