Apparently there is more than one way to clean, fill, or whiten a tooth. I just ran across a new service that give you access to deeply discounted dental care. Given the current state of health care insurance and dental options this may be a great way to augment what your employer is or is not already offering.
Brighter.com seems to be a mashup of 1-800-DENTIST as their providers are "hand picked", OpenTable for booking, and anti-dental insurance discount plan. Not only are they o.k. with flying in the face of Delta Dental with this service model, that is the whole point. Personally, the idea of negotiated fees paid directly to the dentist sounds great. I'll love to see how their program stacks up against the typical plan offer by small business employers.
Given the confusing nature of health insurance rethinking or abandoning insurance all together in strategic areas maybe smart. Some questions about the brighter.com's offering remain unanswered:
Are enough dentists accepting the plan to give consumers enough choice?
A list of 12 dentists were offered to me for my zip code here in Santa Monica.
How can I sell my current dentist on becoming a Brighter.com provider?
How long before they have enough users to leverage buying power comparable entrenched insurance providers?
Can the negotiated fees I pay to the dentist be paid out of my Flexible Spending Account?
This could turbo charge the value Brighter.com brings to the table.
Since the program is currently free to offer to my staff can fund a tax advantaged account on behalf of my employees?
Does offering Brighter.com to my staff help me meet by Affordable Care Act requirements in 2014?
I hope to hear directly from the folks at Brighter.com for more insight. Would you consider paying directly for you dental work if deep discounts where part of the deal?
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