Medicare Dental Insurance
Posted on: 28 September 2015
Medicare in Australia does not cover dental care. Medicare was introduced in 1984 as a universal health care system but it typically does not include dental coverage except for children.
Medicare has three main components; hospital care, pharmaceutical coverage and medical care. So most adults are required to secure dental insurance through private carriers, such as Hillarys Dental Care. There are some select situations when Medicare will cover dental expenses but this is a very narrow window of services that require a strict criteria to be met.
In the case of chronic illness or disease, there are forms that can be filed by your physician that may result in all or part of the dental costs being covered by Medicare, but it can be a long shot.
Your Choices
Clearly everyone needs to visit the dentist and have their teeth cared for but without insurance it can get expensive quickly. If you cannot qualify for the dental assistance under the Medicare program, you can find private dental insurance that can ease the burden of the expense of dental care.
One of the best ways to find affordable Medicare dental insurance is to compare your options. While pricing is typically similar, the benefits can vary greatly, and if you have to pay for dental insurance, you might as well ensure that you are getting top benefits for your money.
Compare Your Options
When you are comparing your options, of course budget is always important but you do also want to consider the other items that will be returned when you do an inquiry, like:
- What percentage of the various dental procedures are covered by the insurance and how much will you have to pay?
- Is there a cap that the insurance will pay? For example, some insurance carriers will cut off benefits after X amount of money has been paid in any one year.
- What is your deductible for the year? Many private carriers will not start paying on bills until you have met a certain minimum of payouts.
It is important to compare what carriers are offering overall and not just to consider the monthly premium because it may not be reflective of the value of the insurance. Consider that if you have to pay a few dollars more each month but will pay a smaller deductible or cost share, then it would be worth paying a little more each month.
Other things to consider is how often you will really need to use the coverage. If you know that you have dental issues that Medicare dental insurance is not going to cover because you cannot meet the criteria but you still need them taken care of, then you want to secure the best coverage possible. A little research can go a long way in saving you a lot of-out-of-pocket expense.
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