Understanding the Advantages you Get from A Blue Shield Dental Plan

For a wide range of reasons, Americans find themselves in the middle of a shift away from insurance provided by employers. Many people who have had insurance through their employers through most of their adult lives are finding that they don’t really know how to navigate the health insurance industry on their own. Knowing who to buy insurance from comes down to a few key points: pricing, plans offered, and what you know about the company. On all three scores, Blue Shield Dental comes up big.

A Look at Blue Shield

Blue Shield and Blue Cross stand almost completely alone in the California healthcare world. Blue Shield of California is actually a not-for-profit health plan, and this is more than simply a tax dodge; this is a big part of the group’s ethos.

It would take several pages to list all of the company’s accomplishments and contributions to health care, but in the name of saving space and getting to the important information regarding the plans and options they offer, it will be kept down to a single bullet-pointed list:

– Named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2012

– Donated more than $170 million to the Blue Shield of California Foundation, one of Businessweek’s “most generous corporate foundations”

– Ranked at three out of four stars for quality of care on 2011 California Healthcare Quality Report Card

– In 1950, was the first insurer to offer catastrophic coverage

– Pioneered coverage of heart transplants in 1984

– Proposed a customer-favoring health care reform bill in 2002, about 10 years before the federal government adopted one of its own

This snapshot hasn’t been cherry-picked. Blue Shield is generally seen as a uniformly honest and reliable healthcare organization that you can safely entrust your health and well-being to.

Choosing Blue Shield Dental

If you sign up for a dental plan with Blue Shield Dental, here are a few of the benefits you’re going to have access to:

1. Contracted With Over 90% of Hospitals and 80% of Physicians Nationwide

Blue Cross Blue Shield has the widest network of available physicians and healthcare locations throughout California and the Nation. If you live in San Jose and find yourself needing treatment while visiting friends in Santa Barbara, you should be able to find a hospital that your health plan extends to.

2. Selling to Every Sector

Whether you’re self-employed or looking to buy coverage for a small office, Blue Shield Dental is sold to every sector from rich to poor, military to civilian and professional to personal. No matter who you are, you probably qualify for coverage under BCBS.

3. Getting Combined Coverage

Because BCBS covers every area of health care, you can save money by having your dental insurance covered on the same plan as your health and life insurance. So you don’t have to shop around; you can get everything in one package.

4. Preventive Screenings and Checkups

Some people only go to the dentist when they have a pressing problem such as a broken tooth or an infection. Blue Shield Dental will send its customers periodic reminders to get a checkup. BCBS’s mission statement is not about making money, it’s about keeping you healthy, and that philosophy extends to its dental plans.

5. Simplicity

Blue Shield makes every effort to take the guesswork, the headaches, the double talk and the confusion out of buying into a dental plan. You won’t find murky, muddy contracts with dense, vague language designed to offer a group “wiggle room” when it comes time to actually pay out. With Blue Shield, what you’re promised is what you’re given.

The last thing you want when going to see the dentist is to sit in the waiting room praying that your plan actually covers your procedure. You won’t have to worry about that with Blue Shield.

Plans Offered

Blue Shield Dental offers a handful of choices so that you can get the coverage you need without having to spend all day comparing plans:

1. Specialty Duo — A dental and vision package.

2. Dental PPO3 — Extensive dental protection with some orthodontic benefits.

3. Dental HMO3 — Comprehensive dental plan with fixed co-payments.

4. Value Smile — Preventive, diagnostic and minor restorative services designed to keep costs down over time.

Blue Shield is an ethical company with affordable plans for all. It is worth your taking the time to determine whether it is for you.