Getting Dental Coverage Without an Employer in Summit County
Summit County is the heart of Colorado ski country — Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, and Arapahoe Basin draw a large seasonal resort workforce that typically lacks employer dental benefits, making the ACA marketplace the primary enrollment option.
No employer means no one else picks your dental plan. Under the ACA, dental care is an essential health benefit for children but not for adults. Whatever health plan you pick through Connect for Health Colorado, adult dental coverage is a separate decision in Summit County.
What to Look for in a Self-Employed Dental Plan in Summit 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.
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.
The only reliable network check is the plan’s own provider directory, followed by a call to the office. Dental practices in Summit County move in and out of networks, so do it before you enroll rather than after.
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.
If you own more than 2% of an S corporation, the premiums generally have to be paid or reimbursed by the company and included in your W-2 wages before you can take the deduction. A CPA can set that 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. 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.
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 to compare dental plans for your address in Summit County, with the network checked before you apply.