You can choose from three vision plans and up to three dental plans to match you or your family’s needs.
The three vision plans are pretty self-explanatory. Use the plan comparison guide PDF (English, Spanish, Korean), to understand the key differences between the vision and dental plans.
The Dental HMO (or Health Maintenance Organization, a health plan with lower costs and fewer in-network providers) plan merits a bit of an explanation. The Dental HMO is not an option for everyone. Its availability depends on your ZIP code. Participants in the Dental HMO can only see their in-network dentist and they pay predetermined rates for each service. It’s a bit like ordering your dental services off a menu.
There also are two PPO (short for Preferred Provider Organization, a type of health plan that provides you with flexibility) dental plans. If you want more choices for in-network dentists, the Dental PPO might be a better fit. And if you or a family member don’t want to use an in-network dentist, the Passive PPO has the same benefits in and out of network.
You can use your premium credit toward the cost of dental and vision plans—and you can pay for dental and vision expenses with your health savings account (HSA) or health reimbursement account (HRA). However, any dental and vision expenses do not count toward either the deductible or the out-of-pocket (OOP) max for your medical plan.
If you are thinking about a DHMO, make sure you can find an in-network dentist for every person you’ll cover.