Child Dental Through Union, What are My Options?
You answered my previous question by indicating that employers must provide dental for children. Now, my dilemma is the only way to get dental thru company is to join the union at work. You must pay dues to do so and then no dental is available until you have been enrolled for 1 year. My kids need dental now. Is this the correct way the employer should be offering dental? Please advise what I need to do. Thank you again, Julie
Answer
If you are in a situation where child dental doesn't have to be offered right away, you can buy a stand-alone dental plan yourself. In this case, the employer IS offering the plan, if only technically.
Typically dental is only sold during open enrollment in the Marketplace (unless you qualify for special enrollment), but you can shop at a local insurer or at an online broker for dental plans. One important thing to keep in mind is that your plan will only pay up to your maximum, and the longer you stay with the plan, the better the coverage gets. Generally, dental works best for small claims and may not pay as much for larger claims.