DENTIST OFFICE BILLING RANT HORRIFIC!

[Silrossi46]

So my regular dentist referred me to another dentist for an implant.   This implant was out of his wheelhouse and wanted me to go to a more experienced dentist who was well recognized for his work in the implant arena.   That being said it was nice to see that the dentist was in network for my plan and that i had plenty of cap space left in the plan i have at work.  We get a 3000 maximum for any work in a calendar year and implants are included.   Great!   the implant surgery part of the cost is $1750.   I have only used 232$ so far in 2022.    I get the implant surgery all goes well the work was done and i seemingly feel ok.  I have to go back in two weeks to follow up. 

I get to the billing counter after getting out from the chair and they insist that i need to pay 50% since implants are only covered at 50% by my plan.   I know this to be incorrect and state that.   The office person says " i do this for a living i think i know whats covered"   i sort of chuckled at this and still being numb and groggy i hand her my credit card and they charge me $875.   I was just not in the head space to fight it at this time. 

I get home about an hour later and proceed to call Delta Dental  (the provider)  give the person my rate plan information and she confirmed that it was in fact covered 100% and literally only two hours later they had a claim number showing this.  I followed up with the dentist office which took two days from that point just to get someone on the phone to call me back.  I explained the situation and even gave her the claim number as a reference.   The said they would have to call the provider themselves to verify the claim.   They said they would call me back. 

That was a week ago................ 

Would you all just dispute the charge at this point on the card or just give them more time???????????????

I work in technology if i was this incompetent i would have been fired years ago.    SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sibley]

Well first, take a deep breath. Yes its annoying but insurance billing is also notoriously a clusterfuck.

Call the provider back. This is top of mind for you, but it isn't for them. You're going to have to be a squeaky wheel.

[Luke Warm]

why does it have to be a clusterfuck?  my gf is going through an insurance issue with her car and the insurance people act like this is the first time they've ever dealt with a claim.

[Villanelle]

I'd call back one more time with "I'd hate to have to do a chargeback on my card, because this is a pain for both of us, so hopefully you will be able to have this sorted by [3-4 days from when you call].  I should have insisted at the time of the procedure since I knew this was covered, as I mentioned at the time, but I was too groggy.  Let me know if you need any more information; otherwise, I'll look for that credit by [deadline day]."

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

I'd call back one more time with "I'd hate to have to do a chargeback on my card, because this is a pain for both of us, so hopefully you will be able to have this sorted by [3-4 days from when you call].  I should have insisted at the time of the procedure since I knew this was covered, as I mentioned at the time, but I was too groggy.  Let me know if you need any more information; otherwise, I'll look for that credit by [deadline day]."

This is a great way to handle it. A firm deadline is important because what you don't want is to wait too long to dispute your cc bill. It seems to make it harder in my experience.

[shuffler]

I work in technology if i was this incompetent i would have been fired years ago.    SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nobody who works in tech writes all-caps titles.

[Hall11235]

Its all upside for them to appear arcane and incompetent.

Most sheeple stop following up, and they get your money for free. This strat is very effective if you are the only show in town, since people HAVE to use you.

[Catbert]

I'd call back one more time with "I'd hate to have to do a chargeback on my card, because this is a pain for both of us, so hopefully you will be able to have this sorted by [3-4 days from when you call].  I should have insisted at the time of the procedure since I knew this was covered, as I mentioned at the time, but I was too groggy.  Let me know if you need any more information; otherwise, I'll look for that credit by [deadline day]."

Yep, try again before doing a chargeback.  According to the internet people have had banks close credit cards because the bank determined they did "too many" chargebacks.  "Too many" isn't defined anywhere and is definitely larger than one. It takes banks time and effort to resolve these issues so they don't want to become your admin support person.  Make a good faith effort to resolve before doing a chargeback.

[Silrossi46]

I will follow up one more time before I dispute the charge.   I agree with hall11235 in that most people won’t bother to follow up so the upside is all the offices. 

As said by megaschnauzer.  Is this your first claim?? 

Whenever you call this office 90% of the time you get their answering service whether they are in the office or not.

[Sibley]

Look, good chance that the person doing billing is just that, a person. Singular. Possibly with other responsibilities.

Its just money. It will get sorted out. Angst and shouting isn't going to help anyone. Don't be an asshole to the person on the other end of the phone.

[Silrossi46]

To be clear I am never an asshole to the people on the phone.  I present facts and only frown when I hear silly responses like “ oh they never pay more than 50% “. When I know this is inaccurate. 

[CNM]

Yeah IDK about your specific dental office, but it is not at all uncommon for dentists to want a significant portion, if not 100%, paid upfront so they don't get screwed by the insurance company.  I would not be surprised if they refund you only after they get paid from the insurance- which might be weeks from the time the claim was submitted. 

[Josiecat22222]

*retired physician perspective*

These issues are very common and very frustrating for all involved.  My best advice would be to go to the office in person (much easier to get good service face to face) and ask to meet with the billing person.  You can even offer to get on a call with the insurance provider in the presence of the dental billing person and work this out directly.  If you are unable to come to a mutually agreeable solution, I would ask to speak with the practice manager to help resolve this.  The dentist likely has no idea this is happening and does not want this to be your experience.  Hope this is helpful and that it gets resolved quickly for you!

[mm1970]

I work in technology if i was this incompetent i would have been fired years ago.    SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nobody who works in tech writes all-caps titles.

Sure we do, when we are pissed.