Dental Coverage for Families in Champaign County
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dominates Champaign County's economy, making it one of Illinois's major research and tech hubs — a large population of students, graduate researchers, and adjunct staff who buy dental coverage on their own.
For a family, the rules differ for the kids and the parents. Adult dental care isn’t an essential health benefit under the ACA, so a health plan in Illinois doesn’t have to include it. In Champaign County that means choosing a health plan on Get Covered Illinois first and treating adult dental as its own purchase.
What Family Dental Plans Cover in Champaign County
Family plans put everyone on one policy but keep the benefits per person. On SecureDental PLUS, for example, each person has a $50 deductible, capped at $150 for the family, and cleanings and exams are covered in-network without it.
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 Illinois
Marketplace dental in Illinois runs through Get Covered Illinois rather than HealthCare.gov, and it is tied to the exchange’s enrollment periods. 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.
Know where the line sits: a dental plan covers care in a dentist’s chair, while an emergency department visit for a dental abscess or a jaw injury is a health insurance claim. OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center is one of the 2 hospitals with emergency services that Medicare lists in Champaign County; check which of them your health plan includes.
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 and Daniel will send the dental plans sold in Champaign County and check your family’s providers against each network.