Small businesses dreaming to go big-time should focus on the needs of employees, including the inclusion of small business dental insurance. Yes, this could be an added cost for the business but in the long run the benefits of having this dental insurance for the employees can greatly enhance the bottom-line of the company. Just like any other benefits, the inclusion of the dental insurance can greatly enhance the motivation of the employees. And the relationship of productivity and high motivation is backed by a number of studies saying that the higher the motivation, the higher the productivity. This should serve as the inspiration and clue for small businesses with dreaming of growing BIG.
Here’s a little backgrounder on dental insurance. Did you know that dental insurance is the third most important type of benefits that is given to employees? The top two benefits common to employees and businesses are health and retirement benefits. Here’s another fact about dental insurance. Only 55 percent of the population maintains private dental insurance. This means that there are still a lot of people out there that needs to be covered by insurance. But if you take at the good practices of large companies, it has been noted that 96 percent offer dental benefits to its employees. So it should not come as a surprise that most of these large companies truly perform thanks to the high productivity of employees.
Available Plans for Small Businesses
And small business can duplicate this as well by providing a dental insurance. And if you own a small business then your firm can join the growing number of small businesses enjoying the benefits of the dental plans. Data has it that the number of small businesses tapping the plan increases from 56 percent to 67 percent in one year. If you are looking for one, consider three leading options for you including;
- Concordia Plus Plan from United Concordia
- Delta Dental Small Business Offering
- Aetna Small Business Dental Plans
Concordia Plus Plan from United Concordia- This is one of the bigger players in the small business segment, and this is popular for their Concordia Plus plan, a dental HMO plan. The good thing about this plan is that even a small business with just two employees can avail of the plan provided that they get the services of the dentist from the Concordia Plus network. It is now the task of the dentist to manage the dental health of the member employee, and it is the objective to prevent and detect at an early stage all possible dental problems and doing all these while keeping the cost low. For this reason, majority of the diagnostic and preventive services are given with minimal or even no co-payments.
This is best for start-up companies, and a good alternative to the PPO plans. And more importantly this should be chosen since this comes in cheap, with no deductibles and annual maximums.
Delta Dental Small Business Offering- Delta Dental is a player when it comes to dental insurance, and the company offers something for the small businesses. BY signing up with Delta Dental, employees and employers can take advantage of one of the largest dental networks in the country. Just to give you an idea, the company maintains 140000 dental locations nationwide, which means that there’s one in a few kilometer radius from your city or county. Look for the D & P Maximum Waiver that promotes dental awareness among employees. Right now, the plans offered by Delta gets positive reviews. In fact according to some surveys, Delta features excellent client retention rates.
Other options to consider include the Delta Dental PPO and the DeltaCare USA HMO/Prepaid plan, and all these plans are pocket-friendly. if the company chooses the DeltaCare USA plan, then employees can get lower premiums than the PPO plan plus there are no deductibles. The problem with the dental plans of Delta is that the reach is limited to certain states. Some of the states that feature Delta include Delaware, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Nevada, New York, Utah, Alabama, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and a host of other states.
Aetna Small Business Dental Plans- Aetna is traditionally an insurance company, and this also offers dental packages for small businesses. The options for small business are varied from the traditional, to innovative ones with customizable benefits and the dental plans with COBRA administration. Aetna’s best bet is the Premium Only Plan that offers tax savings to employees and small businesses. There are a number of advantages in signing up with Aetna- you get in touch with a big network of dentists, there’s 24/7 customer support and you have access to your online account.
Choose Employee Spending Accounts: Cheaper Dental Insurance Option for Small Businesses
Don’t just limit yourself with the options presented earlier. The list is actually long when it comes to dental insurance options, and the rest are referred to as unconventional options. Examples of these are the Health Spending Accounts including Health Savings Accounts and the Flexible Spending Accounts or FSAs.
If you go for the HAS, the employees are allowed to save for current and future dental care needs. This should be used in conjunction with the other health plans with deductibles. Because of this requirement, some are actually choosing the FSAs. At least with the FSA, member employees can save for the health and dental care expenses. And whatever is left will be exempted from tax thus helping save more money.
But the good news is that the leading players online like Humana and Aetna provides alternatives that will be liked by small businesses. In the case of Humana, it offers additional options including the Personal Care Account and Human Access Card program. If the small business chooses the PCA, each member employee will be given an account and they will individually pay for their health care. The employer supplies the funding of the account. For the Humana Access card program, each member-employee will be given a Visa debit card each, and this will be used to pay off the expenses. Again, it is the employer that funds the card.
Consider all these as your pool of options when looking for small business dental insurance package for the workers.