Getting coverage for their kids’ dental care is one of the reasons business owners sign up for group benefits plans. With the Chambers Plan you can keep your family and your employees smiling. The cost for dental work can add up and often claims can be unpredictable. When dental claims become a concern at work it’s time for the Chambers Plan.
One of the great things about benefits plans is their tax treatment. Depending on income level they could need nearly twice as much taxable income for dental claims than they would through an employee benefits plan. As health and dental premiums are a tax-deductible expense for employers, and one of the few items left that aren’t taxable benefits to the employees, it makes a lot of economic sense to have a benefits plan.
Consider this; an employee earning $ 4,000 monthly would need nearly $1,700 in income to pay for $1,000 worth of family dentistry. That can be significant. Having benefits that cover that, even with some level of coinsurance, is truly beneficial for the employee. This is one of the major reasons why many polled employees would choose benefits when given the choice between a large raise or employee benefits.
Even firms with 1 employee and up can get basic dental benefits including endodontic and periodontic coverage, and the larger the firm the more options there are available. Major dental and orthodontic coverage are also available based on the size of the firm.
The Chambers Plan with its pool of 35,000 businesses, is Canada’s largest program of this kind and unlike many smaller insured plans. The plan provides rate certainty on renewal even if you have a year where dental claims happen to go higher. This stability is in part due to the size of the pool and also in part due to the not-for-profit nature of the plan.
This can have a significant positive impact on an employee who may be facing family dental claims and the stress of taking large amounts from the monthly budget to accommodate the need. Happy employees tend to perform better, whereas employee without coverage may be forced to work in pain due to the expense of repairs if they have a dental concern.
Another little-known benefit is that if the firm has extended health coverage there is also an accidental dental component available under the health portion of the plan, which does not go against the annual dental limits. Costs can be controlled by having some co-insurance or limits in place and varying the coverage based on the level of benefit. With the Chambers Plan, generally most options have a recall period of 2 times per calendar year, with some savings provided with 9 month recall options.
For employees, dental is a lower risk item but has a high impact on employee satisfaction. Unlike a benefits plan component like drug coverage, most employees will typically claim less than $1,000 per person in an average year. However, as these are typically impact items, most people need to make these repairs and incur the expense at the time if incident. For a lot of employees, facing a $1,000-$2,000 after-tax expense can be daunting.
The Chambers Plan also makes claiming easy. Most dentists today can submit your claim online with payment either directed to the dentist or themselves, and they pay directly. These claims are typically paid within 24-48 hours and with direct deposit even if done on a paper claim basis and could be in your account within 48 hours using the My-Benefits.ca. With the phone application, a simple photo of the invoice can be submitted.
In addition, for anything you are unsure of the dentist can submit a predetermination. This would allow them to let you know if the item is covered, and if so, at what percentage and dollar amount before you proceed with the work. Again, employees can also view through their My-Benefits application how much room they have left to claim towards their limit each year, and view when their next recall appointment is eligible to happen.
The Chambers Plan makes it easy for firms to provide dental benefits and a Chambers Plan advisor can show your staff how to use the program so they’re not having to come to their employer with questions. The plan and it’s resources are very user friendly.
If your firm does not have dental coverage and would like to get a quote, you can simply contact an advisor near you by visiting chamberplan.ca and entering your postal code. Getting a no hassle quote doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. If your firm has coverage and your rates have been rising the Chambers Plan is a great option with stable renewals and lower overhead as a not-for-profit. Contact your local advisor today; let us give you a reason to smile.
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