Puzzling orthodontic retirement .....

From: Joel M. Eichen (joeleichen_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 02/27/05 

Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:59:55 -0500

Orthodontist's retirement leaves patients puzzled
By Patti K. Locklear, staff writer

 
 
ALTUS -- The sudden retirement of local orthodontist, Dr. Fred
Andregg, has some area citizens left in the lurch and prepaid dental
services unperformed.

Andregg, in a letter sent to all his former patients, stated that due
to a medical illness he would no longer be able to practice
orthodontics.

Customers say they have not been told how he plans on compensating
them services that they have paid for and Andregg -- who had offices
at 301 E. Broadway in Altus and in Woodward -- will evidently be
unable to perform.

"It has been an honor serving you in this community as your
Orthodontist and it has been a pleasure allowing me to donate to your
schools, churches and other organizations," Andregg stated in his
letter. "Please know how truly sorry I am for any inconvenience this
has been and I pray this transition goes smoothly for you....I thank
you for all of your prayers and support."

But, local resident Jack O. Smiley, Jr. has filed a small claims suit
against the orthodontist for $6,000 plus court costs. The claim was
filed on Feb. 11 at the Jackson County Courthouse, stating that the
claim was for orthodontics for two his children. The matter will be
heard at the courthouse, court room number two, on March 9.

"He's a really nice guy," Smiley said about the orthodontist. "We took
our children to him because we believe our money should stay in Altus.
But, on the other side, I now have two kids with a mouth full of wire
and they haven't been able to see an orthodontist in some time. I paid
for the entire process up front, which was a large sum of money, and I
feel I should be reimbursed so that I can take them to see someone
else." He said that after numerous attempts to contact the dentist, he
felt that small claims court was his only option.
 

Messages left on Andregg's home answering machine were not returned.

Gary Chase, also a local resident, was dismayed by the failure to
resolve his son's account.

Chase's son, who is now 16, began treatments for braces with Andregg
in December of 2001. Over a period of time, Chase paid the entire
amount, which was around $4,000, to "cover costs of the appliance and
service performed in this office for active treatment and 2 years
after," as stated on the final bill, which was paid in August 2003.
This bill also stated that the amount did not cover appliances that
were broken or lost, X-rays, or treatments outside their office. It is
therefore uncertain whether Andregg is liable for further expenses
incurred by patients.

Chase's son is now also stuck with his braces and needs more
treatments until they are ready to be removed.

"He still has braces in his mouth and the work was never completed,"
said Chase.

Chase said the people in Andregg's office seemed surprised to see that
he did not know about Andregg's medical condition, and referred him to
Jeff Miller, a claims supervisor with Fortress Insurance Company in
Rosemont, Ill.,(6133 N. River Rd., Suite 650, Rosemont, IL 60018-5173,
1-800-522-6675), which is a subsidiary of a company called OMSNIC.
Messages left for Miller by the Times were also not returned.

Chase said he was taken aback by the wording on the Fortress Web site
(www.fortressins.com), "Fortress Insurance Company specializes in
professional liability insurance for dentists ... we are here to
protect you, your practice and your reputation ... Fortress offers
aggressive claim defense: a professional liability carrier should be
evaluated by the way it handles your claim ... we are a powerful
advocate for our insureds and apply aggressive defense strategies.
Unlike other insurance companies that are quick to suggest settling,
we will fight to guard your reputation ... The sacrifice of a
priceless reputation for lower premiums is not an option." It is
language that suggested to Chase that this was an adversarial company
with no intention of paying claims brought by Andregg's customers.

"He then passed me off to one of his associates," said Chase. "Then
they came back and said 'that's between you and the provider, we don't
have any responsibility for uncompleted work,' ... He has a lot of
patients and I'm sure they are all in various degrees of incomplete."

Chase said the orthodontist's office then sent out the letters, with a
list of dentists' who used the same type of orthodonture brackets and
instruments that he was using on his patients - Dr. Michael Steffen in
Edmond and Clinton, Dr. Devek Frezh in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Dr.
Brett Johnson in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas.

For now, Chase had made an appointment for his son for this week in
Wichita Falls to follow up on his treatments. But he is still left
wondering how he needs to go about getting his money back for work
that was never performed.

"Of course, this is a new dentist and he has no connection with this
other agreement," said Chase. "I'm hoping to find out how the other
patients are dealing with this ... are they in a civil suit together
or something like that? ... I'm really not expecting to get the whole
amount back because he did see him regularly and provided the rubber
bands and things he needed, but it would be nice to see some of it
back to help complete the work that still needs to be performed."

Joe and Rhonda Stephanovich's children were also patients of Dr.
Andregg.

"I feel badly for the man," said Rhonda. "I know he's ill and didn't
plan any of this happening - I feel sorry for him and the girls in his
office. They've referred me to an orthodontist who has offices in
Edmond and Clinton and I've made an appointment for March, but I
really don't know what will happen on the financial end of it."
 

Print this story

Email this story

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Home