Dental Coverage for Families in Douglas County
Douglas County consistently ranks among the highest-income counties in the nation, but its large population of entrepreneurs, real estate professionals, and remote workers — many who left larger companies — often buys dental and vision coverage on their own.
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. In Douglas County that means choosing a health plan on Connect for Health Colorado first and treating adult dental as its own purchase.
What Family Dental Plans Cover in Douglas County
A family dental plan covers each enrolled person under one policy, with the same preventive, basic and major classes of care as an individual plan. Deductibles usually apply per person with a family cap: $50 a person up to $150 a family on SecureDental PLUS.
Braces are the most common surprise. On SecureDental PLUS they’re covered only on the Premium tier, at 70%, with a 12-month waiting period, a $500 yearly limit and a $1,500 lifetime limit, and many other plans don’t cover them at all.
Enrolling Your Family in Dental Coverage in Colorado
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. A stand-alone dental plan bought outside the Marketplace can start in any month, usually on the first of the following month. Use the ZIP code form below and Daniel will send you the dental options for your address.
Check waiting periods before you buy. HealthCare.gov notes that separate dental plans can have waiting periods before they cover services for adults; on SecureDental PLUS, basic care waits 1 month and major care and orthodontia 12 months, while cleanings have no wait.
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. UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital is one of the 4 hospitals with emergency services that Medicare lists in Douglas County; check which of them your health plan includes.
Keep the category straight: dental insurance is an excepted benefit, not minimum essential coverage, so it sits alongside a health plan rather than replacing one.
Call (713) 575-9904 and Daniel will price the dental plans available at your Douglas County ZIP code and check the network for your family.