Getting Dental Coverage Without an Employer in Chaffee County
Buena Vista and Salida anchor Chaffee County's outdoor recreation economy, where many residents are self-employed as guides, outfitters, shop owners, or remote workers who buy dental coverage on their own.
No employer means no one else picks your dental plan. Health insurance and dental insurance are separate purchases for most adults, because adult dental isn’t an ACA essential health benefit. Whatever health plan you pick through Connect for Health Colorado, adult dental coverage is a separate decision in Chaffee County.
What to Look for in a Self-Employed Dental Plan in Chaffee County
Compare dental plans on what they pay, not just what they cost: the annual maximum, the deductible, the waiting periods for basic and major work, and whether your dentist is in the network.
Waiting periods are the catch. On SecureDental PLUS, cleanings are covered right away, fillings after 1 month, and crowns, bridges and orthodontia after 12 months, and HealthCare.gov warns that separate dental plans in general can have waiting periods for adults.
The only reliable network check is the plan’s own provider directory, followed by a call to the office. Dental practices in Chaffee County move in and out of networks, so do it before you enroll rather than after.
Dental Insurance as a Business Expense in Colorado
For the self-employed, dental premiums usually qualify for the self-employed health insurance deduction. It lowers income tax, not self-employment tax, is capped at the business’s net profit, and is lost for any month you could have joined an employer-subsidized plan.
More-than-2% S corporation shareholders follow a different route: the company pays or reimburses the premiums and reports them in W-2 wages, and the deduction is then taken personally. Ask your CPA to set it up.
In Colorado the Marketplace is Connect for Health Colorado, which offers dental plans next to its health plans during Open Enrollment and special enrollment periods. Outside the Marketplace there is no enrollment window for stand-alone dental, and coverage usually starts the first of the next month. Enter your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will send you the dental plans available where you live.
Stand-alone dental plans are excepted benefits under federal law, so they don’t count as minimum essential coverage and never stand in for a health plan.
Call (713) 575-9904 and Daniel will price the dental plans available at your Chaffee County ZIP code and check the network for you.