Dental Insurance not keeping up with $$

[Jeepwm69]

Originally Posted By: maxdustington
Originally Posted By: JeffKeryk
The only answer is single payer.
Do the math...
The rest of the civilized world has.


Come to a Toronto hospital, you can see how civilized our medicine is after you wait 12 hours.


When given the choice of "I can have the procedure if I can come up with the money" vs "I can have the procedure if some bureaucrat says I can" I'll take option A every time.

Government involvement is the reason health care costs have skyrocketed. Health care costs mirrored CPI until the advent of Medicare and Medicaid.

"Before the advent of Medicare and Medicaid and the HMO Act of 1973, the private sector funded over three quarters of the country's health care expenditures, individuals paid nearly one-half of total costs out-of-pocket and health care inflation was in-line with the consumer price index (CPI)."

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2009/09/understanding_the_cause_of_hea.html

More government involvement is NEVER the answer to any problem.


Be a grown up. Get a job. Work. Pay for your own insurance.

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
When will companies and dental insurance companies come to the realization that $1,000 a year isn't enough coverage when people need things like crowns and bridges?


Go get yourself some better insurance?

 

[Tdbo]

I have dental insurance through my retirement plan, and my wife doesn't, since I have to access her health coverage through the private market (and that's bad enough).
Our dentist (not sure that he is going to be mine much longer)sells a pre pay plan that for $250. a year, covers cleanings, X rays and 20% off of their services. That works well enough for her.
Mine on the other hand, is somewhat of a junk plan and is viewed as somewhat of a piggy bank by their office to see how much they can access of it. For instance, I have seven silver fillings that I have had for years. Doctor recommended that three of them be replaced. I saw the scans and they needed to be replaced. Fair enough.
I go to leave and get taken into an office by an office staff member and got the full court press to replace them all. I stated that I was following the Dr.'s advice and replacing the medically necessary three. After hearing her babbling and being made to feel like I was buying a car, she asked when I was going to replace them (like it was any of her business.)
My response to her was "I'll replace them on an as-needed basis, or whenever I feel like it."
If looks could kill, I'd be a dead man. However, I'll be bleeped if I am going to fall for that kind of approach.
We'll go next month since my wife has one free cleaning and we both are due for our six month visit. After that, Dentist shopping again.

 

[rshaw125]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
US working people have been ripped off by the medical cartel for decades.

The insurance industry, in general, is a racket.


Insurance companies charge more because medical care in the US is by far the most expensive on the planet. Limited supply and no competition equals high prices.

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted By: JeffKeryk
Dental insurance is a joke unless your teeth and gums are mostly healthy.
It just ain't that good.
I am considering full mouth implants for a friend. Probably $50K, or more...
Did you know the #1 reason people get into major debt is medical cost, and most of those people have insurance?

The only answer is single payer.
Do the math...
The rest of the civilized world has.
Shouldn't people with good teeth have cheaper insurance?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
If there was a $5000 yearly limit, do you think dentist would take advantage of it and raise the cost of dental work for those without coverage?
Catch 22.


This! Yes insurance is the very best way to create inflation in any medical field. They shouldn't even be able to ask you if you have insurance.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Take care of your dental needs and you will be fine. I visit dentist twice a year for cleanings and no problems.

Some Americans say they can't afford dental care... but somehow afford a nice car, iPhone, jewlery, etc...

They go to the ER for a tooth ache or bleeding gums from lack of care.



^^This.

Take care of those chopppers and they’ll take care of you.

 

[JTK]

ZZman, I hear you. Given how important your dental health is for your overall health, it's ridiculous. It's a major worry for me with my family of 6. Luckily my employer offers dental through Aetna. A standard plan and an "enhanced" plan that covers a lot more for the year. The key is, you have to find a dentist who is an Aetna preferred provider.

I've found that to be the same with any dental coverage. In my experience, any dentist will take the coverage you have (to a degree). If you use the preferred providers per your coverage, your out of pocket costs will be reduced dramatically.

 

[Rand]

The sad fact is along with the doctors and medical industry having very high prices...insurance who you would think would want lower costs....WANTS the medical bills higher.. then they can charge you higher premiums.. higher premiums = higher profits.


it benefits everyone in the medical and insurance industries to make the prices as high as possible.

 

[racin4ds]

It's all a joke anymore!!! I pay dearly for insurance through my job which offers a pretty good package overall. Delta Dental is included but of course it doesn't pay SQUAT for the braces my 13 year old daughter needs to straighten her teeth out. Yes it takes care of cleanings and check ups but I still pay a percentage of everything else out of pocket.

And for those of you saying "take care of your teeth and you don't need it" go pound sand. I've brushed and flossed pretty religiously all my life but unfortunately I was troubled early in life with high fevers, ear infections and other issues that caused my teeth to have poor/weak enamel and very prone to cavities. I had $5,000 in my mouth before I was 10. I'm scared to death of the dentist and only go when absolutely necessary now because they are all scam artists!!

