The end of 2020 is near! Don’t forget to use the benefits you’ve already paid for to get your denta
The end of 2020 is near! Don’t forget to use the benefits you’ve already paid for to get your dental cleanings for your family and also utilize the funds you have remaining in your flexible spending account so you don’t lose them! And did you know you may be missing out on extra dental cleanings that your insurance pays for? Your insurance may allow up to 4 cleanings per year!
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Use it or lose it, your money and dental benefits:
Many people don’t know they are at risk of losing THOUSANDS of dollars in dental insurance benefits at the beginning of the new year, as well as thousands of additional dollars that they have put into HSA’s (Health Savings Account and FSA’s (Flexible Spending Accounts). These are your hard-earned dollars that you will lose if you don’t use them before the end of the year!
60% of the U.S. population uses dental insurance every year in order to make their essential dental care more affordable. While there are many different kinds of plans, many have an annual maximum, which is the highest dollar amount of care it will cover per year, per person. Most people don’t even come close to using all of their dental insurance each year leaving thousands of dollars left over. This annual maximum resets at the beginning of every year. So, what happens to all that leftover benefit dollars that you paid for and didn’t use? The insurance company gets to keep it. That means the average American with private dental insurance is losing hundreds if not thousands of dollars in benefits each year. In 2016 alone, dental insurance providers raked in about $150 BILLION worth of unused benefits. With this in mind, how can you make sure you’re not losing most of your benefits every year?
How to Maximize Your Plan
Dental insurance plans are usually geared more towards services that help people avoid dental problems rather than treat them. This is why preventive treatments like regular checkups, cleanings, and dental sealants tend to be fully or mostly covered while restorative procedures (like fillings, crowns, and bridges) are only partially covered. Unfortunately, many people delay their preventative care leaving those benefits unused and putting themselves at risk for developing much more costly dental issues.
What about my HSA/FSA?
These are great plans to set aside tax-free money for qualified expenses. The problem is that a lot of people don’t end up using all the dollars put in to these plans each year. So, what happens to your money if you don’t use it? In some of these plans you lose it.
What about additional cleanings?
Did you know that many dental insurances cover cleanings for adults and kids more than twice per year? Check with your insurance today to make sure you are getting what you have already paid for!
There’s still time!
There’s still time left in the year to use your benefits before your dental insurance maximum resets and your benefits will be lost. It’s the perfect time to schedule another cleaning for yourself or your children and consider dental sealants.
Whether you need a dental cleaning for you or your kids, teeth whitening, crowns, fillings, veneers or other dental care, there’s still time to get you in before the end of the year. Start off 2021 with a bright and shiny smile!
Dentistry for Children & Adults Too! Benjamin Cho DDS