Post by Syko Nachoman on Aug 22, 2023 19:25:59 GMT -8
To make a long story medium-length, I'm having a strange issue with my dental insurance. I visited my dentist a couple weeks ago, and he confirmed that I need to have a couple of molars removed and wrote me a referral to an oral surgeon. The problem is, apparently, the oral surgery place no longer accepts my insurance plan. So I tried looking up a few other places nearby and calling them, and pretty much none of them take my insurance plan. I've gotten the same response from more or less every place within driving distance that does oral surgery.
I get my dental coverage through my employer. They offer two plans, the plan I currently have (a "DMO" plan, which I've had for over a decade) and another plan (a "PPO" plan). It seems that the PPO plan is accepted by most places, but my current plan, the DMO, no longer seems to be accepted by the vast majority of oral surgeons, for whatever reason. The trouble is, I can't switch to the PPO plan until my employer's next insurance election period, which begins next May (and even so, my election won't take effect until July 2024 at the earliest). So for now, I'm stuck with my insurance plan that no one will take.
As I see it, I have three options:
1. Go outside my employer and enroll myself in an additional dental coverage plan from a different insurer. It will cost additional money, but it's worth considering. The problem is that most plans have a "waiting period" for certain types of services, and the waiting period for oral surgery can be up to a year. Of course, I don't want to have to wait a year to get these tooth issues taken care of.
2. Get the tooth extraction done without insurance and just pay the entire cost myself. Apparently, tooth extraction typically costs about $350-550 per tooth, and that's not taking into account other things like anesthesia and x-rays, so this would be an expensive option. However, I'm not sure whether it would be more expensive than option #1, since buying a second insurance plan could also be pricey. I'm planning to do more research to find out exactly how much this sort of thing would cost. I have enough in my savings that I could afford it, but obviously I'd also prefer not to spend a huge amount of money if there are better, less-expensive options available.
3. Wait until next summer to have the teeth removed. Not ideal, because a) the teeth are occasionally very painful, b) they'll only get worse over time, and c) I'd have to go back to the dentist and get a new referral by then anyway (since the referral is only good for six months). Of course, this would be the cheapest option, but it's not really my preference.
I don't know. What would you do if you were in my situation? Would you bite the bullet and get the teeth removed and just pay the full cost out of pocket? Or would you be willing to go through the hassle of enrolling in a different insurance plan (even if it means longer wait times) for the lower cost?
(Also, be warned that any belligerent/unhelpful responses along the lines of "Maybe you should take better care of your teeth!" will be met with a sarcastic response and a reminder that time machines do not (yet) exist.
)
I get my dental coverage through my employer. They offer two plans, the plan I currently have (a "DMO" plan, which I've had for over a decade) and another plan (a "PPO" plan). It seems that the PPO plan is accepted by most places, but my current plan, the DMO, no longer seems to be accepted by the vast majority of oral surgeons, for whatever reason. The trouble is, I can't switch to the PPO plan until my employer's next insurance election period, which begins next May (and even so, my election won't take effect until July 2024 at the earliest). So for now, I'm stuck with my insurance plan that no one will take.
As I see it, I have three options:
1. Go outside my employer and enroll myself in an additional dental coverage plan from a different insurer. It will cost additional money, but it's worth considering. The problem is that most plans have a "waiting period" for certain types of services, and the waiting period for oral surgery can be up to a year. Of course, I don't want to have to wait a year to get these tooth issues taken care of.
2. Get the tooth extraction done without insurance and just pay the entire cost myself. Apparently, tooth extraction typically costs about $350-550 per tooth, and that's not taking into account other things like anesthesia and x-rays, so this would be an expensive option. However, I'm not sure whether it would be more expensive than option #1, since buying a second insurance plan could also be pricey. I'm planning to do more research to find out exactly how much this sort of thing would cost. I have enough in my savings that I could afford it, but obviously I'd also prefer not to spend a huge amount of money if there are better, less-expensive options available.
3. Wait until next summer to have the teeth removed. Not ideal, because a) the teeth are occasionally very painful, b) they'll only get worse over time, and c) I'd have to go back to the dentist and get a new referral by then anyway (since the referral is only good for six months). Of course, this would be the cheapest option, but it's not really my preference.
I don't know. What would you do if you were in my situation? Would you bite the bullet and get the teeth removed and just pay the full cost out of pocket? Or would you be willing to go through the hassle of enrolling in a different insurance plan (even if it means longer wait times) for the lower cost?
(Also, be warned that any belligerent/unhelpful responses along the lines of "Maybe you should take better care of your teeth!" will be met with a sarcastic response and a reminder that time machines do not (yet) exist.
)
This is my signature achievement.
