The strong link between oral health, eye health and overall medical health is leading to more integration between medicine, dentistry and optometry. As a result, dental and vision benefits are becoming more significant components of employers’ benefits plans and wellness programs.

Looking for tailored guidance on your employee benefits plan? Click here to connect with our team at CBIZ Employee Benefits.

Dental & Vision Care and Your Business

Vision and dental care are not only essential to the health of your employees, but they are also vital to your business. Employees at any age can experience vision and dental-related health concerns that may impact your health plan budget and infringe on their productivity. By offering dental and vision benefits to your employees and encouraging them to take advantage of those benefits, you can reduce their risk of developing serious medical conditions down the line.

Dental Plan Designs

Though there are numerous types of dental plans, they generally can be divided into two categories: managed care and fee-for-service.

Managed care dental plans are cost-containment plans that control cost by restricting the type, level and frequency of covered treatment, limiting the access to care and controlling the level of reimbursement for services.

• Preferred Provider Organization (PPO): One type of managed care plan is a PPO program. Patients select a dentist from a list of providers (network) who have agreed to discount their fees. These plans can be fully insured or self-insured. 
• Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO): Another type of managed care plan is a DHMO plan, which pays contracted dentists a fixed amount per enrolled family or individual, regardless of utilization. Dentists agree in return to provide specific types of treatment at no charge (or occasionally with a copayment). These are typically the least expensive dental plans. 

Fee-for-service dental plans allow employees to choose their dentist, and they are paid for each service according to fees established by the practice.

• Direct Reimbursement: A popular type of fee-for-service plan is the direct reimbursement plan. It is self-funded and reimburses patients according to dollars spent on dental care, not type of treatment. Instead of monthly premiums, employees pay a percentage of the cost of each actual treatment received. This type of plan can be cost effective for both employers and employees. 

Vision Plan Designs

Vision benefits are designed to provide routine preventive care such as eye exams, eyewear and other vision services at a reduced rate. Vision insurance is also typically offered in one of two ways to the employee:

• Vision Benefits Package: Provides vision care in exchange for an annual premium or membership fee, yearly deductible for each member and copay for services. 
• Discount Vision Plan: Provides vision care at a fixed reduced rate after members pay an annual premium or membership fee and deductible. 

Both of these types of vision plans can be customized to meet the needs of your organization and your employees. In addition, you can offer employees the option to pay for this benefit through a payroll deduction or flexible spending account (FSA).

The Benefits of Offering Group Dental & Vision Insurance

Dental and vision benefits are relatively inexpensive offerings to include in your benefits plan, yet they may have a significant impact on your ability to attract and retain employees.

In addition, offering these benefits and encouraging employees to utilize preventive care services can result in lower medical care and medication costs due to early detection of medical issues, as well as lower short-term and long-term disability costs and workers’ compensation costs.

To learn more about the positive impacts of including dental and vision insurance in your benefits plan, connect with our team at CBIZ Employee Benefits today.