Dental Coverage for Families in Otero County
La Junta anchors Otero County in southeastern Colorado, a small agricultural and railroad community where many working residents buy dental coverage on their own.
Families buy dental coverage for two different groups: children and adults. Health insurance and dental insurance are separate purchases for most adults, because adult dental isn’t an ACA essential health benefit. In Otero 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 Otero County
Under a family dental plan, each person’s claims count against their own deductible until the family cap is reached ($50 per person and $150 per family on SecureDental PLUS), and preventive care generally skips the deductible.
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. Enter your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will send you the dental plans available where you live.
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.
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 Otero County, Medicare’s hospital directory lists one hospital with emergency services: Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center. One of the county’s hospitals is a critical access hospital, the small rural facilities Medicare designates to keep emergency care close.
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 family dental plans for your address in Otero County, with the network checked before you apply.