Dental Coverage for Families in Forsyth County
Forsyth County has been one of the fastest-growing and highest-income suburban counties in the nation for over a decade, attracting professionals and small-business owners north of Atlanta who often buy dental and vision 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 Georgia doesn’t have to include it. Whatever health plan you pick through Georgia Access, adult dental coverage is a separate decision in Forsyth County.
What Family Dental Plans Cover in Forsyth 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 Georgia
Georgia Access, the state-run exchange in Georgia, 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. Put your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will pull the dental plans sold at that 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. In Forsyth County, Medicare’s hospital directory lists one hospital with emergency services: Northside Hospital Forsyth.
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 Forsyth County and check your family’s providers against each network.