High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

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Sandwich
Posts: 254
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 8:04 pm

High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

Post by Sandwich »

Hi all,

I am looking for perspectives on high option dental insurance. I have narrowed down the employer plans which include Delta Dental Plan and United Concordia. The plans have no waiting periods and high annual maximums for certain procedures while having no maximums for other procedures.

I am looking at High option to take care of major dental work. I received dental codes and allowable costs from dental providers and see that out of pocket cost of the procedures will be thousands less by having dental insurance even the large dental insurance premium.

It makes sense to have a high option plan at least for 2023; then have a standard plan after that.

Any thoughts or experiences with either Delta or United Concordia ? Particularly interested in service to customers and processing claims smoothly.
VT03008
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:47 am

Re: High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

Post by VT03008 »

From a provider's perspective, Delta is much easier to deal with. Concordia used to be a major source of claim problems for us, to the extent that we went out of network with them. Pretty sure it is only the large chains still in network with them in my area so I would check their network carefully and double check with the offices as the insurance websites are very inaccurate. We showed as in network for about 15 months after dropping them.
OnTrack2020
Posts: 1422
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2017 10:24 am

Re: High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

Post by OnTrack2020 »

We've had Delta for years; first, through my husband's employer, and now currently paying for a plan directly through them as husband is retired. We have never had any issues with Delta. I will say that the plans offered now that husband is retired simply aren't as good as through his former employer.

From what we've experienced, their claims processing is pretty speedy. Expect to have it processed in under a week, as long as your dental office sends in a claim. Our dental claims were pretty standard though, nothing too complicated.

Once you decide on a dental carrier and are using the insurance, you could always ask dental office to send in a pre-treatment plan so you will know how much you will owe ahead of time. Have you asked the dental office how much the procedure/s would be if paying by cash??

I know our dentist only takes a few plans, and Delta is one of them. You will want to make sure whoever you see for your dental needs takes the plan you choose.
BeachPerson
Posts: 1048
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:39 pm
Location: Northern VA

Re: High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

Post by BeachPerson »

I am a Federal employee, and I use GEBA that is the shell company for Delta Dental of Pennsylvania. When I signed up with them eight years ago, they were the only dental company that covered implants for Federal employees. Delta covered the implant no problem. My dentist that put the implant in was out of network. The dentist that did the drilling was right next door, and he was in network. No problem at all with them. Now GEBA will cover two implants a year.

I could go with Delta Dental of California since that would be easier with the Federal payroll deduction. However Delta Dental of California has some limits on out of network dentists.

I reviewed last year the options for dental care, and Delta Dental of Pennsylvania was still the best option for me.
From Jack Brennan's "Straight Talk on Investing", page 23 "Living below your means is the ultimate financial strategy"
tj
Posts: 9367
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:10 pm

Re: High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

Post by tj »

BeachPerson wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:25 pm I am a Federal employee, and I use GEBA that is the shell company for Delta Dental of Pennsylvania. When I signed up with them eight years ago, they were the only dental company that covered implants for Federal employees. Delta covered the implant no problem. My dentist that put the implant in was out of network. The dentist that did the drilling was right next door, and he was in network. No problem at all with them. Now GEBA will cover two implants a year.

I could go with Delta Dental of California since that would be easier with the Federal payroll deduction. However Delta Dental of California has some limits on out of network dentists.

I reviewed last year the options for dental care, and Delta Dental of Pennsylvania was still the best option for me.

Are you saying the GEBA delta dental plan has a more comprehensive network than the FEDVIP delta dental plan?
BeachPerson
Posts: 1048
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:39 pm
Location: Northern VA

Re: High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

Post by BeachPerson »

tj wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 9:11 am
BeachPerson wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:25 pm I am a Federal employee, and I use GEBA that is the shell company for Delta Dental of Pennsylvania. When I signed up with them eight years ago, they were the only dental company that covered implants for Federal employees. Delta covered the implant no problem. My dentist that put the implant in was out of network. The dentist that did the drilling was right next door, and he was in network. No problem at all with them. Now GEBA will cover two implants a year.

I could go with Delta Dental of California since that would be easier with the Federal payroll deduction. However Delta Dental of California has some limits on out of network dentists.

I reviewed last year the options for dental care, and Delta Dental of Pennsylvania was still the best option for me.

Are you saying the GEBA delta dental plan has a more comprehensive network than the FEDVIP delta dental plan?

From my evaluation GEBA Delta Dental had better care for implants. My teeth are a mess so I need to prepare for the worst.
From Jack Brennan's "Straight Talk on Investing", page 23 "Living below your means is the ultimate financial strategy"
bberris
Posts: 2420
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:44 am

Re: High Option Dental Insurance - Delta or United Concordia

Post by bberris »

They have no waiting periods, but you seem to imply that the condition already exists. They might exclude that; my plans did.
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