What is Share of Cost (SOC)?

Share of Cost (SOC) is a financial obligation that individuals must meet before they become eligible to receive benefits under certain government assistance programs, particularly Medi-Cal in California. It is somewhat analogous to an insurance deductible in private health insurance plans. The purpose of SOC is to ensure that individuals with higher incomes but still facing significant medical expenses receive necessary assistance while also sharing in the costs of their care.

How Does Share of Cost Work?

1. Calculation: The Share of Cost amount is calculated based on the individual’s income, allowable medical expenses, and family size. It is determined on a monthly basis and can vary from person to person.
2. Monthly Obligation: Once the Share of Cost amount is determined, the individual must pay that amount out of their own pocket towards their medical expenses each month.
3. Eligibility for Medi-Cal: Once the individual’s medical expenses exceed the Share of Cost amount for that month, they are considered to have “met” their Share of Cost for that month. At this point, they become eligible for full Medi-Cal coverage for the remainder of the month.
4. Coverage Period: The Share of Cost and eligibility cycle resets at the beginning of each month. Any medical expenses paid in excess of the Share of Cost in a month do not carry over to the next month.

Example:

Let’s say an individual has a Share of Cost of $200. This means they need to pay the first $200 of their medical expenses themselves each month. Once they have paid $200 out of pocket, their Share of Cost for that month is considered met, and Medi-Cal coverage becomes effective, covering the remaining eligible medical expenses for that month.

Key Points:

• Share of Cost bridges the gap between having higher income levels and still needing financial assistance with medical expenses.
• It ensures that individuals are actively participating in sharing the costs of their healthcare.
• SOC applies to a wide range of medical services, from doctor visits to prescriptions to hospital stays.
• It’s important to keep track of medical expenses and ensure they exceed the Share of Cost to activate full Medi-Cal coverage for the month.
• The Share of Cost amount varies based on individual circumstances and is recalculated regularly.

In summary, Share of Cost is a mechanism used to determine an individual’s financial participation in their healthcare expenses before becoming eligible for full Medi-Cal coverage. It aims to strike a balance between affordability for the individual and sharing the costs of healthcare. Find out how ShareOfCost.com can help you meet your spend down needs for the California Share

Inflammation associated with periodontal disease has a high potential to contribute to coronary artery disease. Good oral health can lower that risk.

Did you know that, Periodontal infections ( Gum Disease ) contribute to problems with glycemic control, which compromises the health of diabetic patients.

Our website lets you compare multiple dental insurance plan from lower cost plans HMO insurance plans and dental discount plans. As well as Dental PPO’s and Free choice of providers plans called indemnity dental insurance plans. Not only do we provide different plan types depending on the state you are in but we provide our dental plan and insurance options though may different companies. Letting you comparison shop several plans at once. to review the dental insurance and plan options that are available to you in your area just enter your zip code in the quote box provided.

Dental discount plans are a low cost alternative to dental insurance. With a dental discount plan cost can normally run around $7.95 – $9.95 a month for an individual and $9.95 – $15.00 a month for families. These low cost discount plans provide saving off of all your dental care needs done by a plan provider. There are no savings for dentist that are not providers of the plan so making sure there is a dentist in the dental discount plan you may want to have is very important. Check our all our dental discount plan options along with our dental insurance plans and choose which may best fit your dental care needs.

Dental Insurance and Bitewing: Radiographs Bitewing X-rays are often used by dentist during your dental check up. Without dental insurance these types of X-rays can run between $50.00 – $100.00. However, most dental insurance plans provide this dental service for little to no cost. In addition to also provide little to no cost check ups and basic cleaning. Make sure you are not spending more money then you need to by having current dental insurance.

The World Health Organization recommends sugar intake should be halved to combat dental cavities

In the US, around 92% of adults aged 20-64 have experienced dental cavities/tooth decay, in at least one of their permanent teeth. To tackle the growing problem of tooth decay, researchers from University College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, both in the UK, say the World Health Organization’s recommendation of a maximum of 10% total daily calories from free sugar should be reduced to 5%, with 3% as a target.

