Dental & Vision
The health of our eyes and mouths is no less important than that of the rest of our bodies. But vision and dental insurance are often excluded from traditional health insurance. While a health insurance plan can aid in the cost of a broken arm or a skin infection, a chipped tooth or fading eyesight is left up to dental and vision insurance.
What Vision Insurance Can Cover
Eye exams. This preventive care measure is generally performed once a year and involves a series of tests to gauge the health of your eyes across several different parameters. The things tested for during an eye exam can include the sharpness of your vision, color blindness, how your eyes work together as a unit, a presence of glaucoma, your range of peripheral vision, and more. Eye exams can be instrumental in providing an early detection of eye disease, any developing vision problems, or a need for corrective lenses.
Eyewear. Glasses (frames and lenses alike) and contact lenses can be expensive but are often at least partially covered by vision insurance. Some vision insurance plans may limit coverage to eyewear purchased through your optometrist or a network-approved vision center. Sometimes, even prescription sunglasses may be covered.
Lens coatings and enhancements. Some vision insurance plans can help with the cost of a lens coating. Lenses can be coated with substances to decrease scratching, fog and moisture, reflections, and exposure to ultraviolet rays.
Surgery. Surgeries that are deemed medically necessary, such as a procedure to treat an eye injury, infection, or disease, will often be covered by a health insurance plan. But corrective surgery, such as LASIK, is generally not covered by health insurance because it is deemed by many insurance providers to be an elective or “cosmetic” surgery. However, there are some vision insurance plans and discount programs that will partially cover such elective procedures.
What Dental Insurance Can Cover
Dental Insurance can go a long way in helping to pay for a number of services that range from basic care to advanced surgical procedures. As evidenced by the 100-80-50 model, the more advanced the procedure, the less coverage you might expect to receive from your dental insurance plan.
These services, in order from the most basic of care (widely covered by dental insurance) to the more advanced (not as widely covered) include:
Preventive care. Routine dental exams and cleanings typically take place every six months and are covered in full by most dental insurance policies.
Restorative care. Restorative care consists of any minor procedures to treat damaged or decayed teeth, such as fillings.
Endodontics. More advanced damage or decay will require more involved procedures like root canals.
Oral surgery. Common oral surgeries include teeth removal, the drainage of infections, and gum tissue biopsies.
Orthodontics. This includes the installation, maintenance, and removal of braces and retainers.
Periodontics. Periodontics involves the treatment of gum disease, infections, and lesions.
Prosthodontics. Fittings and installations of dentures and bridges can be expensive, and you will need a quality insurance policy to help alleviate this cost.
Farley Health Solutions can help you navigate these waters. Contact us today to learn about your options.