Health Insurance With Dental and Vision Coverage
Q: I am looking for health insurance in California that covers Health, Dental, Vision. Is there a plan that covers all three, if so can you please guide me to the right plan.
A: Dental and vision are not typically covered under the same policy as health insurance. However, most insurance companies offer supplemental dental and vision policies that can be added to the monthly premium amount that they charge you for your health insurance. These supplemental plans are often managed by independent companies that have contracts with the health insurance company. For instance, Health Net of California allows you to add supplemental dental and vision to your health plan. The dental plans are provided by SafeGuard and SafeHealth, and the vision coverage is provided by Fidelity Security Life. Blue Cross of California has their own line of individual dental plans that can be purchased separately, or added to your health plan for an additional premium.
There are also companies that specialize in dental and vision coverage. These supplemental products should be secondary to your choice of a health plan. First look for the best medical insurance policy to meet your needs. If that insurance company also offers dental and vision, compare that coverage to “stand-alone” dental and vision plans and only add it to your health plan if the coverage is better than you can get on separate policies.
Are the dental plans that I can get separate usually better than the ones that come with a health insurance plan?
Comment by Ignacio — October 13, 2006 @ 7:03 am
Not necessarily. But, dental plans that are offered through a company that specializes in dental insurance, such as Delta Dental, tend to have a greater network of participating dentists and may offer some added benefits. This is why many companies that have supplemental dental insurance as an option will affiliate with a dental insurance company to provide this benefit to their members.
Comment by Site Advisor — October 13, 2006 @ 7:09 am