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| 8 ways to fight high dental expenses |
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3. Evaluate
dental discount plans.
These aren't insurance plans, they're simply discounts on dental
procedures. For example, if the cost of an adult teeth cleaning
is $75, then a typical discount rate might be $39, saving you $36
on that procedure. The premiums are low (fees are usually less than
$12 a month for an individual and less than $30 a month for a family),
but these plans usually limit your choice of doctors.
There have also been scams involving discount plans.
"None of the legitimate companies are going to ask you to pay
before you see an outline of the plan," says Ireland. "If
you don't see something in writing, don't send them any money."
Check out DentalPlans.com
where you can type in your ZIP code and see a list of dentists in
your area who participate in each discount plan, as well as the
average discounted cost of each procedure, or visit the Web site
of the National
Association of Dental Plans for a list of plans in your state
or visit.
4. Pay expenses
with pretax dollars.
If you have an employer, you can take advantage of Section 125 plans that allow you to have a predetermined amount of money withheld from your paycheck for medical and dental expenses.
What some folks do is set up a flexible spending account. You can
use the account to pay unreimbursed medical and dental expenses
with pretax dollars. The savings depends on your tax bracket,"
says Dennis McHugh, manager of the dental benefit information service
and third-party issues at the American Dental Association based
in Chicago. For example, if you're in a 28-percent bracket and you
have $2,500 withheld for the year to cover dental expenses, your
savings is $700. But don't overestimate your expenses -- if there's
any left in your account at the end of the plan year you lose it.
Another option, even if you're self-employed, is a
health savings account, or HSA. To qualify, you must choose a high-deductible
health plan, or HDHP, for your medical insurance. The deductible
must be at least $1,050 for an individual and $2,100 for a family.
You can use your HSA account to pay for qualified dental expenses
(including braces), but note that these expenses don't count toward
your deductible. The premiums are lower than for traditional insurance,
so you can put the amount you save into your HSA account. Contributions
to your HSA are made with pretax dollars. There are contribution
limits, but there's no annual use-it-or-lose-it rule, and withdrawals
on qualified expenses and interest earned are exempt from federal
income taxes. If either you or a family member has a chronic health
condition, this might not be a viable choice. To find a list of
carriers in your state, check out HSAInsider.com
and HealthDecisions.org.
5. Visit dental
schools.
You can save as much as 40 percent on services obtained at a dental
school. And don't worry -- you won't be a guinea pig. Students do
the work under the supervision of faculty members. Services offered
to the public and payment options vary by school. For instance,
The Harvard Dental Center at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine
takes insurance, as well as regular credit cards. The Boston University
School of Dental Medicine even takes Medicaid. So check out the
school's Web site for information. You can see dental schools listed
by state at the American
Dental Association's Web site.
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