Live in the Keystone state and need dental insurance quickly? This article will provide you with:
Below is a recent analysis of Pennsylvania dental plans to help you evaluate your dental plan options. To obtain a quote of dental plan premiums for your specific area and age (and relatives if seeking family coverage), visit our dental insurance quote page.
An analysis of 38 dental plans offered in the state of Pennsylvania for 2023 found dental coverage in a variety of forms:
Some dental plans from Nationwide and Humana also combined vision benefits with standard dental care.
Premiums and deductibles were compared given a standardized applicant profile. The least expensive offering within the study had a monthly premium of $7.89 a month. This plan was the Select Plan Basic, a HMO from Dominion National. The most expensive was the Humana Extend 5000 Dental PPO+Vision dental plan that included additional vision coverage. This plan had a monthly premium of 94.99. Monthly premiums across all 38 Pennsylvania plans examined averaged $40.47 a month.
Deductibles were inconsistent among plans. 16 percent of plans had no deductible. Some plans had a deductible that was waived for certain preventive services. The average deductible was $55.92 per enrollee. For plans charging a deductible, slightly more than half of plans charged a single individual $50 annually. There was a single person deductible as high as $150 but this deductible was only charged once and was not paid again for as long as a person remained continuously enrolled within the dental plan.
Family deductibles were more expensive than individual deductibles, as would be expected. Some plans charged a $50 annual deductible for each family member enrolled. Other plans capped the maximum annual deductible for a family. In some cases, the family deductible was a flat charge (e.g. $150) while in others it was a maximum number of deductibles (e.g. $100 per person with a maximum of three deductibles per family). These capped family deductibles were as low as $75 and as high as $450 (the high deductible was only paid once for as long as the family stayed enrolled within the plan).
With respect to out-of-pocket costs for dental services, charges varied. With respect to budget-friendly options, we found that 63% of plans examined did not charge a copay for annual teeth cleaning in the first year of coverage. On the expensive end of the spectrum, there were several plans that did not cover high-cost root canals or crowns during the first year of enrollment in the dental plan. Additionally, most plans had a cap on what the dental plan would pay annually toward enrollee dental expenses. The lowest caps (known as a “maximum benefit”) in the first year of coverage were found in Guardian Direct’s Advantage Starter and Advantage Core. Both plans had a $500 maximum benefit. The highest cap was $5,000, found in both the Humana Extend 5000 Dental PPO+Vision dental plan and the NCD Nationwide 5000 Plan PPO. Two HMO plans and one dental discount card had no cap:
Among the 35 dental plans that capped payments, the average limit was $1,770 annually.
The 38 plans analyzed for this article represented nine separate insurers:
With the information provided above, you can compare local rates to larger Pennsylvania cost trends. The following link will provide dental insurance quotes for plans available in your zip code, whether you’re up in Pittsburg, down in Philadelphia, or anywhere in-between.You can also review the plans below, which are DentalInsurance.com’s bestselling plans in Pennsylvania.
According to information published by Dentagraphics, Pennsylvania has 3,710 general dental practices and 3,556 specialty dental practices. The average income of a general dentist in the state during 2020 was $155,360 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The United States Census Bureau estimates the state to have nearly 13 million residents in 2021, which produces a ratio of 3,494 Pennsylvanians per general dental practice. Not surprisingly, the government's Health Resources & Services Administration in 2018 determined that there are 58 Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas within the state.
Despite these pockets where dentists are less plentiful, the state has a robust dental plan market as the following section demonstrates.
Use one of our 115,000 network providers to get the most from this plan. No waiting periods.
Increasing benefits.
Plan type: PPO
Plan Maximum: $2000
Immediate coverage with no waiting periods for most services. Generous plan maximum.
Plan type: PPO
Plan Maximum: $3000
The following chart provides details on the coverage trend in our Pennsylvania dental plan study. Please use this information when evaluating the coverage provided in a dental plan you are considering.
The Pennsylvania Dental Association, otherwise known by the acronym PDA, is a professional association with about 6,000 members from the dental field. The mission of the organization is to "serve the public, improve their health, promote the art and science of dentistry and represent the interests of its members and the people they serve.” A press release from the organization educated the public on how to find and choose the right dentist.
The Pennsylvania Dental Association provides an online resource that directs consumers to information regarding:
This tool enables a Pennsylvanian to select his or her county and see a list of dental clinics that are free or use a sliding scale for costs based on ability to pay.
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