When looking through employee insurance plans, dental insurance is one that is sought after. This begs the question: how do employers choose dental insurance in New Orleans? Dental insurance can be extremely expensive and employee dental insurance can help you afford it. Dentist offices can charge hundreds of dollars for routine cleaning and checkups and thousands for braces or dentures. Good dental insurance in New Orleans should cover everything you and your family may need.

What Is Dental Insurance?

Dental insurance exists to help employees maintain proper dental health and hygiene. When employees have good dental insurance, dental hygiene and procedures are accessible and affordable for employees. Employees will have to pay deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance, between $15 and $50 a month. Many policies also have annual coverage maximums, ranging from $500 to $2,000 in many cases.

Why Is Dental Insurance Important?

Offering quality dental insurance is beneficial for the employer and the employee. With great dental insurance, employees are able to work more comfortably knowing they can afford to maintain their health. Dental insurance makes it less likely that employees will miss work due to untreated dental issues. Supporting the wellness of your employees will allow you business to run efficiently.

The best businesses will make sure to have dental insurance. Dental insurance is a sought after benefit when looking for employment. Offering dental insurance puts small businesses in competition with other larger companies. This will attract the best employees to your business and keep them there!

Network of One

When considering what dental insurance to purchase for your employees, businesses should think about the size. The size and breadth of dental insurance networks will determine how well your employees dental expenses are covered. If your employee wants to change dentists, they won’t have a problem finding another dentist covered by their large insurance network. 

On the other hand, if you as an employer change insurance providers, a larger network can make your employees transition from insurance networks seamless. They can likely change their insurance provider and remain in network with their current doctor. Employers should choose an insurance provider that is constantly expanding their network. 

Even if your insurance provider has a large network of dentists, employees are often concerned with a “network of one”. Is their particular dentist in-network? As a smaller business, it may be beneficial to seek an insurance provider that offers specialized and targeted recruitment. This means that the insurance provider focuses on recruiting the dentists that your employees already use. Insurance companies will either make phone calls to the dentist’s office or pay them a visit in person to negotiate bringing them into the network.

Trusting your doctor is important to your health. If your employees trust their dentists, they are more likely to keep up with their dental appointments and hygiene. This will help them stay healthy and prepared to work. 

In-network dental care will also save your business money. Your businesses billed charges can be discounted when using an in-network provider. Dentists who are in-network are required to make sure their licenses are current and in good standing. This provides reassurance for your business and your employees.

Benefits for Small Businesses

Small businesses with less than 50 employees are not required to provide dental insurance for their employees. However, there are ways that small businesses can benefit from providing their employees with dental insurance. Businesses with 25 or less employees with an average annual wage under $50,000 may be eligible for a tax credit of 50% of employee premiums that your business covered. 

There are plenty of options for small businesses when it comes to providing your employees with dental insurance. Preferred Provider Organization plans, or PPO, are the most expensive option because they provide your employees with the widest range of dental coverage. With dental PPO plans, employees do not have to see dentists in-network. Using a DHMOs, or a dental health maintenance organization, is a more affordable option. With this option, a group of dental providers are selected to provide dental care at an affordable premium. Another option are membership buyers’ clubs. For an annual fee, a group of dentists provide discounted care to members. 

Pick a Dental Plan with Canal HR

Canal HR is a PEO, or Professional Employer Organization, that is dedicated to providing small businesses with dental insurance in New Orleans. We make picking dental insurance easy and affordable with our team of experts. With our help, your small business can offer dental insurance plans for employees who have been with your business for at least six months. We work with Spirit Dental Insurance to bring quality dental care coverage to small businesses across the southeastern United States. 

Here are some of the benefits of bringing our employee dental insurance plans to your small business and employees:

• Employees can choose between a high option or low option plan, depending on their dental healthcare needs.
• For both the high option and low option plan, employees can see any dentist of their choosing without selecting a primary care dentist.
• Employees can be eligible to receive between $1,000 to $1,500 worth of dental coverage per year, depending on the plan chosen. 
• Our high option plan includes orthodontia coverage (including adults).
• Both employee dental insurance plans cover preventative dental care procedures, including cleanings and x-rays. 
• Both plans also cover the costs of fillings, bridges, periodontal, crowns, and oral surgery.

Learn more at canalhr.com about how your small New Orleans business can offer employees a  dental insurance plan of the highest quality.