Dental Coverage for Families in Adams County
Adams County stretches from the urban Denver fringe to agricultural areas on the plains, with a large working-class and Latino population where many service, logistics, and warehouse workers lack employer dental coverage.
For a family, the rules differ for the kids and the parents. Under the ACA, dental care is an essential health benefit for children but not for adults. Adams County residents shop for health plans on Connect for Health Colorado, and adult dental still has to be bought separately.
What Family Dental Plans Cover in Adams County
Under a family dental plan, each person’s claims count against their own deductible until the family cap is reached ($50 per person and $150 per family on SecureDental PLUS), and preventive care generally skips the deductible.
If braces are likely, read the orthodontia terms first: plenty of dental plans leave them out, and SecureDental PLUS limits them to the Premium tier, paying 70% after 12 months up to $500 a year and $1,500 over a lifetime.
Enrolling Your Family in Dental Coverage in Colorado
Connect for Health Colorado, the state-run exchange in Colorado, sells dental plans alongside its health plans during enrollment periods, and its rules decide whether dental can be added on its own. A stand-alone dental plan bought outside the Marketplace can start in any month, usually on the first of the following month. Enter your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will send you the dental plans available where you live.
If you already need a crown, the waiting period matters more than the premium. HealthCare.gov notes that separate dental plans can have waiting periods for adults, and SecureDental PLUS, for example, waits 12 months for major care and 1 month for basic care.
Serious dental emergencies, such as spreading infection or a broken jaw, are usually treated in a hospital and billed to health insurance rather than the dental plan. In Adams County, Medicare’s hospital directory shows three hospitals with emergency departments, among them HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge, Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital and one other.
A stand-alone dental plan is an excepted benefit: it isn’t minimum essential coverage and doesn’t replace health insurance.
Call (713) 575-9904 to compare family dental plans for your address in Adams County, with the network checked before you apply.