How do discount dental plans (reduced fee-for-service dental plans) usually work?
Most dental discount plans work in the following fashion. The member pays an annual (or monthly) membership fee. It seems that this fee usually runs on the order of around one or two hundred dollars per year, depending on whether the membership is for one individual or one individual family. The precise discount that the member receives for any particular dental procedure is determined by the plan’s fee schedule. This fee schedule lists all covered dental procedures and the amount that the participating dentist is allowed to charge for each of them (as payment in full for services rendered). (The fees listed in the schedule will vary by geographical area and possibly in regards to the specific contract the company has in place with that particular participating dentist.) The member’s discount is simply that difference between the plan’s stipulated fee and the dentist’s normal fee. (Notice that with a discount dental plan all financial transactions associated with treatment are between
