Rant about dentist appointment

**Stella** · 02-12-2007, 08:43 PM

I just went to a new dentist two weeks ago. I have dental insurance and the whole visit should have been 100% covered. I went to leave and the receptionist said that I owed them $112.00. I said, "but I have insurance, don't you bill them for this"? She said "No, we take payments up front and the insurance company will send you the reimbursement check directly". I had no choice, but to pay them at this point. I have never had this happen to me before. The office always bills the insurance company. It makes me mad that I am out my $112.00 until insurance decides to send my check. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?

**AheeK** · 02-12-2007, 08:47 PM

It's happened to me before. I think it just depends on the dentist.

**jamie79** · 02-12-2007, 09:23 PM

Yep depends on the dentist. When we move and I try to find a new dentist I always call and thats one of the ??? I ask. Who has that kind of money up front

**dwallyfam** · 02-12-2007, 09:51 PM

A lot of dentists now are asking for the $$ up front and that they insurance company reimburse you.

**halloweenfreak** · 02-12-2007, 11:31 PM

my mother is going in for a non surgical procedure to repair arthritis in her jaw. just for the dental mold and prep work is 4000 bux. they expect her to pay them and wait for the insurance to reimburse her. who has 4000 dollars laying around for dental appointments??

**YankeeMom** · 02-13-2007, 08:07 AM

That was one of my questions I asked when looking for a dentist in this area...do they require payment up front and make you get reimbursement from the ins. co. Mine does not. I wouldn't be able to afford dentist appts if he did. I can't imagine paying the amt we do per month for our dental ins. then having to pay out of pocket for the appt and wait for the ins. co. to reimburse me.

Personally, unless you REALLY like this dentist, I'd find another

**Stella** · 02-13-2007, 09:00 AM

Yankeemom, I am going to. This was my first appointment with them. I feel like the office should deal with the insurance, not me. IMOHO.

**mom21ofeach** · 02-13-2007, 09:09 AM

We've been going to him since we moved here 4 years ago. About a year ago he started the policy where we had to pay up front. I questioned this, as we were given no warning. The receptionist said it was their new policy. I asked if the insurance company was untimely in their payment, and she said no. I paid the bill, but said I was not happy about it. I know of several other people who go to this dentist and they all compained about it too. When I went in last week for the kid's cleanings, they did not ask for payment upfront anymore. I think they got tired of people complaining!

**geckoace** · 02-13-2007, 10:23 AM

the dentist i go to, when i am making my next appointment they sit down with the insurance fee scheudle binder and tell me the out of pocket cost and write them down for me so i can prepare, i had to have a lot of work done 2 years ago and this helped me budget.

**jkelstaten** · 02-13-2007, 11:14 AM

I hate to point it out, but what would they have done if you didn't pay?? The work was already done. If a denist office had sprung that on me with no warning, I would have refused to pay because I've never had that kind of money just sitting around. I understand that some prefer you to pay up front, but it should be stated in plain view in the reception area and costs should be discussed before the work is done, not after.

I'm not a dishonest person by any means, but I think it's dishonest of them to allow you to believe that your insurance provider will cover the cost and then ask you to pay up front.

**Shellshome** · 02-13-2007, 02:39 PM

My old dentist when I was little did this needless to say I don't go there now. But my new dentist which I love (and I hate hate hate the dentist bad experience when I was little) and I don't pay anything up front unless it is my deductible (which is only $50) but for cleaning, x-rays I don't pay anything but when I had my tooth fixed I had to pay $50 up front but I knew this ahead of time. They just bill my insurance which is great.

I would not have been happy that they did not tell you this when you called I would have thought they would have what if you didn't have a checking account and had to pay with cash or just didn't have the money?

**Dedlered** · 02-13-2007, 04:13 PM

One thing that you should always ask is if they accept assigment of benefits and if they are a participating provider of your dental insurance plan. If they do and are, then they will not bill you up front for services that are covered 100%. They can bill you for your percentage and your deductible

HTH

**claimsgirl66** · 02-13-2007, 08:36 PM

My dentist calculates the uninsured portion and the deductible amount. However, a co-worker who has the same dental plan goes to another dentist who does the pay now and you will get reimbursed by dental ins carrier thing...so I guess it depends on the billing practice of the particular dentist.

**Marie78** · 02-13-2007, 10:20 PM

My dentist makes you pay up front and then you have to wait for a bill from the insurance company. This is the third dentist that I have been to that does this. I haven't found any in this area that just take the deductible. I don't have insurance currently though, so all of the money for dental work is out of my own pocket. $700 for my first part of a root canal. I have two more visits and each one is going to be just over $500 cash or credit at time of service!! As you can imagine, it completely wiped out my emergency fund and then some!

**Darlene** · 02-14-2007, 06:59 AM

Guess some docs are tired of hanging in limbo waiting for insurance to pay them for services rendered. Wonder how many times they have been burned by insurance co's that drag their heels in paying or end up not paying at all. If I were a business I sure would like to be paid right away but understand your frustration. You should have been told that payment was due immediately & that insurance would reimburse you.