Getting Dental Coverage Without an Employer in Elbert County
Elbert County is a rural exurb of Denver where horse properties and hobby farms are common — many residents commute to the metro for work but are self-employed or work for small employers that don't offer dental plans.
No employer means no one else picks your dental plan. Adult dental care isn’t an essential health benefit under the ACA, so a health plan in Colorado doesn’t have to include it. Whatever health plan you pick through Connect for Health Colorado, adult dental coverage is a separate decision in Elbert County.
What to Look for in a Self-Employed Dental Plan in Elbert 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.
Before you choose a plan in Elbert County, look up your dentist in the plan’s own provider directory and call the office to confirm it is in the specific network the plan uses. Networks change, and a practice can be in one insurer’s network but not another’s.
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.
Marketplace dental in Colorado runs through Connect for Health Colorado rather than HealthCare.gov, and it is tied to the exchange’s enrollment periods. Off the Marketplace, a stand-alone dental plan isn’t tied to Open Enrollment at all. Use the ZIP code form below and Daniel will send you the dental options for your address.
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 to compare dental plans for your address in Elbert County, with the network checked before you apply.