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Mods please move if this belongs in the Dental Health subforum, thanks.
Yesterday I learned that I can stack my dental insurance. The reason I want to do this is that my current dental insurance doesn't allow their coverage to hit 90% coverage after a few years. Therefore, I purchased a secondary policy for a very reasonable rate, and now I will be able to actually use my policies for what I need them for: all of the coverage; dental, vision and hearing.
Until now I was only able to use the policy for dental because the yearly limit is low. When my secondary policy hits 90% I will cancel the primary policy because it has a far lower yearly limit and I really won't need it. I'm willing to pay extra for awhile, unfortunately, because I was previously told that we are not allowed to "stack" insurance policies. Whatever my primary doesn't cover, the secondary will pick up. The secondary also has a much higher yearly limit ($5K) than the primary ($1500) and for a lower rate, too. That is significant.
I just wanted to give folks a heads-up about that in case they were under the impression they are only allowed to have one policy. The person obviously did not know what they were talking about. It kind of burns me up that I've not been allowed to stack for these past 7 years, but at least it's rectified now.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We did this for years, my wife and I each had a policy through our employers, and added each other as additional insured dependents. It was great having double of everything. Since we both had the same providers, they eventually must have realized that this practice was affecting their profits, and they changed their policy to do "Coordination of Benefits." That means eliminating "over-coverage" and has reduced the benefit of double coverage considerably with new limits on the secondary.
What are you doing now? I hope that my secondary won't try to do a "coordination of benefits." I tried to call about the stacking today, but they don't yet have my application in the system. Probably will have to wait a couple of days for the application and bank draft information to hit their computer system.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
Reputation: 57728
My wife retired and is now on another plan with different provider, I still work and have mine with her on it. So far she hasn't had anything but cleanings (free) so we don't know how her coverage on mine will work.
Thanks. My plan is an individual plan since I'm retired. My secondary plan is with my Plan G Medigap provider that I've had for 7 years now. They are a great company. You can always get right through to a person and they know what they are supposed to know!
Thanks. My plan is an individual plan since I'm retired. My secondary plan is with my Plan G Medigap provider that I've had for 7 years now. They are a great company. You can always get right through to a person and they know what they are supposed to know!
What insurers do you have? It seemed like Physician Mutual has the best individual dental plans - and no annual benefit limit max IIRC.
What insurers do you have? It seemed like Physician Mutual has the best individual dental plans - and no annual benefit limit max IIRC.
I have delta dentals most expensive plan, they have a max limit which is under $2,000 IIRC.
My daughter had two dental plans at one time, they did not allow to use one to the max, then use the second to pay the rest. It was back when she had her wisdom teeth done about 14 years ago. Delta was her main plan, the second was some other company like healthplex IIRC. The delta was from her father with the second from my hub.
What insurers do you have? It seemed like Physician Mutual has the best individual dental plans - and no annual benefit limit max IIRC.
I just chatted with a Physicians Mutual rep because I was curious about your post. They pay a maximum of 70% for the duration of the policy. I've been with my plan for more than 3 years. It pays 80% after 3 years. The way Physicians Mutual procures someone is that they pay 70% at the beginning (mine was 60% year 1, then 70% year 2, then 80% after 3 years. (I've been with my policy for 7 years.)
That's why I chose to "stack." Going forward, I may need a lot more work. Having these policies is like a savings account, since I'm a senior on SS. I just purchased a policy that will pick up the 20% that my primary insurance doesn't cover. I'm with Loyal American (Cigna). If that doesn't work out, I'll cancel that policy and go with someone else, i.e. if Loyal American Cigna is not accepted by whoever I go to.
Right now I go to Aspen Dental. I really like my dentist, he's calm and personable and professional. His office is a bit shall we say chaotic because some of them are trainees, but I've seen him be completely calm under stressful conditions, and his work is good.
Another reason Physicians Mutual looks like a good deal (and could be a good deal for some people) is that there is no annual benefit limit. I choose to stack (add on) rather than switch to a brand new company.
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