On May 1 Tricare moved to a new dental contract. While "contract" sounds like a boring thing that maybe doesn't impact real people like you, the truth is that it is a huge deal, and you're definitely going to notice. Thanks to the terms included in the new contract, Tricare users are getting more dental benefits than ever with lower premiums -- awesome. But also as a result of the shift from Metlife to United Concordia, dentists who accept the plan are getting paid less than ever before -- not awesome.
There's a pretty good chance that your dentist dumped you in the process -- or at the very least stopped taking the Tricare insurance plan. That means that even though your coverage may be better with the new contract for in-network dentists, you could be paying those higher out of network prices to stay with your current provider or forced to switch to a new one.
Bummer.
If you're like me, you already don't love the idea of going to the dentist. Once I get comfortable(ish) I never, ever want to switch.
We heard over and over again before the switch from dentists who said they simply could not afford to accept the Tricare rates. Doing so, they said, would, in many cases, result in a financial loss. That left them no choice but to stop taking the Tricare rates, they said.
What is not clear is how many dentists left the network thanks to the changes. So we want to hear from you, our boots on the ground. Did your dentist stop taking Tricare as a result of the new United Concordia contract? Take our poll and let us know.
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