Dental services needs to improve among US women of childbearing age

Oral diseases can be prevented or improved with regular dental visits. The objective of this study was to assess and compare national estimates on self-reported oral health conditions and dental visits among pregnant women and non-pregnant women of childbearing age by using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Severe Periodontitis is the Sixth Most Prevalent Health Condition in the World

The International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) have published a paper titled “Global Burden of Periodontitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression. In 2010, severe periodontitis was the sixth most prevalent condition in the world affecting 743 million people worldwide. Between 1990 and 2010, the global age-standardized prevalence of severe periodontitis was static at 11.2%. The age-standardized incidence of severe periodontitis in 2010 was 701 cases per 100,000 person-years, a non-significant increase from the 1990 incidence of severe periodontitis. Prevalence increased gradually with age showing a steep increase between the third and fourth decades of life that was driven by a peak in incidence at around 38 years of age. There were considerable variations in prevalence and incidence between regions and countries.

Support caregivers to improve oral health of adults with developmental disabilities

Boston: Despite a policy focus on expanding access to care for adults with developmental disabilities, this vulnerable population continues to have significant dental disease.

In the October 2014 issue of The Journal of the Dental Association, researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine report on the first large-scale survey to investigate factors influencing at-home oral care provided by caregivers to adults with developmental disabilities. The study findings suggest that, in addition to addressing access to care, policy initiatives must improve support for caregivers.

Dental Care and Heart Disease

Perhaps more well established is the association between dental hygiene and heart disease. In 2008, MNT reported on research from joint teams at the University of Bristol in the UK and the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, who found that people with bleeding gums from poor dental hygiene could be increasing their risk of heart disease.

Dental Care and Pancreatic Cancer

A research team from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, were the first to report strong evidence on a link between gum disease and pancreatic cancer, back in 2007. The type of gum inflammation associated with pancreatic cancer in the study was periodontitis, which affects the tissue that support the teeth and can cause loss of bone around the base of the teeth.

The other main kind of gum disease – gingivitis; where the tissue around the teeth becomes inflamed – was not linked to increased cancer risk. However, gingivitis can lead to periodontitis if persistent. Gingivitis happens when bacteria in the plaque around the base of the teeth build up due to bad dental hygiene.

Dental Care and Alzheimer’s

In 2010, researchers from New York University (NYU) concluded that there is a link between gum inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease, after reviewing 20 years of data on the association. In 2013, UK-based researchers from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) built on the findings of this study, by comparing brain samples from 10 living patients with Alzheimer’s with 10 brain samples from people who did not have the disease. Analysis showed that a bacterium – Porphyromonas gingivalis – was present in the Alzheimer’s brain samples but not in the samples from the brains of people who did not have Alzheimer’s. What was interesting was that P. gingivalis is usually associated with chronic gum disease.

Beyond Tooth Decay: Why Good Dental Hygiene is Important

Most of us are aware that poor dental hygiene can lead to tooth decay, gum disease and bad breath – but not brushing your teeth could also have consequences for more serious illnesses. Some less well-known and serious conditions that have been linked to poor dental hygiene in recent years: Alzheimer’s disease, pancreatic cancer and heart disease.

Risk of pneumonia in the elderly doubled by sleeping in dentures

Poor oral health and hygiene are increasingly recognized as major risk factors for pneumonia among the elderly. To identify modifiable oral health-related risk factors, lead researcher Toshimitsu Iinuma, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Japan, and a team of researchers prospectively investigated associations between a constellation of oral health behaviors and incidents of pneumonia in the community-living of elders 85 years of age or older.

This study, titled “Denture Wearing During Sleep Doubles the Risk of Pneumonia in Very Elderly,” has been published by the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR in the OnlineFirst portion of the Journal of Dental Research (JDR).

Combating Periodontal Pathogens: Periodontitis is a common ailment. If the inflammation remains untreated, it could lead to tooth loss. However, it is also suspected of triggering many other diseases, like cardiopulmonary diseases. Researchers are studying the interactions, and developing compounds to combat the causative agents