Re: Quality of Service vs. Insuarance Plans

From: Tony Bad (spamspamspam_at_bakedbeans.spam)
Date: 12/22/04 

Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 21:46:12 -0500

"ken" <schw9883@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:l74yd.29632$rO2.24348@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> Both dentists who I have gone to had excellent reputations. Neither
> accepted any kind of dental insurance. I was told by both that if they
> contracted with cigna or aetna etc. that they could not afford to provide
> the quality of skill or lab work.
> The insurance companies would only reimburse them for a fraction of what the
> would charge and they would need to wait for payments (hassles) for a long
> time.
>
> My question is this.. Do you agree that a good dentist cannot survive if he
> accepts any of these insurance contracts.

A good and honest dentist can survive and thrive, but as you may guess, the
profit margin is lower. The problem is that when there is a lower fee, too many
dentist's are tempted to cut corners, take shortcuts, add on services that you
may or may not need. They want the same profit from the lower fees, and this
means the patient suffers.

Does this mean everyone who accepts a policy or plan does so? No.

Keep in mind that many of the doctors who will tell you their high fees are an
indicator of the quality work are selling you a bill of goods. Their skill may
be in marketing rather than dentistry. I practice in a large city, and have seen
a handful of patients formerly cared for by a dentist who charges what I feel
are obscene fees. He is always lecturing on how to run a high fee, high quality
practice, yet the work I have seem from his office is average at
best...certainly not worth what people have paid.

Bottom line is that yoiu can get good and bad under both systems

> Is the lab work as professional
> as it would be if the dentist was collecting full payment from the patient
> instead of getting paid maybe half from the insurance company?

Not always.

>
> I'm sure you have some comments on this touchy subject. Personally, I pay
> alot more because I am self insured as a patient. There are plans that I
> could have joined where everything was covered but I would have to use one
> of "their" dentists. My bills are high and I often question if I made the
> correct decision.

As my earlier comments indicate, that is hard to tell. High cost does not always
equal high quality, nor does lower cost universally mean low quality.

T

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Question re bone graft
    ... FFS means an office that does not set their fees based upon what ... insurance companies dictate. ... However they simply do not set their fees based upon what the insurance ... I can undertsand feeling like many dentists are out to take advantage ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Dentist billing practices
    ... Sounds like a typical 'insurance game'. ... Dentists scams a few fees in there to up ... I charge for nitrous too. ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Question re bone graft
    ... > However they simply do not set their fees based upon what the insurance ... > company determines as UCR. ... > internet ...marketing TO dentists... ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: should I sue the dental clinic
    ... In the dental industry there is no requirement to maintain malpractice ... malpractice insurance, they said they could not understand why dentist ... The reason dentists want to maintain malpractice insurance is for the ... benefit of a patient that gets severly disabled. ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Parents victims of dental fraud? What can be done?
    ... dental fraud and I would appreciate professional opinions on possible recourse or what they should do at this point. ... Their "plan" has a fraud department but will that help get their ... practices, many dentists would drop off their panels, and the insurance ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
Quantcast