Covered for Braces

Dear Scotty,

My pre-adolescent child doesn't seem to share my appreciation for the hereditary family overbite and says he wants a “mad new grill.” I'm not sure if this means gold teeth or braces, but when I told my son how much braces cost he said “don't be tight with the lettuce” and “YOLO bro.” Not sure what that means, but I think we need an orthodontist. I'm on the Delta PPO plan now, but they don't have orthodontic coverage. A colleague said that I need to switch to Delta Care so I can get the braces covered, but I don't want to switch dentists again. Why aren't they covered?

-Marshall Mathers, Sr

Dear M&Ms,

Yo, Marshall, I understand and given that your son is likely to be living with you for decades to come, best to take care of this now. As a member of the district Fringe Benefit Committee (FBC), I brought this up at the end of 2014-15 to investigate the costs. This fall, the cost analysis came back and the committee saw the affordability of the option. There was a vote and thankfully, you won't have to switch dentists – Delta PPO now has orthodontic care! There are restrictions, however. It is allowed once per person, 50% coverage up to $2,000. If your son needs braces again later, then the second set would not be covered. There will still be some costs out of pocket but I think you'll really like this change. You could even use the new benefit yourself; with new braces, everyone will know who the real Slim Shady's kids are!

Keep it real,

Scotty