Covered California Required to Offer Pediatric Dental Care

Starting in 2015, Covered California will require health plans to include children’s dental care. Some worry that this required benefit could result in an increase in the cost of insurance for everyone. More “free” benefits for children could lead to higher premiums for adults.

Currently, dental coverage is a supplemental benefit that can be purchased. On Thursday January 27th, the Covered California board of directors decided that pediatric dental coverage will be considered an essential health benefit starting in 2015. This decision came about for numerous reasons including an argument that dental care is important to a child’s growth. Other arguments stem from the government’s concern that only 27% of the children enrolled in the exchange had dental coverage.

If you or your family are interested in purchasing dental coverage through the exchange, these six providers offer benefit packages:

• Anthem Blue Cross

• Blue Shield of California

• Delta Dental

• Health Net

• Liberty Dental

• Premier Access Dental

Premiums for these plans range between $9-$44 per month depending on the type of coverage and network.

For more information on pediatric dental coverage and the impacts of this decision, please feel free to contact us!