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Bill offers vets, families dental insurance

The top Republicans on the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees are pushing for a dental insurance program for veterans and their families.

Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana and Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina have similar proposals to create a premium-based dental plan for all veterans, their immediate families and for survivors of deceased veterans.

The insurance would be completely voluntary, with premiums set by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It would cover diagnostic services, preventive care, endodontics and basic restorative, surgical and emergency services.

The legislation calls for an annual enrollment period with the ability to cancel insurance once a year or if a person is prevented by a serious medical condition from receiving any dental benefits or moves to a place where dental insurance cannot be used, such as overseas.

The only significant difference between Buyer’s House bill, HR 6277, and Burr’s Senate bill, S 3178, is that Buyer would authorize, but not require, VA to create the insurance program, while Burr would mandate its creation.

Buyer introduced his bill on June 17. Burr introduced his version on June 23.

What will happen with the legislation is not clear. Because Democrats control the House and Senate, Republican-sponsored bills generally do not get much attention unless they have strong bipartisan backing. So far, neither Buyer nor Burr has announced any co-sponsors, from either party, for their bills.

In a statement, Buyer described the idea as similar to the Tricare dental plan for retirees created in 1997 that now covers about 800,000 people, including military retirees, National Guard and reserve members and families.

“This legislation would simply provide eligible veterans, survivors and dependents the option of enrolling in a high-quality and affordable dental care plan similar to what is available for military retirees,” Buyer said, pledging that his plan would not remove current responsibilities of VA to provide dental care.

VA provides such care to veterans with service-connected dental disabilities, those who are 100 percent disabled for any condition, and those who were prisoners of war for 90 days or longer.

Additionally, veterans newly separated from active duty can receive one-time dental treatment from VA if their discharge records show they were receiving dental treatment that was not completed before they were discharged.

While Buyer talked about the military’s Tricare Reserve Dental Program as a success, military retirees have complained about that program’s cost and the fact that the government does not subsidize the insurance. As a result, dental premiums are higher for some military retirees than their premiums for health care.

Premiums for military retirees vary by region, with family coverage costing $90.57 a month in Arkansas, $121.39 in the District of Columbia and $138.66 in California. In addition to the monthly premiums, an annual deductible must be met before any dental expenses are covered.

The insurance plan also does not fully cover all costs. For example, it covers only 60 percent of the cost of a tooth extraction and only 80 percent of the cost of a filling. New enrollees also sometimes must wait for a year before they are eligible for some coverage, such as dentures and orthodontics.