CONSULATE
Consulate Dental Plans,Looking for Dental insurance without a long term commitment
Question: The dentist I went to stated that I will need to have three fillings along with one root canal and crown. I can not afford to pay the cash price and was told I would be better off getting a dental HMO plan. I went on line to review an HMO dental plan however i notice there was a year commitment. I will only be in the U.S. for another six months. Can I not just pay for the time period I need to have in stead of having to be force into paying for a year.
Answer: Many dental HMO plans do required you keep the plan for one year. HMO plans are normally very low in cost compared to dental PPO plans and they do not normally have waiting periods. This is important because even though most dental PPO plans will let you cancel the plan with a 30 day written request they come with long term waiting periods that will make you wait six months to a year (even more in some cases depending on the plan) for the dental services you currently need to have. You can see where that would not be at all helpful to you.
However there is another option. That would be a dental discount plan. Like an dental HMO insurance plan with a dental discount plan you need to go to dental providers within the plans network. You receive discounted saving on all your dental services render by their dental providers. Hopefully making the dental care you need much more affordable for you. Most dental discount plans if they are offering monthly payment option will also let you cancel with a 30 day written request.