Struggling with the cost of living in New York and want to lower your dental insurance costs? We've analyzed over three dozen NY dental coverage options and have the data to help you find the best dental plans in New York for your budget. In this guide, you’ll find:
Below are the three most popular plans by sales in New York through the DentalInsurance.com marketplace.
Essential Choice Incentive
Waiting Periods: Preventive - none, Basic - none, Major - 12 months
Plan Maximum: $2,500
Immediate Coverage Plan
Immediate coverage with no waiting periods for most services. Generous plan maximum.
Plan Maximum: $3000
Rich benefits with maximums increase each for year the first 3 years.
Plan Maximum: $1000 - $1500
Before reviewing our findings on New York dental plans, it's important to clarify a few terms that we will use:
Contrary to popular belief, quality dental coverage in the Empire State does not have to have a high price tag. Premiums (i.e. the monthly fee for dental coverage) in our study started as low as $5.10 (the MetLife TakeAlong Dental HMO-Managed Care 350 (Low)"). The average premium across 37 NY plans was $40.11 for a 33 year-old applicant. 18 of the 37 NY plans examined were below the premium average for the state. Three of these plans were HMOs, one a dental discount program, and the remaining 33 were PPO dental plans. The HMOs and discount program were among the most affordable plans but also had the most restrictive networks of dentists.
Since dental benefits are not standardized, it is extremely important to consider premium cost in light of what dental services are covered. For example, none of the three HMO plans reviewed covered dental implant treatments. These same plans offered orthodontic care, which is a dental benefit absent in many of the PPO dental plans. We also observed that none of the PPO plans whose premiums were below $22 a month covered major dental care such as root canals or crowns. Given these variations in coverage, it is essential for New Yorkers to review the Summary of Benefits (or Plan Details) for the options they are considering for purchase.
89.2 percent of the New York dental plans examined paid for regular teeth cleanings without any out-of-pocket costs for the enrollee. Filling expenses were covered at an average of 63.9 percent of total cost by PPO plans. The lowest coverage in the first year of PPO enrollment was 20 percent of filling cost and the best coverage was 80 percent. HMOs charged flat-fee copayments instead of coverage a percentage of costs, with the average cost being nearly $29 for a traditional filling. The HMO copayments ranged from $25 to $36. The charge for a filling under the dental discount program started at $80.
The ceiling on a plan's reimbursements for enrollee dental care is known as the plan's "maximum annual benefit." If a plan has a maximum annual benefit of $2,000, then any dental expenses beyond $2,000 in a single plan year would be the financial obligation of the enrollee, not the insurance company. The three HMO plans included in this study did not have a maximum annual benefit limitation, nor did the discount program have a limit on annual consumer savings. PPO plans, on the other hand, did have maximum benefits and they made up the majority of NY plan options within this study. The lowest of the maximum benefits was $500 per year. It is important to note that a single crown or dental implant has the potential to cost far in excess of this amount. Some plans had a maximum benefit that increased over time. For example, the Renaissance MAX Choice Plus had a maximum benefit of $1,000 in the first year of enrollment, $2,000 in the second, and $3,000 in the third and subsequent years of continuous enrollment. The average maximum benefit for plans having this spending cap was $1,703 (in the first year of coverage). The two plans with the highest maximum benefits both had a $5,000 cap on annual spending: The Humana Extend 5000 and the NCD Nationwide 5000 plan.
Deductibles did not vary among plans to the same degree as maximum benefits. Deductibles are the amount spent out-of-pocket by a dental plan enrollee before the plan begins sharing the cost of dental services. Some plans had no deductibles. This was the case for the three DHMOs included in the study as well as the dental discount program. For the plans charging deductibles, the highest amount for an individual was $100 annually. Family deductibles were higher and were often based on the number of family members covered by a policy (e.g. $50 per family member annually).The average deductible for a single enrollee among plans with deductibles was $51.35.
A Reputation Built on Trust
See why our customers trust us to help them find the right dental plan
4.5 Stars Based on 880 reviewsAnswered all my questions