Posted by Meghan Weaver on Mon, Apr 19, 2010 @ 02:35 PM
So, you have a pretty bad toothache and you decide to have it checked out. You go to your dentist and find out it was a very good idea you did because guess what? You need a root canal.
Now, we all know two things for sure about root canals:
- They're painful
- They cost a lot of money
The pain is something you're going to have to deal with no matter what but the cost, well that's a whole separate beast to tackle. This is especially true when you just enrolled in dental insurance a month ago and the waiting period to get a root canal is 12 months.
Now, if only you had a dental insurance time machine. That way, you could go back to a year ago, enroll in the plan and you would be able to afford your root canal today.
Unfortunately, time machines are only real in the movies, so that's not an option. A few real options for you are:
- Get your root canal now and pay your dentist's usual rate for it all out of pocket: It'll cost you a lot of money and you won't really be able to budget for it, plus he has his own rate and who knows how much it is? It's not like your dentists posts a menu of services with prices like a restaurant.
- Suffer for another 11 months until your insurance will cover it
So, what will you do?
Another (smart and affordable) option:
Luckily there's a third option for people in need of immediate, affordable dental care-a discount dental plan.
Currently, there are 40 million Americans without dental insurance and so many of them are delaying dental care, all because of cost. However, according to the American Dental Association, the best remedy against the high cost of dentistry is prevention.
Discount dental plans are unique because they provide immediate access to affordable dental care (for just a nominal monthly rate) to anyone who needs it. Perhaps your company doesn't offer dental insurance or maybe you're looking for a valuable voluntary benefit to offer your part-timers.
Universal Dental Plan offers group membership discounts for many Massachusetts employers. When you offer Universal Dental Plan, all employees (benefits-eligible or not) can join and get up to 50% off on all dental procedures. Even better, there is a published rate sheet for all dental procedures performed by our network dentists, so you "know your fare before you're there".
Universal Dental Plan members also have:
- No Claim forms
- No Deductibles
- No Annual Maximums or procedural limits
- No waiting periods for anything
If you're looking for a new way to show your employees how much you value them and keep their smiles bright for years to come, give us a call at (617) 859-1777. Or you can visit our website at www.universaldentalplan.com.
Posted by Meghan Weaver on Wed, Apr 14, 2010 @ 11:11 AM
The third and final tip we offer consumers for keeping their teeth, gums and wallets healthy in these tough times is spreading out the costs. Let's face it, many of us without a dental plan have delayed our dentistry because it's just too expensive. We've put off our $88 cleanings year after year and are now faced with a bill of several thousand for a gum disease treatment.
Even at a discount, these procedures are still expensive. That's why our network dentists at Universal Dental Plan can set up payment schedules for you. Payment schedules are a very cost-effective alternative to charging a large dental bill to your credit card and paying high interest on it. With a payment schedule you pay no interest, just the cost of your bill and nothing more (only in smaller increments).
And, since cost-transparency is the name of the game at Universal Dental Plan, we never keep you in the dark on how much your dental work costs. Our dentists and specialists will sit down with you to discuss both fees and financial arrangements before you get your work done. That way, you can put your financial worries aside, feel more at ease and focus on regaining your smile.
To learn more about how our plan works and save 20-50% on all dental procedures immediately, visit our website at http://www.universaldentalplan.com/.
Posted by Meghan Weaver on Wed, Mar 24, 2010 @ 03:01 PM
As we mentioned earlier, dental costs are rising faster than inflation and it's up to us to keep our dental costs manageable without sacrificing our oral health. In this blog series, we offer consumers three helpful tips for keeping their teeth, gums and wallets healthy during these tough times.
Tip number two is cost transparency:
Cost transparency means knowing what you'll pay before you even pay it.
Let's look at the travel industry for an example. Many people book their vacations online via travel websites that tell them their airfare, rental care fare and hotel fare well before they even board their flight. However, when they go to the dentist, they don't know what they'll need to pay until they've already gotten the work done and the bill is in their hands.
Individuals can go to ten different dentists and get ten different rates just for a cleaning, exam and x-ray. This makes it almost impossible to budget for dental care and in today's economy budgeting is a MUST.
That's why Universal Dental Plan makes budgeting for dentistry easy.
When our members visit any one of the Massachusetts dentists and/or specialists in our growing network, they get guaranteed 20-50% discounts on all procedures-from cleanings to crowns, even cosmetic work. We've negotiated these low member rates with our network doctors and charted them all out in comparison to standard costs.
Our rates are published right on our website, www.universaldentalplan.com, so members "know their fare before they're there" and aren't shocked when they get their dental bill. Why take chances on delayed dentistry when you can figure quality, affordable care right into your budget. Join Universal Dental Plan and start saving (and budgeting) today.