Help? Immigrated to the US, trying to make sense of dental insurance plans. Trying to get orthodontic treatment but don’t understand any of this.

The whole time I've been in the US, I've been with the military and had Tricare take care of everything. But surgery for malocclusions is tricky with Tricare and I'm looking for an external solution. I have a pretty severe overjet/overbite (>10mm) and jaw clicking on one side, crooked bite; dentist in Europe told me I'd most likely need surgery and I think it's time.

I live in a state where Kaiser Dental is offered, and everyone says they are great for orthodontic surgery and approve most cases. So I looked up their plans, but none of this makes any sense. There are a bunch of individual plans but each says "Benefit Maximum over 19: $1,000." and no out of pocket maximum. Does that mean they'll only cover $1,000 worth of treatment? That won't come even close. The plan's annual premiums are more than that.

And then the percentages – what does that mean? Oral surgery, 20%. Does that mean out of that $1,000, they'll only cover $200 for any given surgery? At that point, what's the point of insurance at all?

Please help. Thank you.

submitted by /u/SickCallRanger007
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