Guardian Dental Plan
The Guardian Dental Plan is a popular plan that provides benefits to more than 6.7 million people. It is offered to employers who are looking for group benefits for workers and offers several flexible options to businesses wanting to offer this type of coverage.
About Guardian Insurance
The Guardian Life Insurance Company has been in business since 1860. It is one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States and has over $41 billion in assets. The Company's Group business division works with more than 120,000 employers to provide benefits to their workers.
Advantages of the Guardian Dental Plan
- Guardian Insurance has a large network of providers that Plan members can see for their oral care needs.
- The Guardian Dental Plan offers a number of options so that employees can find the package that best fits their needs and budget. Small companies with as few as five participants in the plan can offer dental benefits to their employees.
- The plan offers subscribers the option of rolling over a portion of their unused benefit to future years. This is called "Maximum Rollover."
- Subscribers to the dental plan are eligible for a discount on the cost of their vision network services. This is an example of "value added" service that Guardian provides to its customers.
- Claims under the plan are dealt with quickly. The company attempts to settle them within days after the information has been submitted.
Types of Dental Plans Available
Guardian offers a Preferred Provider Network or a Dental Health Management Organization plan to subscribers.
Preferred Provider Network
In a Preferred Provider Network (PPO) plan, healthcare providers sign up to participate in the group. In return for access to a large pool of potential patients, they agree to offer their services at a reduced rate. Subscribers can choose to consult with a provider outside of the network if they wish, but it will cost them more.
Dental Health Management Organization
With a Dental Health Management Organization (DHMO) plan, subscribers pay less in premiums than for a PPO arrangement. The tradeoff is that they must get their dental care from a dentist who is a member of the insurance company's approved list of providers. The healthcare providers who sign up to be part of an HMO plan are guaranteed a certain level of income from the insurance company in return for their participation in the network.
The DHMO offered by Guardian includes coverage for the following services:
- Preventive procedures, including fluoride treatments for adults
- Teeth whitening (cosmetic)
- General anesthesia for patients undergoing oral surgery
- Four periodontal cleanings per year
After the DHMO Plan has been in force for a minimum of three years, Guardian will pay for office visit co-payments for plan members and their families. The idea behind this benefit is to encourage Plan members to visit their dentist regularly to avoid costly procedures that result from neglecting this important part of one's health care. As of December 2008, the DHMO Plan from Guardian was available to employers and their employes in these states:
- California
- Florida
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Missouri
- New York
Group Dental Insurance Benefits
The two types of coverage offered under the Guardian Dental Plan means that more employers may be able to offer their employees some type of insurance coverage as part of a group plan. If the cost of participating in a PPO is too expensive, they can still provide coverage through a lower-cost DHMO.
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