Consumer-Driven Dental Benefits? Open Wide

A new type of limited-coverage program can provide pre-tax funds for dental, preventive medical and vision expenses.

Employees must decide whether to pay expenses from their own pockets or by withdrawing funds from their HSAs. To conserve HSA dollars for medical needs, the limited-coverage FSA can provide tax-favored reimbursement for out-of-pocket dental costs.

An employer using a high-deductible dental benefit design is the ideal candidate for a limited-coverage FSA.

Employees can contribute the amount of the dental deductible into the FSA pre-tax, and health care expenses not paid through the FSA can be deducted if they exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income.

Consumer-driven health care benefit designs teach people to be smarter consumers–in control of their health care dollars and responsible for the decisions they make. Good consumer-driven designs provide the tools and resources employees need to make the best decisions concerning their dental health. Understanding the link between oral health and overall health is also key because maintaining good oral health can help combat overall health concerns such as diabetes, complications of pregnancy, oral cancer, respiratory ailments and heart disease.

In addition, access to education and resources help employees understand the costs associated with dental insurance, which traditionally are shielded from the employee through their benefit design. Offering employees access to procedure costs, treatments plans for specific oral ailments, lists of network dentists and dentists who can answer general questions can empower employees to make the right decisions for their wallets.

Offering a dental provider network in conjunction with a consumer-driven dental plan can help do even more to hold down the employer’s share of premiums, the employees’ share of premiums and employees’ out-of-pocket expenses.

The best consumer-driven carriers also offer health and wellness solutions that go beyond traditional insurance, such as discounts on dental care products or access to vision insurance with dental coverage. Some also offer convenient access to comprehensive dental information through the Web.