Last month, Covered California announced that it is offering family dental plans in 2015. However, “You need to enroll in a Covered California health plan to be eligible for their dental plans,” affirmed Larry Hicks, Covered California spokesperson.
Individual health plans will include pediatric dental benefits starting in 2015.
“This is great news for families and children, because all children enrolled in Covered California will have dental coverage embedded in their comprehensive health plan,” Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee said in a recent press release. “They will be getting better coverage and more for their money.”
The pediatric plans are for children up to age 19. Covered California has three different products from five companies. The products range from a dental preferred provider, an exclusive provider, to a dental health maintenance organization.
The children’s dental insurance plans feature standard copayment, deductibles and coinsurance requirements, according to the brochure available online at hwww.coveredca.com/PDFs/CC_Childrens_dental_plan_rates.pdf.
The optional stand-alone family dental plans that offer coverage for adults will not be available at the beginning of open enrollment, which starts Nov. 15, but are planned to be added in early 2015.
Covered California will offer both dental health maintenance organization (DHMO) and dental preferred provider organization (DPPO) plans, giving consumers a choice in the type of plan that will work best for them. There is no financial assistance available for the optional adult dental benefits.
In Riverside County, the monthly premiums for an adult family plan range from $11 to $53.99.
Families who wish to purchase a family dental plan must include at least one adult who has purchased a Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze insurance plan through Covered California.
