In 2011, federal employees will see an increase in the vision and dental coverage costs on top of a drastic jump in their health insurance premiums. The Office of Personnel Management has indicated that premiums for dental insurance are going to rise by 3.8 % and will reach an average of $15.33 per pay period for every individual, $43.85 for family plans, and $30.06 for self plus one arrangement.
Vision insurance is expected to go up by 3%, thereby costing an individual $4.78 for each pay period, family users $14..11, and self plus one enrollees a total of $9.55 . Dental premiums, on the other hand, increased by 4.2% whereas vision increased by 2.4% in 2010.
OPM indicated that there are no any significant changes in all the plans that are offered through the aegis of the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). All enrollees have the freedom to choose from seven different dental insurance plans as well as three vision plans.
Although the changes to the FEDVIP appear minimal, all federal employees are going to see, for the third straight year, a rise in health insurance costs by more than 7%. On October 1, OPM announced that there would be an increase by 7.2% in premiums for all enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits
On Monday, John Berry, OPM Director said that he would rather not increase dental insurance premiums, but costs of healthcare are increasing nationwide. For the first time, FEHBP will cover cessation incentives on tobacco, provide preventative screening free of charge to all enrollees, and extend medical coverage to age 26.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Patients flying abroad for dental work
The price of dental care can be pretty costly. Even if you have insurance, you can be stuck paying thousands of dollars out of pocket -- which is prompting some people to actually leave the country to save money. The practice is called "dental tourism."
In the case of Shelia Liner, she'd had broken, damaged front teeth for years. Even with dental insurance she was quoted around $14,000 to fix them. She couldn't come near to affording that price: "I just thought I'll never be able to have it done," said Liner.
Her alternative was to book a trip through a dental tourism company, which found her a dentist to do the work in Costa Rica. So, on her next vacation, she also took a trip to the dentist for the surgery. Cost for the dental work: $3,600.
"I was just so excited to be able to smile again," said Shelia. "It had been a long time!"
The concept of dental tourism is growing -- with experts citing more cases of people venturing outside the country to get dental work done for much less, in locales like Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand, and Korea. Recent statistics show more than 40% of U.S. residents don't have dental insurance, and many who are actually covered complain about high out-of-pocket costs.
The American Dental Association defends those costs with a pledge of safety -- and high standards of training to get a license, all rigorously maintained by the government. "Our fees here reflect a very robust system of safety," said Dr. Edmond Hewlett of the ADA. He says you get what you pay for; in other countries, dentists may not have the same level of training or safety standards.
David Boucher, the president of Companion Global Healthcare, the dental tourism company Shelia used, says it thoroughly checks out all its dentists: "All our dental clinics have been fully vetted. Somebody from our company has visited all the dentists in our network."
The company says many of its dentists were actually trained in the U.S., but by operating outside the country they can charge less due to less overhead -- equipment, rent and labor costs are cheaper.
Nevertheless, the American Dental Association urges people to carefully consider all options before going to a foreign country for care.
"In these difficult economic times when everybody's looking to save money, and 'What can I cut out?' my own personal opinion, your body shouldn't be the first place to look to start making cuts," said Dr. Hewlett.
More food for thought: Some U.S. insurance companies will indeed pay for dental work performed out of the country.
However, industry experts also raise a good point you should ask your dental tourism company. Who pays to fix it if something goes wrong with your dental work?
In the case of Shelia Liner, she'd had broken, damaged front teeth for years. Even with dental insurance she was quoted around $14,000 to fix them. She couldn't come near to affording that price: "I just thought I'll never be able to have it done," said Liner.
Her alternative was to book a trip through a dental tourism company, which found her a dentist to do the work in Costa Rica. So, on her next vacation, she also took a trip to the dentist for the surgery. Cost for the dental work: $3,600.
"I was just so excited to be able to smile again," said Shelia. "It had been a long time!"
The concept of dental tourism is growing -- with experts citing more cases of people venturing outside the country to get dental work done for much less, in locales like Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand, and Korea. Recent statistics show more than 40% of U.S. residents don't have dental insurance, and many who are actually covered complain about high out-of-pocket costs.
The American Dental Association defends those costs with a pledge of safety -- and high standards of training to get a license, all rigorously maintained by the government. "Our fees here reflect a very robust system of safety," said Dr. Edmond Hewlett of the ADA. He says you get what you pay for; in other countries, dentists may not have the same level of training or safety standards.
David Boucher, the president of Companion Global Healthcare, the dental tourism company Shelia used, says it thoroughly checks out all its dentists: "All our dental clinics have been fully vetted. Somebody from our company has visited all the dentists in our network."
The company says many of its dentists were actually trained in the U.S., but by operating outside the country they can charge less due to less overhead -- equipment, rent and labor costs are cheaper.
Nevertheless, the American Dental Association urges people to carefully consider all options before going to a foreign country for care.
"In these difficult economic times when everybody's looking to save money, and 'What can I cut out?' my own personal opinion, your body shouldn't be the first place to look to start making cuts," said Dr. Hewlett.
More food for thought: Some U.S. insurance companies will indeed pay for dental work performed out of the country.
However, industry experts also raise a good point you should ask your dental tourism company. Who pays to fix it if something goes wrong with your dental work?
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