Getting Dental Coverage Without an Employer in Madison County
Madison County is the major Illinois suburb across the river from St. Louis, with Edwardsville and Granite City as key cities — a large industrial and commercial community where many residents commute to St. Louis and others work in local steel, chemical, and retail industries.
Working for yourself means no group dental plan to join. Under the ACA, dental care is an essential health benefit for children but not for adults. Madison County residents shop for health plans on Get Covered Illinois, and adult dental still has to be bought separately.
What to Look for in a Self-Employed Dental Plan in Madison County
When you compare stand-alone dental plans on your own, look at five things: the premium, whether your dentist is in the network, the deductible, the annual maximum and the waiting periods for basic and major care.
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.
The only reliable network check is the plan’s own provider directory, followed by a call to the office. Dental practices in Madison County move in and out of networks, so do it before you enroll rather than after.
Dental Insurance as a Business Expense in Illinois
If you’re self-employed, dental premiums for yourself, a spouse and dependents generally count toward the self-employed health insurance deduction, which can’t exceed your business’s net profit, isn’t available for months you could join an employer-subsidized plan, and cuts income tax but not self-employment tax.
S corporation owners with more than 2% of the company can still take the deduction, but only after the corporation pays or reimburses the premiums and includes them in the owner’s W-2 wages.
In Illinois the Marketplace is Get Covered Illinois, which offers dental plans next to its health plans during Open Enrollment and special 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.
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 Madison County and check your provider against each network.