dental insurance

Dental Benefits with Medicare Advantage

By Martin Hurst, Insurance Service Representative

Medicare provides essential health care coverage for individuals over 65, but it does not cover routine dental services such as cleanings, exams, fillings, or dentures. For those in need of dental care, there are a couple options to enhance your Medicare coverage. You can consider Medicare Advantage plans that include dental benefits or opt for a standalone dental insurance plan.

While Medicare Advantage plans can be beneficial, they aren’t the best choice for everyone. These plans often face criticism due to having limited provider networks, higher out-of-pocket costs, and a lack of transparency. These issues can restrict access to care and may provide fewer benefits than expected. It’s important to note that enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan typically means losing your Medicare supplement plan.

When considering dental plans, we recommend assessing your individual needs and determining the total cost, (including premiums, deductibles, and potential copayments) as well as any waiting periods for certain procedures. Waiting periods for major dental procedures, like crowns or dentures, may apply, and it’s essential to understand these requirements when choosing a plan. For example, treatments like wisdom teeth removal may have waiting periods before coverage kicks in. For individuals with Medicare Supplement plans (Medigap), dental coverage can be added, or separate dental insurance can be purchased. However, it’s important to check whether your preferred dentists are included in a Medicare Advantage plan’s network, because some plans may limit which provider you can visit. As your dental needs increase, it’s vital to carefully consider all available options to ensure both immediate and long-term coverage.

I recently worked with a client who had been enrolled in a Medicare Supplement plan for several years. His dental needs had changed, and he needed his wisdom teeth removed in the near future, which is considered major dental surgery not typically covered by basic dental plans. After reviewing a variety of dental coverage options based on his specific needs, we found several plans that provided coverage for surgical extractions, each with different waiting periods and premiums. One plan had a 12-month waiting period before covering such procedures, while another had no waiting period, but came with a higher premium. By carefully weighing his options, we helped him find a plan that balanced cost with timely coverage, ensuring he was prepared for his dental needs.

To learn more about Medicare and dental insurance options, please contact Martin Hurst at martin.hurst@wismedassure.org or call 608.442.3728.

 

Picture of Martin Hurst

Martin Hurst

Insurance Service Representative

Reach out to me to learn more. You can contact me at martin.hurst@wismedassure.org or 608.442.3728.

Send me an email!
Picture of Martin Hurst

Martin Hurst

Insurance Service Representative

Reach out to me to learn more. You can contact me at martin.hurst@wismedassure.org or 608.442.3728.

Send me an email!

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as insurance advice related to your specific policy or situation. Please consult with a qualified insurance advisor or professional before making any policy decisions. Full disclaimer and contact information.

2024 Volume 4

Don’t Wait for Disability Protection: A True Story

By Tom Strangstalien, Insurance Advisor

MRI Brain Scan of head

When you’re in your twenties and thirties, you can feel invincible. Despite the extraordinary odds of a disability, you might think, “why not wait until later in my career when my income increases?” After all, disability insurance can be expensive and impact your budget. Avoid the mistake of taking your health for granted – as resident and fellow physicians, you witness this every single day. To put it simply, life happens!

Read more…


PAYE & ICR Plans Reopening for Student Loan Borrowers

Pay As You Earn Repayment PAYE Plan paperwork

By Mark Ziety, CFP®, AIF®, Senior Advisor, WisMed Financial

The Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans will reopen in mid-December under an Interim Final Rule. For borrowers forced into forbearance under the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, should you switch plans? Let’s find out.

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Common Moonlighting Scenarios – What’s Covered by Your Malpractice Insurance?

Free Medical Clinic sign

By Jensen Peck, Business and Professional Insurance Executive

As the insurance agency for the Wisconsin Medical Society, we receive calls often from members and client physicians who are considering supplemental employment (side gigs) outside of their regular scope of practice. They are often told to “not to worry about” the liability because it’s either covered by the employer or “minimal exposure.” Fortunately, most physicians recognize this may not be true and it’s best to receive input from an insurance agency that specializes in health care liability. Let’s review a few of the more common scenarios and important questions that need to be answered to confirm potential malpractice exposures are covered.

