People hardly think of their teeth and eye vision when thinking of insurance. In fact, people understand the concept of health insurance, but they hardly know that their dental and vision health is linked to their overall wellbeing. In this regard, health experts said many health conditions can be diagnosed early from your oral and vision statuses.
To drive home this point, health experts said diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and high cholesterol can be diagnosed easily from a critical eye examination; while many common diseases have oral symptoms that reveal their extent.
To this end, it is best to purchase a vision and dental insurance policy to offer additional protection even with existing health covers.
Dental insurance and how the policy works
If you are ever worried about your oral health, you should take out a dental insurance policy. There are basic and full coverage plans – so depending on your choice, your basic policy may provide preventative care such as a dental checkup, teeth cleanings, x-rays, root canals, implants, and cavity filling among others. A full coverage will include preventative and surgical procedures such as extractions, bridges, crowns, dentures, braces, and other teeth aligners.
Whether you sign up with dental HMOs or dental PPOs to access dentists on an insurance provider network, you must understand the types of dental services covered and the required waiting period as well as other essentials before purchasing the coverage. It is also a good idea to review the payable premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and annual maximum among others.
Vision insurance and how the coverage works
A vision insurance plan provides coverage if you require eyeglasses, contact lenses, and routine eye examinations; but it does not cover extensive eye surgery since this is already covered by a major health plan.
An eye care insurance plan helps with preventive and corrective vision needs and is suitable for routine checks that may reveal the threats of diabetes, glaucoma, color blindness, and other vision defects.
So if you want to improve your range of peripheral vision, vision sharpness, opt for corrective surgery such as LASIK, acquire eyeglasses and contact lenses, or obtain lens coating and enhancements among others, you may consider a vision insurance plan to help. You can purchase the policy individually or through your employer if there is no existing coverage for employees in your workplace.
Health experts and insurers emphasize that dental and vision insurance plans can save you up to 50% of direct payments if you consulted dentists or ophthalmologists by yourself.
“When you go to the dentist, it’s going to be much cheaper if you have dental insurance,” said Dr. Harold Katz, founder of the California Breath Clinics and author of The Bad Breath Bible. “While many people forgo the insurance because of the cost, usually dental insurance will save you money, especially if you have to have any procedure done that is not a regular cleaning.”
If you can access vision and dental insurance through Medicaid, it is possible to extend protection to your children too. Depending on the state, you may have dental or eyecare requirements that are not available in other US states. When you identify the plan that fits your needs and budget, you may compare the premiums and coverage with those offered by other providers so that you can make informed decisions. You must however understand that cheaper premiums do not translate to quality insurance coverages.
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