Friday, October 7, 2011

Horrendously Over Charged... Part 2

Phone calls and waiting depress me...
After work I went over to the dentist office again to pick up my revised statement... and there isn't much revision at all.

They took off the deep cleaning... but they are claiming that the insurance company told us invalid information in terms of my husbands on-lays... and that we will be charged $736 per on-lay instead of $840... (The insurance company said they couldn't charge us more than $480 last night on the phone... but apparently that was if it was for a crowns.)

As for my husbands fillings, apparently they are now labeling 2 of them as Chair-side Veneers (when I called the office to ask about that, they said that's a type of filling)... but that us not what Google says...  nor what the insurance says... Veeners are cosmetic and to help with spacing issues in the front teeth... they aren't fillings... and he  didn't get 2 of them, that's for sure. (Who gets a Veneer on tooth 5 and 12... most people to the front 6 and this is outside of that area)

oh, and they are also saying my husband signed on for a Desensitizing med to be put in 2 of his fillings so he won't be sensitive to hot or cold, but he didn't sign anything after I left and that wasn't mentioned in the office... and get this... the desensitizing material makes them the initial cost so they are claiming so there isn't a deduction for those as of now...

And as for my EOB, they are claiming the office was placed under new ownership in 2008... and my overcharge was in 2007... so I won't be getting anything back from that.... when I eventually get a copy because now now its going to take 3-5 business days by mail to get an EOB from them...

So I called the insurance company and the gal wasn't nearly as helpful as the guys I spoke to last night... but she put in a complaint against their company and someone should be calling me in 5 days or less to hear about the problem... (which is thankfully before my husband gets in the chair to have the permanent work finished on the 15th-- which I can't go because i'm stuck working).

so for now we owe $2,868.00... 

and who knows if we will get back the money they overcharged me from years before... all I know is I feel cheated and sold...

So i called the insurance AGAIN to discuss and find out more information and the gal called the dental office... and she told the gal that we elected for the E-Max and were explained the differences in the materials... (bull-- they said they couldn't do anything BUT E-Max because that's what the doctor recommended...) and the Rep forgot to ask about the Labial Veneers because that was never was brought up with the on-lay confusion...

I'm officially carrying my phone with me everywhere for the next 5 days for the Rep to call me.

5 comments:

  1. Wow I can't believe the trouble this dentist is putting you through.

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  2. Why go back? Tell them you are not having the rest of the work done with them Until this issue is resolved. Can you get a second opinion before then? What about a dental school? do you have one close?

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  3. WOW! That is absolutely ridiculous. You need to contact the BBB/State Attorney General's office, etc. And let the dentist know you will be doing so. They're probably doing this to every patient.

    I guess the moral of the story is to never accept an estimate at face value, always get second opinions/estimates, and to talk to your insurance company to verify that everything is legit.

    I wish you the best finding a new dentist. If you lived in my town I would recommend mine. He is the only dentist in the practice, his staff is the utmost of professional. Further, I have a chipped tooth that isn't causing any problems beyond cosmetic. He mentioned that he can fix it, but to think about it carefully, as the fix won't last more than 5-7 years. His suggestion was to put off fixing it until I had a major life event involving pictures that would hang on my wall.

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  4. Hi, I've been following frugal links tonight and saw your posts. I hope all goes well and that the rep is able to help you.

    I don't know what state you're in but the state dental licensing board is sure to have a dispute resolution process. Please check this out--your dentist may be very reluctant to have his shoddy practices aired before a panel of his peers.

    Wishing you and your husband all the best--this is such a high-stress situation.

    Shay

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  5. I don't know how deep you guys are in it, but I agree with PBMFMM; if you can go to a dental school, I highly suggest that. They are giving you the INTENSE run around and profitting off of it, and it's not fair! I hope you guys will be able to get a handle on things.

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