Read more…


Dental Benefits with Medicare Advantage

Dentist or dental hygienist in operation with patient.

By Martin Hurst, Insurance Service Representative

Medicare provides essential health care coverage for individuals over 65, but it does not cover routine dental services such as cleanings, exams, fillings, or dentures. For those in need of dental care, there are a couple options to enhance your Medicare coverage. You can consider Medicare Advantage plans that include dental benefits or opt for a standalone dental insurance plan.

Read more…


Helping clients with strategies, not just quotes

By Chris Noffke, GBDS, CSFS, Vice President of Employee Benefits

Chris Noffke

Managing the costs of employee benefits while still providing robust resources for your employees can be a challenge. If your insurance agent just gives you a few quotes to compare, you might not be getting the best plans for your team.

Recently, my team and I met with a health care clinic that offers benefits for employees and has been struggling with rising premiums. Their agent had been showing them health insurance quotes, but not looking at strategies to reduce costs. We were able to find an option for them that saved almost $20,000 without reducing benefits for their employees. By using unique funding options, we were able to reduce overall premium costs without increasing costs for employees.

As the Wisconsin Medical Society’s insurance agency, WisMed Assure is a niche insurer specializing in insurance for health care professionals. Our team understands cybersecurity needs for health businesses, medical professional liability coverage and exactly how a disability insurance policy needs to be written for a physician. And we have unique contracts available only to our clients.

To illustrate the power of the niche programs we have built for WisMed clients and members, we recently worked with a small healthcare practice that received a group disability quote from another agent with a 4% reduction in renewal pricing. That may have looked good on the surface, but with the same top insurance carrier, due to WisMed Assure’s volume and relationship, we were able to offer a 5% decrease with a 3-year rate lock. The savings to this client in working with WisMed Assure was substantial.

When you work with us, you’re not alone in the insurance process. We’re hands on and help you with:

  • Open enrollment materials
  • Benefits booklets
  • Claims and payment issues
  • Help you use your money more wisely

Don’t deal with the average agent, talk to a professional dedicated to physicians. Please email me at chris.noffke@wismedassure.org or call 608.442.3734.

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as insurance advice related to your specific policy or situation. Please consult with a qualified insurance advisor or professional before making any policy decisions. Full disclaimer and contact information.

Innovation and improvements 

By Chris Noffke, GBDS, CSFS, Vice President of Employee Benefits

Chris Noffke

June marked my eighteenth year in the insurance industry; my entire career has been focused on employee benefits and helping clients save money and improve employee confidence in benefits. When I was asked to join the WisMed Assure team, I was given the chance to be innovative and truly build something the way I felt it should be and that’s exactly what my team and I are doing!

When I was hired in 2016, I was asked to help strengthen our employee benefits programs and services. At that time, we did not offer many services, nor did we provide a lot of in-depth consulting regarding health insurance. Now we have launched a new pooled Dental insurance plan with Delta Dental of Wisconsin, a pooled disability plan, an association health plan with WPS and The Alliance and added a dozen new services and assessments. We continue to add services and programs to provide the best coverage for our clients.

I am very excited to announce our next innovation. WisMed Assure will be adding a second Association Health Plan eligible for all health care companies in the Madison/Dane County area. Our new Association Health Plan will offer Group Health Cooperative (GHC) of South-Central Wisconsin as the insurance carrier, providing access to GHC clinics and all the UW Health clinics in Dane County plus UW hospital. This benefit offering will be available starting on September 1, 2023. We are proud to have an additional plan option that will better serve our clients in Dane County and surrounding areas.

This option provides HMO rates to our members and those of the health care community. If you’ve ever thought, “We’re a low utilizing group, we don’t really use our health care,” this is a great opportunity to explore. These plans are medically underwritten and can provide a glimpse into your company’s utilization.

If you would like to see how our rates look, please email me at chris.noffke@wismedassure.org or call 608.442.3734. Wishing you the best of your remaining summer!

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as insurance advice related to your specific policy or situation. Please consult with a qualified insurance advisor or professional before making any policy decisions. Full disclaimer and contact information.