Some patients are covered by two or more dental benefit plans, often a plan from their employer and one from their partner’s employer. Can you have secondary dental insurance?
If you are covered by two dental plans
When you are covered by two dental plans, this is called “double insurance”. This does not “double” range. However, this can reduce costs out of your own pocket.
Double insurance works the same way whether you are covered by two Delta Dental or Delta Dental plans and another insurance company. Delta Dental simply works with a second insurance company to coordinate your benefits.
Are health and dental insurance the same?
A general health insurance plan may include some, but not all, dental services. When choosing a healthcare plan, it is important to check the fine print for this aspect of insurance. If you are already covered by insurance, you can call your supplier for a detailed summary. And if you’re involved, human resources can also help answer any questions. Whether you are covered or not covered at all, covered by an individual plan or insured by your employer, we also have additional information on affordable dental care.
How does dual range work?
For example, if both of your plans provide for two cleanings a year, each with 80% coverage, then:
- You will not be entitled to four cleanings a year.
- The basic plan pays the benefit as if there was no other insurance.
- The second plan will act as a supplement to the original plan and its payments will be limited to the less normal benefit or costs incurred by the patient under the original plan.
Coordination of dental insurance benefits
Whether you are using additional insurance, a second dental insurance policy, or a dental savings plan, you should know how (or if) your primary plan has coordination policies. This information can usually be found in your plan’s policy documents. If you cannot find the information, talk to your dentist or member service team on the insurer’s service team.
Rules for coordination of services may vary, so it’s very important to get detailed information about your plan from your healthcare provider or insurance company – to be honest you may want to get information from both. Basically, benefit coordination comes down to deciding which insurance plan is the “main payer” – which plan pays first. To complicate matters even more, the first payer is not the first to pay – the insurance company is responsible for paying the invoice up to the insurance limit. The remaining part goes to the second payer, or maybe even the third one.
