Getting Dental Coverage Without an Employer in Will County
Will County is the fastest-growing county in Illinois, with Joliet as its largest city — a major logistics and distribution hub south of Chicago where warehouse workers, commuters to Chicago, and a growing small-business community have varied dental benefit access.
Without an employer plan, dental coverage is something you arrange yourself. Under the ACA, dental care is an essential health benefit for children but not for adults. In Will County that means choosing a health plan on Get Covered Illinois first and treating adult dental as its own purchase.
What to Look for in a Self-Employed Dental Plan in Will County
Compare dental plans on what they pay, not just what they cost: the annual maximum, the deductible, the waiting periods for basic and major work, and whether your dentist is in the network.
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.
No website can reliably tell you which dentists in Will County take a particular plan. Offices join and leave networks, so search the plan’s provider directory by the dentist’s name and ZIP code, then call the office to confirm.
Dental Insurance as a Business Expense in Illinois
Self-employed? Dental premiums generally go into the self-employed health insurance deduction on Schedule 1, with the same limits as health premiums: no more than the business’s net profit, no months you were eligible for an employer-subsidized plan, and no reduction in self-employment tax.
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.
Get Covered Illinois, the state-run exchange in Illinois, 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. Enter your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will send you the dental plans available where you live.
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 price the dental plans available at your Will County ZIP code and check the network for you.