Careington Dental Savings Plans

Discount Dental Plans

Careington distinguishes itself in dental benefits by offering an alternative to traditional insurance. Instead of paying a monthly premium for coverage as well as a deductible, Careington members pay an inexpensive fee once a year that entitles them to access a provider network where the dentists have agreed to charge reduced rates for covered services. Careington’s discount model is not insurance but rather a savings network, and has several features that distinguish it from a variety of traditional dental insurance and indemnity plans:

• Unlike most dental insurance plans, Careington members do not have a monetary limit on covered dental services
• Careington members do not have to file claim forms for reimbursement like indemnity plans
• Careington members do not have waiting periods that delay the coverage of more expensive dental care

Dental Savings Plans like the ones offered by Careington have been growing in market share across the country. By 2016, nearly 8 million Americans were using dental discount plans. Unlike dental PPO plans, dental discount plans do not cover dental treatment obtained outside of the plan’s network. In this way, the network of the discount plan is comparable to the network of a dental HMO plan (and less like a PPO or indemnity plan). Additionally, a discount plan’s savings represent a percentage reduction of the total cost of a dental procedure. The remainder is paid by the member. This out-of-pocket responsibility is similar to traditional dental plans where a coinsurance fee is charged for a covered service. However, traditional dental insurance may cover all the costs of some preventive care (routine exams and teeth cleanings) while members of a discount plan will still pay a percentage of those costs out-of-pocket. Outside of this preventive care, traditional dental insurance not only has the enrollee pay out-of-pocket costs for covered services but also caps the total spending the insurer will put toward dental care annually. In contrast, a discount dental plan such as the ones offered by Careington lack such a cap. A discount dental plan also charges a single annual fee instead of the monthly premiums charged by dental insurers and may represent lower annual charge for coverage than traditional insurance.

Plan Options

Careington offers shoppers three plans from which to choose: the Care POS, The Careington 500 Series, and the 500 Series Plus. The two 500 Series plans have higher discounts than the Care POS. They also include some vision benefits that the Care POS lacks. The 500 Series Plus also includes a telemedicine benefit (see below).

Dental Telemedicine

Careington members’ enrolled in the 500 Series Plus have access to an additional telemedical service for dental needs as well as the Careington dentist network. The service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Members may call the telemedicine number to:

• Receive consultation for non-emergency illnesses and general care
• Obtain short-term prescriptions (for non-DEA controlled drugs) that can be dispensed at the pharmacy of choice

Members may call the dental telemedicine number as often as needed. There are no consult fees or limits on the number of annual virtual visits.

Careington Highlights

• Dental services provided by Careington network dentists can be used as often as desired
• There are no annual limit on dental savings
• There are no approval forms or claim forms to be completed by members as is the case for some other dental plans
• The 500 Plus Series allows enrollees to receive consultation from fully accredited dental professionals anytime of day with no separate consultation charges