First off, what is Medicare? Medicare is federal health insurance for people 65 and older. As people age and reach retirement, many lose their health and dental insurance benefits they may have been receiving from their employer. This is where Medicare comes in to help.

When you turn 65, Medicare is provided to people free of charge for Parts A and B. What are parts A and B? Parts A and B of Medicare are ONLY health insurance coverage, which include inpatient hospital care and doctors' visits/outpatient hospital care, respectively. The free part of Medicare does NOT cover dental care.

Dental benefits are only covered under Part C of Medicare if you choose to PAY for coverage. Dental benefits are not free and are not covered under Medicare unless you CHOOSE to add additional dental coverage to your Medicare plan. These plans are typically called Medicare Advantage Plans or Medicare Replacement Plans and have monthly premiums in addition to traditional Medicare. These dental benefit plans are typically administered by private dental insurance groups for the federal government, such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Humana, Aetna, etc.

These additional plans for dental coverage under Medicare can be expensive, typically ranging from $50 to over $200 a month depending on the type of coverage you want. Many times, the coverage through these Medicare Advantage/Replacement plans have exclusions and limitations which often go unrealized by the policy holder.

In conclusion, the hard and fast is this: Traditional Medicare DOES NOT cover dental care. You have to sign up for a Medicare Advantage/Replacement Plan which includes dental coverage which will have a monthly premium associated with it. Please do not think that when you turn 65 you automatically get dental coverage because this is not true. Health insurance and dental insurance coverage have always been separate entities and this does not change with Medicare.

How can Reed Dental Center help? Our office offers the Reed Dental Center Membership Plan which is exclusive to our office. We are a local dental office and we want to help those in our community achieve continued dental care as they reach retirement and Medicare age when they lose their dental benefits they may have had for their career lifetime. Our membership plan is less expensive than the monthly premiums to dental insurance companies you would be making with a Medicare Advantage/Replacement Plan and it does not have any limitations, exclusions, waiting periods, or denials. We can offer this membership plan at a lower cost because there is no middle man making the determinations and decisions. It's true dental care, as it was originally, between the dentist and the patient. The dentist has the autonomy to recommend the best dental treatment, or alternatives, for patients without big insurance companies making the determination for the patient based on what they can pay the least for. We all get frustrated with insurance companies, whether its home, auto, health, or dental. Why not take some of your freedom back and visit us at Reed Dental Center and learn about our membership plans that cover your cleanings, exams, x-rays, and offers a discount on any recommended treatment which will never be denied, excluded, or downgraded like insurance companies so easily do.

If you have no dental insurance coverage or if you're going to lose your dental benefit coverage with retirement, give us a call today at 785-274-9917 to learn about our Reed Dental Center Membership Plan and schedule an appointment. We want you to have access to excellent dental care throughout your life because it is proven that with routine dental care you reduce your cost of dental related treatment significantly. We want to keep you smiling!