Dental Insurance for seniors is a must
Meta: The number of older Americans who have some form of dental insurance is amazingly low. Why is it? Discover what is happening right now.
Introduction
Obviously, regular dental care is necessary for maintaining strong oral health, preventing possible dental disease, diagnosing oral-related issues as well as identifying symptoms of systemic conditions.
Moreover, as estimated in 2014, senior citizens make up about 15 percent of the U.S.A population, and this number is supposed to nearly double by 2060. When this rate increases, the dental need for this age cohort will intensify as well.
In addition, dental insurance plays an important role in the decision to seek the proper dental care.
However, many old people in the USA don’t receive adequate dental insurance. Others are also unable to access preventive dental treatment to keep their teeth healthy.
Particularly, in research about Medicare beneficiaries of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, data show that just 12 percent of older Americans get dental insurance forms. This event is actually worth discussing, right?
Jo Calk, who is 70 years old and living Lincoln City, Oregon, visited the dentist faithfully twice per year when still being covered by her employer-sponsored health insurance.
However, when she retired, she felt shocked because she had to start paying those dental costs herself. Thus, she didn’t go to the dentist about a year after retiring since she went through her savings too fast.
On the other side, insurance status seems to be the core predictor of whether someone can receive oral health care.
Likewise, a person’s income plays a large role as well. In conducted surveys, more than half of elderly Americans who haven’t been to the dentist cite the cost as the main reason.
And only 26 percent of people whose living standard is lower than the federal poverty level visited the dentist in the previous year.
Also, high-income beneficiaries were three times as likely to have dental care as compared to low-income ones, 74 percent of whom are reported to receive no dental care.
After all, there is still a large unmet demand for dental insurance among those who are 65 and older in America.
And with fewer retiree health programs covering dental benefits, there exists a group of less-coverage people and those who are less likely to have a dental visit routinely. Now, cost-effective solutions to this issue should be considered.
You won’t be healthy without good oral health. Poor oral health has an effect on our ability to eat foods, swallow or speak. For seniors, poor dental health is even a big problem.
In particular, the bacteria together with tooth decay can develop pneumonia, a popular cause of hospital admissions and even death.
As estimated in 2009-10, over 60 percent of seniors had severe gum, which can cause root decay and tooth loss. Low-income seniors are twice as likely as white and high-income seniors to get gum disease.
Furthermore, the old above 65 are seven times more likely to be diagnosed with oral cancer than the younger.
Above all, taking good care of teeth will help us to prevent and decrease the risk of life-threatening issues such as stroke, heart attack or diabetes.
Moreover, regular dental visits with the benefits of dental insurance will allow us to detect and even treat oral cancer earlier.
The first plan will have $29 average monthly premiums and cost Medicare about $4.4 billion to $5.9 billion per year.
Another plan comes with $7-lower monthly premiums, but cost about $12.8 billion to $16.2 billion a year.
Both ways will pay for the total cost of a preventive care visit annually and 50 percent of allowable fees for essential care to cover additional preventive care and treatment of tooth decay or gum disease.
Besides, there are also discount or low-cost dental insurance options for the old. These programs vary by state and not all of them cover the same services.
Some will have limited services or just pay so much each year before maxing out on benefits. Some will not cover your routine care such as fillings or cleanings.
Thus, it is necessary to compare dental programs and find out the value rather than just for lower monthly premiums. Our aim is always looking for the best plan which fits dental needs and also budget for seniors.
However, not many seniors in America have proper dental insurance, and not many of them have regular dental check-ups.
Thus, more cost-effective solutions should be considered in order to resolve this problem earlier.
Introduction
Obviously, regular dental care is necessary for maintaining strong oral health, preventing possible dental disease, diagnosing oral-related issues as well as identifying symptoms of systemic conditions.
 |
| Not many seniors receive proper dental insurance |
Moreover, as estimated in 2014, senior citizens make up about 15 percent of the U.S.A population, and this number is supposed to nearly double by 2060. When this rate increases, the dental need for this age cohort will intensify as well.
In addition, dental insurance plays an important role in the decision to seek the proper dental care.
However, many old people in the USA don’t receive adequate dental insurance. Others are also unable to access preventive dental treatment to keep their teeth healthy.
Particularly, in research about Medicare beneficiaries of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, data show that just 12 percent of older Americans get dental insurance forms. This event is actually worth discussing, right?
The ongoing situation and barriers
There are fewer and fewer post-retirement health plans that cover dental benefits for old people. Let take a look at the following example to understand more.Jo Calk, who is 70 years old and living Lincoln City, Oregon, visited the dentist faithfully twice per year when still being covered by her employer-sponsored health insurance.
However, when she retired, she felt shocked because she had to start paying those dental costs herself. Thus, she didn’t go to the dentist about a year after retiring since she went through her savings too fast.
 |
| The large unmet need for dental insurance among seniors still exists |
Likewise, a person’s income plays a large role as well. In conducted surveys, more than half of elderly Americans who haven’t been to the dentist cite the cost as the main reason.
And only 26 percent of people whose living standard is lower than the federal poverty level visited the dentist in the previous year.
Also, high-income beneficiaries were three times as likely to have dental care as compared to low-income ones, 74 percent of whom are reported to receive no dental care.
After all, there is still a large unmet demand for dental insurance among those who are 65 and older in America.
And with fewer retiree health programs covering dental benefits, there exists a group of less-coverage people and those who are less likely to have a dental visit routinely. Now, cost-effective solutions to this issue should be considered.
Consequences of lacking oral health care
Stephen Shuman, a leading dentist of the Gerontological Society of America’s oral health group at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, says that forgoing dental care can cause serious long-term results. |
| Oral health for seniors is a big concern |
You won’t be healthy without good oral health. Poor oral health has an effect on our ability to eat foods, swallow or speak. For seniors, poor dental health is even a big problem.
In particular, the bacteria together with tooth decay can develop pneumonia, a popular cause of hospital admissions and even death.
As estimated in 2009-10, over 60 percent of seniors had severe gum, which can cause root decay and tooth loss. Low-income seniors are twice as likely as white and high-income seniors to get gum disease.
Furthermore, the old above 65 are seven times more likely to be diagnosed with oral cancer than the younger.
Above all, taking good care of teeth will help us to prevent and decrease the risk of life-threatening issues such as stroke, heart attack or diabetes.
Moreover, regular dental visits with the benefits of dental insurance will allow us to detect and even treat oral cancer earlier.
Suggested solutions
When it comes to that event, the researchers suggest two ways for extending dental benefits on Medicare to old people by charging monthly premiums and providing subsidies for low-income people.The first plan will have $29 average monthly premiums and cost Medicare about $4.4 billion to $5.9 billion per year.
Another plan comes with $7-lower monthly premiums, but cost about $12.8 billion to $16.2 billion a year.
Both ways will pay for the total cost of a preventive care visit annually and 50 percent of allowable fees for essential care to cover additional preventive care and treatment of tooth decay or gum disease.
Besides, there are also discount or low-cost dental insurance options for the old. These programs vary by state and not all of them cover the same services.
Some will have limited services or just pay so much each year before maxing out on benefits. Some will not cover your routine care such as fillings or cleanings.
Thus, it is necessary to compare dental programs and find out the value rather than just for lower monthly premiums. Our aim is always looking for the best plan which fits dental needs and also budget for seniors.
Conclusion
Now, dental disease is still popular, especially in vulnerable populations, which makes it a “silent epidemic” among the poor and relatively old.However, not many seniors in America have proper dental insurance, and not many of them have regular dental check-ups.
Thus, more cost-effective solutions should be considered in order to resolve this problem earlier.
