Offering a Dental Insurance Plan as an Employee Benefit

Dental plans are the second most popular employee benefit behind group health insurance and are offered by 66% of employers.

Dental benefits provide coverage for such services as oral exams, x-rays, fillings, root canals, gum disease, orthodontics, crowns, dentures and implants

Dental plan benefits can be:

• Employer funded, fully insured (the employer funds a significant portion of the premium). The employer pays the premium, the carrier pays the claims. Strong discounts in pricing when the employer funds 100% of the premium.
• Employer funded, administrative services only (the employer selects an administrator/dental PPO network to access their claim logic/network discounts and funds the plan based on the claims activity). This may be attractive to employers who have had dental plans for a long period of time and have a steady employee workforce. The employee can contribute towards the cost of the plan.
• Employer sponsored, 100% paid for by the employee. These plans usually have less robust coverage than employer funded dental plans-especially in the area of major dental services. Pricing is typically higher due to the adverse selection that exists in voluntary dental plans. The load for adverse selection decreases as participation increases.

Offering a dental plan can help soften the impact of major changes in the medical plan by broadening the scope of benefits that an employer offers its employees.