Pediatric Dental Policies & the Affordable Care Act

To say there have been a number of changes with regard to health/ dental insurance would be an understatement. While dental insurance policies were less impacted by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) than medical insurance policies, there are a few changes to note. The ACA mandated that insurers cover dental care for children—in fact, it is one of ten essential health benefits for health insurance policies to include. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule; however, Washington is one of three states that require parents to buy pediatric dental benefits, even if they are sold separately, when buying medical insurance.

After three months of helping patients research and interpret their new insurance policies, we’ve noticed that each pediatric dental policy is different and the options out there are seemingly endless: Some dental plans are embedded into the medical plan while others are stand-alone plans, some are associated with a group plan while others are individual policies, and for some we are considered preferred providers  and for others (even though we are preferred providers with the insurance company) we are considered out-of-network. What does this all mean? Don’t worry, we are here for you! We are happy to help you understand your dental insurance benefits. Patients are always welcome to give us a call or send us an email and we will do a little research for you! 

Access to care is so important. We recommend that kids start seeing the dentist around one year of age. Need a little help with home care? Check out our website for a few tips!