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Hi
I had my wisdom teeth removed, was told the price would be 300$ and insurance covers the rest. However I received a bill in the mail for 430$ and the dentist is demanding I pay it. Is he allowed to say the price of a job is 1 thing, and afterwards demand I pay more then double the price? I personally feel he should of said ok it's 300$ + the additional cost that insurance doesn't cover up to possibly XX. Can I get someone else's opinion on this, and how to go about fighting the dentist?
Hi
I had my wisdom teeth removed, was told the price would be 300$ and insurance covers the rest. However I received a bill in the mail for 430$ and the dentist is demanding I pay it. Is he allowed to say the price of a job is 1 thing, and afterwards demand I pay more then double the price? I personally feel he should of said ok it's 300$ + the additional cost that insurance doesn't cover up to possibly XX. Can I get someone else's opinion on this, and how to go about fighting the dentist?
1. $430 is not double $300.
2. They told you that insurance will cover everything over $300. So you pay $300 of the $430, and insurance will cover the other $130. The insurance company will decide whether or not they will pay that other $130 and if they have reason to reject it, then you will have to pay that $130 in addition to the $300 you already paid.
3. It's very possible that what you received was a statement, and not a bill. Was it from the dentist? Or was it from the insurance company? Was it itemized? Did it have anything on it indicating that anything was submitted to the insurance company?
4. Before "fighting" the dentist, why not just call them and ASK them for an explanation of this mail you received?
5. You are responsible for 100% of the bill, when push comes to shove. If the insurance company rejects their portion of it, then you will be held responsible for paying it. I'm sure there are signs on your dentist's office wall stating as such.
it was definetly a bill, parts that disgust me are that he's charging me 728$+ what insurance has paid. While researching online his reviews, I came across one post who claimed to have been charged 600$ without insurance for what appears to be a similar job.
It sounds like your math is off. Either that or you're forgetful. Or you possibly have reading problems. In your first post, you stated you were billed $430. Now you're saying you're being charged $728 (plus what the insurance company has already paid).
Instead of wasting time checking his online reviews, why haven't you simply *called his office* to ask THEM about the bill? No one here can answer your question as to why you were charged what you were charged, because none of us is your dentist's billing clerk.
I paid 300 for anestia
I received a bill for 428$ afterwards
Insurance covered a large portion of what he charged insurance for.
So the total amount I am being billed is 728$(300 i paid + 428) I have spoken to his office, and the additional cost are for what Insurance hasn't covered. He's insistent on having me pay the additional 428$.
I'm not misreading it - you never said any of what you said in your last post, until you posted your last post.
Also, dental insurance doesn't normally cover 100% of ANY procedures. That means, you wouldn't be paying just $300 for the anasthaesia and nothing else. It means, that IF the anasthaesia was $300, and it wasn't covered by the insurance, then there would also be a charge for the rest of the procedure.
Typically, without insurance, you pay around $500 per tooth, for wisdom tooth extractions, when anasthaesia (other than local) is required. That's a pretty typical fee in the USA; it's more in certain parts of the country, and less in others.
Typically, insurance covers around 50% of the bill, but there's usually a yearly max, and some dental insurance policies have *very* low max caps (like, only $750 total, per person, yearly). Some of them have out of pocket deductibles, and won't cover -anything- until the patient has paid the deductible. So even if they covered 100% of the procedure - they might say "well we'll pay out everything above the first $1000. You have to pay the first $1000."
Typically, a dentist will print out and give you a treatment plan schedule, before he starts the work. This schedule is a list of -exactly- which things will be done that incur a cost, and the expected cost for each thing. If something unexpected happens and a new procedure has to be done after the work has started, they'd tell you before starting it. Or, if you're already sedated and not able to make a decision, they would have had you agree (by signing something) to emergency procedures, before they started the expected procedure.
They can tell you "we expect this to cost $300" and then bill you $430. They're allowed to do that. If they didn't put it in writing, then you'll just have to buck up and pay. If it's in writing, as an agreement or treatment schedule, then talk to the billing clerk.
If I believed everything someone told me, just because they told it to me, I'd be homeless on the street, begging for scraps, or dead. Or possibly the president of the usa. Or, the owner of a lovely bridge in Brooklyn.
I paid 300 for anestia
I received a bill for 428$ afterwards
Insurance covered a large portion of what he charged insurance for.
So the total amount I am being billed is 728$(300 i paid + 428) I have spoken to his office, and the additional cost are for what Insurance hasn't covered. He's insistent on having me pay the additional 428$.
Can you start over?
You, your insurance company, and the dentist should know what your co-pay was before you entered the building.
What is your co-pay?
If your co-pay is 40% then the insurance pays the other 60%.
(what the doctor charges for procedure A, and what the insurance will pay for procedure A, is not always the same thing. I had a colonoscopy. I do not remember all the numbers but I do remember, I saved a bunch because what Medicare authorized on that procedure was well below what the doctor charged, so he had to write down, or write off, the difference)
What is on your itemized bill?
1. cost for x-rays, if any.
2. cost to clean your teeth before the procedure, if any.
3. pull wisdom tooth (excluding anesthesia)
4. cost of sedation (anesthesia)
What are the charges on your bill for those 4 items?
Zero for #1 ?
Zero for #2 ?
If so, the total for #3 and #4 = what ?
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