UnitedHealthcare vs Aetna

While both Aetna and UnitedHealthcare offer dental insurance plans to individuals and families, Aetna only offers one dental insurance plan. If its Aetna Dental Direct® plan meets your needs, you don't need to look further. Aetna also offers a dental discount card Aetna® Vital Savings. This is not insurance. Instead, you pay a small monthly membership fee and receive discounts on dental services when you visit participating dentists.

In contrast, UnitedHealthcare makes it easy to get more specifics on its plans by entering your zip code. Once you enter your zip code, you'll see what plans are available in your area. You may find more dental plan options through UnitedHealthcare depending on your area.

UnitedHealthcare stands out for its Dental Gen plans. These plans are designed with seniors' unique needs in mind. For example, the plans include EPIC hearing coverage and allow you to add vision coverage to your plan as well. These plans are worth investigating further.

It's harder to choose between Aetna and UnitedHealthcare if you're an employer including dental insurance in your benefits package. Both companies offer plans with only in-network coverage and plans with in- and out-of-network coverage. 

Aetna's in-network plan option is a Dental Maintenance Organization (DMO), which means that all dental care is managed through each member's primary dentist. UnitedHealthcare offers a similar network structure with its select managed care dental plans. It also offers in-network only plans that do not have the managed care structure.

Aetna offers two plans with in- and out-of-network coverage: Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and Participating Dental Network (PDN) plans. UnitedHealthcare just offers PPO plans.

Aetna stands out from UnitedHealthcare for its dental indemnity group plans. These plans do not have set dental networks or require referrals. Some plans may have deductibles and annual maximums.

Both Aetna and UnitedHealthcare are good choices for dental insurance. If you're a senior, we recommend looking into UnitedHealthcare's Dental Gen plans. If you're an employer and want to offer an indemnity dental plan, Aetna is the way to go. If you're buying a dental insurance plan for yourself, you may find more options through UnitedHealthcare.