Re: Reservists and dentistry

From: Bill (dentaldoc_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 12/31/04 

Date: 30 Dec 2004 18:19:30 -0800

Joel had posted:

"New York Times 28, 2004
Dental Double Standards"

"By REED ABELSON
Among the nation's reservists, a common reason for not being sent to
Iraq has been poor teeth. The military offers dental insurance to
reservists and members of the National Guard, but for those who opt
for it, the benefit of $1,200 a year does not cover many procedures
and still requires reservists to pay as much as half the cost of the
care.

The reservists are hardly alone. With dental costs rising and
employers cutting dental coverage, an increasing number of working
Americans cannot afford to see a dentist even for chronic problems.

Roughly a quarter of reservists in seven early-deploying Army units
had dental problems that could require emergency attention within the
next year, according to an analysis done last year by the Government
Accountability Office. Similar problems surfaced in the first gulf
war."

Some comments:

Although there is room for improvement in almost any dental insurance
plan, that is not the primary problem here.

This reporter is just repeating the same sort of nonsense about
"affordability" that has been printed for decades. Repetition does not
confer accuracy.

"the benefit of $1,200 a year does not cover many procedures
and still requires reservists to pay as much as half the cost of the
care."

The benefit DOES cover many procedures -- just not as many as some of
the more common private insurance policies. The $1200 is actually MORE
than the common $1000 per year seen on many other policies. And of
course, that's $1200 MORE than all those many patients who have no
dental insurance at all.

"The reservists are hardly alone. With dental costs rising and
employers cutting dental coverage, an increasing number of working
Americans cannot afford to see a dentist even for chronic problems."

Not true. The vast majority of working Americans can easily afford
excellent, elective dental care, and those who can't afford fancy
cosmetic makeovers, can still afford necessary dental health care --
paid right out of their own funds, with no dental "insurance" involved.

Oh, I realize that many people THINK they can't afford regular dental
care, or SAY they can't afford it. Their claims and their perceptions
require closer scrutiny.

For over thirty years, I have had a standing offer in my office for
those patients who claim they "can't afford it." I offer to go over
their finances at no charge to them, and find a way to pay for the
dental care they need.

When I tell them that I will automatically switch all frivolous,
unhealthy, or less-important expenses to a column titled "Money
available for dental care," they seem a little surprised.

I say that their money available for dental care includes what they
currently spend on tobacco, alcohol, movies and entertainment,
television and cable access, MP3 players, CD's, DVD's, customizing
expenses for their jacked-up pickup trucks, and basically everything
that is not essential for their life and upkeep -- (wait a minute, it's
the dental care that IS essential for their life and upkeep!). It's the
OTHER stuff that isn't essential.

At that point, they decline my offer to find the necessary funds in
their current budgets. The simple fact is, that most people prefer
their habits and vices over dental health.

The most cost-efficient way for the reservists to obtain dental care is
to take full advantage of the free care when they are on active duty.
Then their later expenses for maintenance will be correspondingly
lower, and most will find the optional reservists' dental insurance to
be helpful.

But I'm not going to listen to gripes of "I can't afford it" from
someone who drives up in a car better than mine, wears expensive
clothes, and sports a fancy cellular phone whose annual cost could go a
long way toward buying his necessary dental treatment.

- dentaldoc