Dental insurance is not a guaranteed form of payment. As a matter of fact, when you call to verify dental coverage eligibility, dental insurance companies always provide a disclaimer that reads : Dental Coverage is not a guarantee of payment of services rendered. Far too often dental providers have accepted dental insurance as a courtesy, and rendered needed Dental services in the anticipation of perceiving payment, when in fact, no payments were ever perceived. All Dental offices will provide you with a form that states, that ultimately the insurance coverage is a contract between you and the Insurance co., and that the Dental office is not privy to that contract. Ultimately, the payment responsibility falls on the patient. As a result, most dental offices are refusing to work with Dental insurance companies. Why should they agree to provide the needed services that the patient agreed to undergo, only to have coverage denied, and then to have the patient bicker that : the insurance company should have covered it, otherwise they would not have had the procedures performed. It is at the sole discretion of each individual office as to how they conduct business pertaining to Dental insurance benefits and coverage.
1. Inquire before you buy
2. Coverage is not a guarantee of payment
Today, most Fee For Service dental offices will provide you, AS A COURTESY, with a claim form after you have paid fully for services and have had the services rendered,. The Claim form will have a full description of the ADA procedure codes rendered along with the fees of each individual procedure. It is now the patient’s responsibility to get their reimbursement. A treatment plan form is always given to the patient to inform them of the procedures along with their respective charges, and a consent form explaining the risks and benefits of having the procedures performed. It is not until those two forms are signed and payment is perceived that ANY work can be commenced, including : EXAMS, XRAYS , even LOCAL ANESTHESIA ( INJECTIONS ).
The patient’s theatrics provides an inaccurate depiction of the events that actually took place. A SIGNED consent form and treatment plan was established prior to any commencement of any therapy. The patient Mark, UNDERSTOOD, AUTHORIZED AND CONSENTED to have these procedures performed at the established set price, then AGREED TO PAY for such services, only to RENEG on the contract by resulting with slander and extortion in order to obtain money back. Tooth pain does not oblige you to having any work performed. You can always shop around for lesser expensive services. The fact that the patient was caught at the last minute on a Saturday night to have this tooth treated should not oblige the patient to having the work rendered had he not AGREED to having the work performed in the first place. It is pretty pathetic to note that only once the pain had subsided and the care had been rendered does the patient complain about the fee. It is even more pathetic that the patient writes a letter explaining to the doctor that unless he reimburses him half the cost, he will slander his name on the internet, as he is a web site designer.
Every Dentist charges differently, because of the level of technology that they practice. If you want to purchase services from a Dentist with the latest technology in Dentistry, don’t expect to pay less because the Dentist that you are used to going to, operates a dental clinic, with antiquated technology, and with Hours of operation that are not as convenient.
By All means, DO SHOP AROUND for the type of dentistry that you are comfortable with, but by all means DON”T COMPLAIN AFTER YOU HAVE AGREED, AUTHORIZED AND PAID FOR HAVING DENTAL PROCEDURES PERFORMED, and result to extortion if you don’t get your way or money back.
Good communication is key for good Patient-Doctor relationship and enhances better patient care. The Doctor stands behind his work, should a procedure or appliance fail prematurely, such a procedure or appliance would gladly be redone at no additional charges. But DO expect to have all WARRANTIES VOIDED when communication breaks down.
Buyer PLEASE : DO Shop around for the type of dentistry that fits your budget.
If Budget and NOT QUALITY are the driving forces in you decision process then don’t agree, don’t authorize and don’t consent to having the work rendered, AND PLEASE LEAVE THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS STORIES at home.
Why file a report here? Ripoff Report is a permanent record! Other complaint sites copy our content then remove reports for money.
