Discount on dental in Chester County

    Chester County is promoting a new discount card that could save residents money on teeth cleaning, root canals and other dental care.

    The new plan is a discount card, not dental insurance.

    A family pays about $70 a year and then gets 5 percent to 50 percent off services when they visit an in-network dentist. Individuals pay about $60 a year.

    “That works real well for folks who do not have a dental plan or who may have a high deductible health plan, where they are paying expenses out of pocket,” said salesman Mark Roberts. His company Careington International offers the discount card.

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    “They could use our plan in conjunction with flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts where those pretax dollars are able to go toward payment of qualified medical expenses … of course dental would be included in that,” Roberts said.

    Nearly 350 Chester County providers accept the discount plan, he said.

    Roberts says when a company–or government–is looking to cut back on health benefits, dental care is often the first to go.

    He said the discount card can be a good deal even for people who have some dental coverage.

    “For major dental expenses, if you have crowns or root canals, or any significant items that you’ll need to get taken care of. Naturally, your preventive items typically are compensated by the insurance plan, so you wouldn’t want to use the dental plan for that, if you have dental insurance,” he said.

    Margaret Rivello, county health department director, said Chester County got no compensation for the endorsement and vetted the company to make sure it provides good service.

    Rivello said her office regularly fields calls from people looking for help with dental bills.

    Chester County also promotes Careington’s prescription drug discount card. About 6,200 residents have signed up.

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