Gift Cards To Pay Your Dental Bills?

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Dental News
Health care providers this year rolled out a different sort of stocking stuffer: Gift cards that can be used to pay your dental bills for specific services.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida might have the largest program, selling gift cards at over 1,000 Winn-Dixie and CVS stores in the state. The providers selling them say they can make a good gift, but industry observers say some cards may not be right for many consumers.

In the Blue Cross Blue Shield program, a $19 gift card gets recipients a 10% to 50% discount on braces, dentures, crowns, fillings, oral surgery and cosmetic dentistry and/or a 10% to 60% discount on eye exams, glasses or contact lenses. "They are a wonderful solution, but they are not the ideal solution for everyone," said BCBS of Florida spokesman Doug Bartel who pointed out that the cards do not cover everything and do not replace comprehensive health/dental insurance plans do.

Some say health care is too complicated to be covered by a thin piece of plastic. But supporters disagree. "It's hard enough to afford Christmas, let alone check-ups and doctor's visits," says Sean Ness of Syracuse. "I'd love someone to hand me a card that would cover even some of those [health care] expenses."

Critics Disagree
Some health care professionals point out that health-based gift cards frequently come with numerous restrictions or cost more than the benefit is worth.

One recent version of a health care gift card which failed was Pennsylvania health insurer Highmark who dropped a card after one year because of consumer confusion. "A card is an inanimate object. Health care is a complicated product. It's very difficult to understand. And even the card itself, it had those restrictions and confusion around which products could be bought and which ones couldn't," Highmark spokeswoman Kristin Ash said.

Charlie Villar, who was shopping at a CVS store in Miami where the Blue Cross cards were being sold, said medical and dental bills are too complex for gift cards. "Even with my own health care, you have to take a close look at what your plan offers you. And for $59 or $19, I mean I don't know what I'm going to be giving someone," said Villar, a 38-year-old marketer.

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