Dental Coverage for Families in Greene County
Greene County is a small agricultural community in west-central Illinois centered on Carrollton — many residents buy dental coverage on their own.
Covering a household means covering two groups the ACA treats differently. Adult dental care isn’t an essential health benefit under the ACA, so a health plan in Illinois doesn’t have to include it. Greene County residents shop for health plans on Get Covered Illinois, and adult dental still has to be bought separately.
What Family Dental Plans Cover in Greene 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.
Orthodontia is where family plans differ most. Many exclude braces or cover them only on higher tiers; SecureDental PLUS covers orthodontia only on its Premium tier, at 70% after a 12-month wait, up to $500 a year and $1,500 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. Outside the Marketplace there is no enrollment window for stand-alone dental, and coverage usually starts the first of the next month. Put your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will pull the dental plans sold at that address.
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.
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. The only hospital with emergency services that Medicare lists in Greene County is Thomas H Boyd Memorial Hospital, so check that your health plan includes it. One of the county’s hospitals is a critical access hospital, the small rural facilities Medicare designates to keep emergency care close.
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 send the dental plans sold in Greene County and check your family’s providers against each network.