Budgeting Options for International Students

Quality dental care isn’t just about beauty; it’s also crucial to promoting long-term oral health. Clean teeth are healthy teeth, yet many students overlook dental coverage while studying in the United States, failing to care for their teeth or inviting huge out-of-pocket expenses when they visit the dentist. To minimize costs and maximize oral health, make sure to obtain dental coverage during your stay in the US, but consider:

Insurance or Discount Plans?

The first step in getting the best value dental coverage is to decide whether you need dental insurance or a dental discount plan. With a dental insurance plan, you pay premiums of between $20 and $40 per month and receive access to preventive care, checkups, and dental procedures. Insurers usually put caps on the maximum amount of care you can receive in a certain period of time. This makes insurance a good deal if your teeth are healthy and you only expect to need checkups and minor cleanings, but it becomes expensive if you regularly need fillings, oral surgery, and other procedures. Insurance plans also require you to fill out large amounts of paperwork, make you wait before you can receive care, and don’t cover all of the material and lab costs.

As an alternative to insurance, many consumers are turning to dental discount plans. Discount plan providers negotiate with dentists to obtain lower prices for their members. For a fee of less than $10 a month, you can receive most dental procedures for as little as half of the usual price. Discount plans come with minimal paperwork and no caps on care, and allow you to receive care as soon as you sign up for them. They are thus ideal if you expect to need regular dental care or if you want coverage that will begin as soon as you arrive in the United States.

To further help their members save money, many dental plans also negotiate discounts with optometrists, pharmacists, and ENTs. This allows their members to save money on vision care, hearing care, and pharmaceuticals. If you decide to buy a dental discount plan, look for one that will cover as many of your other medical needs as possible.

Electing to Exchange

Once you’ve decided what type of dental coverage you need, it’s time to start comparing different plans. International students are eligible to use the new healthcare exchanges set up under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Though the exchanges were created primarily to help consumers compare health insurance plans, you can also use them to shop for dental coverage. You can compare dental coverage providers throughout your state, selecting those who offer the greatest coverage at the lowest cost. The exchange offers both health insurance plans that include dental coverage and separate plans devoted entirely to dental.

The Affordable Care Act may also make it easier for you to pay for your coverage. The law provides subsidies to consumers whose incomes are less than 400 percent of the Federal poverty level. Although these subsidies are intended for citizens, international students qualify for them if they are state residents. The health exchanges will tell you whether you qualify for subsidies. If you don’t, you may be able to change that by declaring state residency, but first talk to an immigration lawyer to make sure this won’t interfere with your visa.

Looking to save money without sacrificing your teeth? DentalSave members are guaranteed discounts on dental, pharmacy, vision, and hearing care throughout the United States. To learn more about our coverage, contact us today!