(Announcer) “Here it comes from the Samuel Smiley television studio in Los Amalgam, California – it’s the Dental Plan Price is Right!”
“Freddie Fluoride, come on down!”
“Candace Crown, come on down!”
“Maxine Mandibular, come on down!”
“Peter Pontic, come on down!”
(Announcer) “You are the first four contestants on the Dental Plan Price is Right! Now, here’s your host – Noel McCavity!”
(Noel) “Welcome everybody, how you doing? Nice to see you. Good luck to everybody, let’s get the show started with the first price offered on the Dental Plan Price is Right.”
(Announcer) “We’re going to kick things off with bids on diagnostic and preventive procedures for members of a HMO plan. We’ve got an oral exam, bitewing X-rays, a fluoride application and two teeth cleaning procedures a year.”
(Noel McCavity) “An ounce of prevention and diagnostic procedures are worth a pound of cure, right? So in pricing these diagnostic and preventive procedures for HMO plan members, whoever comes closest to the actual price without going over wins. Freddie, we’re going to start with you.”
(Freddie) “I’m going to go with $19.95 Noel.”
(Noel) “$19.95, good luck. Candace, what about you?”
(Candace) “I’m going to say $35.”
(Noel) “$35, right. Maxine, what do you say?”
(Maxine) “About what?”
(Noel) “Your bid. How much do you say for today’s prevention and diagnostic procedures package?”
(Maxine) “$49.95 Noel.”
(Noel) “Right, $49.95. Peter, what about you?”
(Peter) “$24.95 Noel.”
(Noel) “$24.95, good. The actual price for an oral exam, bitewing X-rays, a fluoride application and two teeth cleanings a year with this HMO plan from Dental Insurance Store – with the office visit copay included - $10. Freddie, that makes you our first winner today. Congratulations! Freddie, where you from?”
(Freddie) “Mount Veneer, Vermont.”
(Noel) “Mount Veneer, huh? Guessing your town has undergone a lot of restoration. Never been there. What are the people like?”
(Freddie) “It’s a small but friendly place. Porcelain and Resin families mostly.”
(Noel) “That’s great Freddie. What prize do we have for Freddie?”
(Announcer) “We’ve got a four-day all-expense paid vacation to…Periodontal Pointe! You can take a plane or a train, but you can’t get there without a ski-lift to this lovely mountain chalet overlooking the Osseous and Gingival Valleys.”
(Noel) “Freddie, ever been to Periodontal Pointe?”
(Freddie) “No, but I’d love to go.”
(Noel) “And we’d love to send you. And we will if you successfully answer this one question: Does a HMO dental plan allows its members to go to any dentist or must they choose a dentist in network?”
(Freddie) “Uh, um…you can only go in-network with a HMO plan. The plan won’t pay if you go out-of-network.”
(Noel) “That’s right Freddie, and you’re on your way! By the way, don’t forget to pack a toothbrush and some dental floss because they are not included in this almost all-expense paid package. That’s all the time we have folks, but Dean, tell the reader what else they need to know.”
Thanks Noel, I’ll do that. HMO’s often cover preventive and diagnostic services at 100% and have no waiting periods, deductibles or annual maximums on what the plan will pay. Unfortunately HMO’s aren’t available everywhere, but Dental Insurance Store offers cost-saving HMO plans in 17 states.
To see if a HMO dental plan is available in your area and for more dental plan options where the price is right, click here. Thanks for reading Agent Straight-Talk, and if you haven’t resolved to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn in 2016, it’s not too late!
Photo source: doublegames.com
Copyright 2016, Bloom Insurance Agency, LLC