Updated on January 31, 2024
In the content below, we provide you:
Essential Choice Incentive
No waiting periods. Increasing benefits. Coverage for implants and orthodontia.
Plan Maximum: $2000
Essential Choice Platinum
Coverage includes dental implants and orthodontia for children.
Plan Maximum: $2000
Plan Type: TypePlan Maximum: $1000
Anthem, also known as Anthem Blue Cross or Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, is one of the nation's best-known insurers, offering a variety of health coverage through several different brands. Taken together, Anthem brands represent one of the largest health benefits providers in the country. While widely known for their health insurance products, Anthem also has a robust selection of specialty insurance plans which includes dental coverage. Anthem dental insurance products cover Americans across the country and the company boasted total dental membership of over six million people for the year 2020. Anthem's dental products can be purchased individually by consumers or in group policies for businesses.
Anthem's presence in the dental market extends beyond consumers. Their Dental Provider Savings Program provides discounts up to 40% to dentists on office devices such as scanners and personal protective equipment, lab services (implants, clear aligners, dentures), and dental telemedicine technology. Anthem has also upgraded their online portal for dentists to submit their patients' claims as well as verify patient insurance eligibility for specific services before they are performed.
Anthem was named by Fortune Magazine as the #1 Most Admired Company within the Health Care Provider segment in 2020. In the same year the Anthem Foundation announced that it had committed $50 million to COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. These efforts include provisions for the safety of health care providers, mental & behavioral health support resources, and resources to combat food insecurity.
A popular line of dental products from Anthem is the Essential Choice. The plans in this line include the Essential Choice Incentive, Essential Choice Bronze, Essential Choice Silver, Essential Choice Gold, and Essential Choice Platinum. All five of these plans are PPOs. PPO stands for “preferred provider organization.” A PPO has the lowest out-of-pocket costs for covered services among in-network dentists but still allows an enrollee to seek treatment out-of-network (albeit at higher costs).
The entry-level of these options is the Bronze. It has the lowest premium among Essential Choice plans and has no waiting periods before preventive care such as annual teeth cleaning and oral exams can be received by an enrollee. Unlike other Essential Choice plans, the Bronze does not have any coverage for major dental work such as root canals or crowns. In contrast, other Essential Choice plans provide major dental coverage (usually with a waiting period). The deductible on the bronze plan varies by the number of enrollees. For a single person, it has a $50 deductible. Each additional enrollee within a family plan is another $50 deductible but the family deductible is capped at a maximum of $150 a year. This deductible is waived for diagnostic and preventive services if they are received in-network.
The Silver plan is the next entry in the Essential Choice insurance line. While many of its out-of-pocket costs are similar to the Bronze plan, it includes coverage for major dental services like crowns in contrast to the Bronze plan. This coverage for major dental work becomes active six months after enrollment. This delay is known as a “waiting period.”
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