 

[pandus13]

Have any of you used your HSA funds for dental work?
Also , does anyone got the dentist to reduce a bill?

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: JeffKeryk
Dental insurance is a joke unless your teeth and gums are mostly healthy.
It just ain't that good.
I am considering full mouth implants for a friend. Probably $50K, or more...
Did you know the #1 reason people get into major debt is medical cost, and most of those people have insurance?

The only answer is single payer.
Do the math...
The rest of the civilized world has.


Do single-payer systems pay for orthodontia - which was the OP's complaint?

Just wondering if the Canadian system pays for braces, because I will tell you, in places like England, with single payer, it's quite clear that NO ONE gets braces...

Have you seen the average British smile?

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: pandus13
Have any of you used your HSA funds for dental work?
Also , does anyone got the dentist to reduce a bill?


I use HSA all the time for dental work.

e.g. a crown replacement last year. $650 out of pocket, paid for with HSA $$.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
When will companies and dental insurance companies come to the realization that $1,000 a year isn't enough coverage when people need things like crowns and bridges?


When will people start taking responsiblity for how much things cost?

Seriously, ask your dentist for a cost breakdown before getting anything done. Purchase better insurance if necessary. Same thing with medical procedures.

This isn't rocket science.

 

[Cressida]

Why are you knuckleheads getting X-rays every year? X-rays are a high margin product so they like to push them every time you come in, but they also are accumulative in your head / body. When the little girl with the community college degree tells you need them do understand that she isn't going to be around when you get cancer shortly after you retire.

I had been refusing routine X-rays (with cleanings) for the past nine years. I did consent this past time and, as I expected, they showed nothing unusual at all. Of course the bill was much higher. It will be at least another 5 years before I consent to more X-rays.

You are responsible for your health so be prepared to walk away if they don't provide the service you desire. So far, it always comes up that I need to get X-rays yet they know I never do - it's noted on my chart now).

 

[Jeepwm69]

Originally Posted By: racin4ds
It's all a joke anymore!!! I pay dearly for insurance through my job which offers a pretty good package overall. Delta Dental is included but of course it doesn't pay SQUAT for the braces my 13 year old daughter needs to straighten her teeth out. Yes it takes care of cleanings and check ups but I still pay a percentage of everything else out of pocket.

And for those of you saying "take care of your teeth and you don't need it" go pound sand. I've brushed and flossed pretty religiously all my life but unfortunately I was troubled early in life with high fevers, ear infections and other issues that caused my teeth to have poor/weak enamel and very prone to cavities. I had $5,000 in my mouth before I was 10. I'm scared to death of the dentist and only go when absolutely necessary now because they are all scam artists!!


Went through the same thing with my oldest daughter. Delta Dental doesn't pay for braces. I pay $40/month for dental coverage for 3 people, so if braces were covered, Delta Dental would cease to exist as a company. Businesses exist to make money. They aren't there to make sure that unnecessary cosmetic procedures are cheap. Braces are not medically necessary for 99% of the people who are getting them. If you don't like the price, don't buy them.

I paid $5K for my kids braces, out of pocket. I paid $200/month for 2 years and one month. I was not charged interest because I have good credit. I just paid off the older kids braces and next month will take the younger kid in and will start the whole process again.

It's called being an adult. Pay your own bills. If you can't afford to pay your own bills, cut your expenses or work two jobs. If you can't afford kids, don't have them. If you have health problems accept that life isn't fair and move on. Expecting someone else to pay for what you want is stealing.

The problem in this country these days is that everyone wants what they want, feel as though they are entitled to a certain standard of living, and they want someone else to pay for it.

 

[SevenBizzos]

The dental plans we found ended up being $1500 a year or more. We "self insured", when in reality, is just telling our dentist's office we have no insurance and are paying in cash. That gives us a substantial discount on things, which end up costing much less than just the premiums normally would.

 

[mx5miata]

I'm in the market for a new dentist. My dentist swears both myself and the wife has cavities past dentist said it was shadows in the x-ray. I at first took her advice and had 2 so called cavities done got billed each time and we have decent dental coverage. Week later her receptionist calling me up to schedule further cavity fillings if I let this witch keep it up my mouth will look like the upper and lower level of the George Washington bridge.

 

[michaelluscher]

I have comparatively good insurance through my job (GHI/Emblem)

Gives me 2k worth of Dental a year with a $25 deductible

I'm of the wisdom tooth age, all 4 impacted and making there presence known loud and clear

Estimate was $2800, could be more once it's all said and done

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted By: PimTac
Compare dental care to 40-50 years ago. Hardly any child got braces. Now it seems 80-90% get either braces or retainers. The push for perfect teeth is really a scam.


Have teenagers - braces are a status symbol