Fact 1 – NO INSURANCE PAYS 100% OF ALL PROCEDURES
Dental insurance is meant to be an aid in receiving dental care. Many patients think that their insurance pays 90%-100% of all dental fees. This is not true! Most plans only pay between 50%-80% of the average total fee. Some pay more, some pay less. The percentage paid is usually determined by how much you or your employer has paid for coverage or the type of contract your employer has set up with the insurance company.
Fact 2 – BENEFITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY OUR OFFICE
You may have noticed that sometimes your dental insurer reimburses you or the dentist at a lower rate than the dentist’s actual fee. This gives the impression that any fee greater than the amount paid by the insurance company is unreasonable or well above what most dentists in the area charge for a certain service. This can be very misleading and simply is not accurate. Insurance companies set their own schedules and each company uses a different set of fees they consider allowable. These allowable fees may vary widely because each company collects fee information from claims it processes.
Our fees are generally considered to fall within the acceptable range by most companies, and therefore are covered up to the maximum allowance determined by each carrier. This applies only to companies who pay a percentage (such as 50% and 80%) of the usual, customary and reasonable fees for the region ( U.C.R.) Thus, our fees are considered usual, customary and reasonable by most companies. This statement does not apply to companies who reimburse based on an arbitrary “schedule of fees” which bears no relationship to the current standard and cost of care in this area.
Fact 3 – Not all services are a covered benefit in all contracts.
Some insurance companies arbitrarily select certain services they will not cover. Please notify the office of any changes to your insurance at the time of appointment.
