Writing in this month's issue of Health Insurance Underwriter magazine (not the swimsuit issue), Ameritas Sr VP Karen Gustin opines about how dental plans will fare under ObamneyCare©. We've addressed this issue before, when we took to task Companion Life's cave-in on "young adult" coverage. At the time, we pointed out that dental plans are specifically excluded from this requirement.In fairness, what the law (purportedly) says and how it's implemented by HHS Secretary Shecantbeserious are often at odds, so it may not have been completely unreasonable for Companion to have acted pro-actively at the time.
Still, that was then, this is now, and Ms Gustin previews the year ahead as regards dental coverage under the current regime:
■ Dental care for children: as with the medical parts of ObamneyCare©, there will be a core "essential" benefits component, the make-up of which is still being considered.
■ Dependent tracking: this one's disturbing. New requirements will be rolled out detailing employers' responsibilities to track their employees' dependents and how (or even if) they're covered. This is part of new compliance requirements that, frankly, sound even worse than the Individual Mandate (who even thought that was possible?).
■ Fee integration: aka new taxes. 'Nuff said.
■ Employee education: aka Brainwashing. Ms Gustin's point is that the law (ostensibly) requires only juvenile coverage and there's concern that as they age off these plans, folks will forgo needed care. Or, as we call it, personal responsibility.
There's more, and the article is definitely worth the read. Maybe in the dentist's office?
[Hat Tip: SoIB Gail S]