Given this impact, more employers are discussing whether to provide group dental insurance as a benefit. Campbell Petrie can help your company navigate these questions.
Factors that should be considered include:
Overall Health Prevention:
Approximately 81 percent of people with dental benefits visit the dentist twice a year or more, while only 34 percent of people without dental benefits do the same.
Costs Savings on Average:
For an employee needing standard dental care, an affordable group plan can be a real bargain and an incentive for joining and/or staying with a company.
Employer Paid or Voluntary
Employers who decide to offer dental coverage must determine if they will subsidize any of the cost of the program or if they will offer the product as a voluntary option. The latter choice provides access to the program by employees but passes the cost of payment onto them.
Funding of the Benefit
If you decide to pay for your employees’ dental insurance, consider how you will finance the cost. Should you purchase a fully insured product or fund the dental plan yourself? For larger employers, self-insurance may make sense, because dental costs are fairly predictable, and most plans have annual caps of $2,000 or less, which lowers the overall financial exposure. Additionally, self insurance allows employers to avoid state premium tax and has the potential of avoiding other healthcare reform-related taxes and administrative issues.Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of group dental insurance can be tricky, based both on the considerations previously listed and a company’s present circumstances.