Insurer offers travel benefits for dental care outside U.S.

Companion Life Insurance has teamed up with a medical travel facilitator to offer its dental policyholders preferred pricing on travel and treatment at dental clinics outside the U.S.

Companion Life is now including an international treatment option in all of its dental programs nationwide, effective immediately. It is offering the value-added service through Companion Global Dental, a division of medical travel facilitator Companion Global Healthcare.

Companion Global Dental will arrange travel, make dental appointments, provide round-trip customer service, and even facilitate the scheduling of tours to volcanoes, rainforests, coffee plantations and other attractions for Companion Life members visiting any clinic in its network. The network currently includes three state-of-the-art clinics, all located in Costa Rica, that have completed Companion Global's credentialing process.

"We believe we are the first national dental insurer to provide international travel and care as a value-added option on all of our policies," said J.C. Preas, Companion Life vice president of field marketing, in a press release. "This option will allow our members to get the dental treatment they need at a credentialed facility, to save significantly on out-of-pocket costs, and even combine an exciting vacation with their dental treatment."

Companion Global Dental's network providers are MP Adult Dentistry of Costa Rica, Meza Dental Clinic, and Prisma Dental Clinic. All the clinics have English-speaking staff members, utilize the latest in technology, and have years of experience in treating American patients. All offer ground transportation to and from the airport.

Companion Life offers dental plans -- small group, large group, and voluntary -- to employer groups with two or more employees.