Not carrying vision and dental insurance

[Here]

Does anyone else do this if either plan is offered through their employer? Why?

My husband changed jobs last year and the premiums went up. When I did a comparison of paying out of pocket and paying the premiums, paying out of pocket was cheaper. Our health insurance will cover the vision exam and pay 50% of the dentist check-ups. If we need major dental work, the plan doesn't pay that much, and we would still have to pay a deductible.

I also like the freedom to pick the doctor or dentist I want.

[Deleted]

We do not opt out. Our regular health insurance doesn't cover vision exams. Both DH and I wear corrective lenses (me both glasses and contacts, DH just glasses) so we need vision and with our insurance you have to get both dental and vision or neither. Plus our dental exams are covered and we only have to worry about the deductible ($50 pp) if we have to get a filling or something more major.

[aurora]

We opt out of vision, but neither of us needs regular vision care.

I have to admit that the intricacies of what was covered by dental vs. health confused me to the point that I kept the dental insurance.

[Deleted]

Neither of us have vision issues, so no vision insurance. If that situation arises I'll deal with it and add coverage during our next open enrollment.

Our dental insurance has low rates and covers exams, cleanings, and x-rays every six months. It pays for itself. We've also had some emergency dental situations where they payed a significant amount of the bill. The network is huge. I've had to pay non-insured rates for dental care in the past and it was outrageous.

[kwynn]

I carry dental because, when I didn't have it, I sobbed in the dentist's office as two crowns were $2200.

I don't carry vision.

[IIOY]

When I was single I opted out of both. The OOP cost of routine exams was less than the premium, and I had plenty of savings in the event I had a cavity or other issue. It was a risk I was willing to take, and I ended up never missing it.

With kids and a husband in the equation, coverage is a no-brainer.

[Deleted]

That seems reasonable to me.

The only thing you migh consider is having insurance usually allows for a lower negotiated price even even you pay out of pocket. My coworker had basically her entire upper teeth reconstructed and said the original charge was going to be $17k but eventhough insurance was paying almost nothing, they negotiated the total down to $10k. Her work wasn't a surprise though. My sister has needed some root canals that were unexpected and I'm sure were cheaper with the negotiation.

[kadams767]

Vision isn't an option for me, but we opt out of dental. The monthly dental premiums for the two of us are more than we spend out of pocket at the dentist each year and the insurance doesn't cover routine cleanings and x-rays in full anyhow. We have the savings to cover the cost if something expensive comes up, so right now we re hedging our bets that it won't. The difference between the premium cost a d our expenses over the past 5 years probably is equal to one costly dental procedure.

[simpsongal]

I didn't have either last year - I just set aside money in my FSA to cover vision and dental. It wasn't too expensive. But I picked up GEHA this year since it's pretty cheap.

[rubytue]

I don't have vision or dental. When they first offered dental to the Feds, I looked at the annual cost vs what they would pay for a root canal and crown. We've never needed any, but it was the most common, expensive thing I could compare. They paid half of a root canal, and it worked out that the half they would pay equalled the annual premiums.

Long explanation of why we self insure for dental with an FSA.

Vision is a different story. We've been happy with half off an eye exam and zenni glasses.

[downtoearth]

I have the minimal dental offered from my work (covers a cleaning once a year and that's about it) and I don't have any additional annual premium b/c it's included with our health.

Vision is the same - covers one annual visit and about $40 toward gear (glasses/contacts, etc.).

I haven't had major dental done, so I'm not sure what the plan does there except discount the rates. Dentists see self-pay more often and ours actually had sign when I just went in that said, "self-pay discount of 25% if paying for services on the day of service." So I guess you can get a good deal to pay upfront without insurance.

[hski2349]

It is $10 extra to add dental and vision, that is a combined package. For $120 a year, it is worth it to me.

[SusanBAnthony]

We have the lowest level of dental, as it covered cleanings, and works out to be an advantage. The higher level of dental pays for a percentage of orthodontics, but also costs a fortune. We will elect that once our kids need braces. We were going to do it this year and get DH braces, but orthodontia coverage is for dependents only

I a, the only one in the family with glasses or contacts, and I only need new ones every few years, so we elect the vision for a year, then drop it for a few years. I hope to get LASIK sometime in the next few years, and be done with it entirely.

[Deleted]

I opt out of vision. I'm really good at seeing.

When my eyes start going, I'll get it. But for now there's no need.

I would not go without dental insurance. Two annual trips for the dentist more than cover what we pay.

[thatgirl2478]

we don't carry vision insurance - we should - but honestly it's not worth it (even though I have glasses & SHOULD have my eyes checked every year I go maybe once every 2 - 3 years...). The insurance never covers the kind of lenses I need (super thin material, polished edges, anti glare coat) so I end up paying $300 + with insurance and only $400 ish without. DH goes to the VA to get his glasses...

we absolutely carry dental - in fact we have double coverage - basic under his health insurance & more complex under the dental.

[macmars45]

My insurance is only medical so I'm on H's dental and get private vision. H's dental coverage is pretty good especially in comparison to his horrendous medical. My vision coverage is pretty good and since I have terrible eye sight, it's a must.

[jena]

With vision, we pay over $400 each for glasses. The cost if premiums was higher than the amount insurance paid, so it didn't make sense

Our insurance doesn't allow you to opt out of dental, it is bundled with medical.

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using proboards