One question that can save you hundreds of dollars at the doctor (dentist)
Don’t worry this blog won’t make you wait till the end to reveal the question. It is actually a very simple question.
“Are you in-network with my insurance?”
You may have heard the question or some variation of it. I’m here to share a story of how one of those variations cost me hundreds of dollars at my dentist.
I had been going to a recommended dentist for checkups after a root canal. This one was in San Francisco when I usually go to my family one in San Jose.
I barely paid anything in all the years that I went to the family dentist, even when I was on my own insurance and not my parents.
But every time I went to the new dentist, I would get charged $200-$300! Per visit! (I went 4 times)
And when I asked why the charge was so high, they would say that they will work with the carrier to get a reimbursement and send it back to me.
I made a note to follow up months later to check on the refund because I never seemed to get them. When I called to see how much I would get back....they told me I still owed them $50!
Something was up. I reached out to the carriers and went through all the support lines to finally get my answer.
When I went to the new dentists office for my first visit, I asked them "Do you take my insurance?"
In the moment, I thought that my intentions were clear. I was asking if I would be able to use my insurance to cover most of the costs of this treatment.They said, "Yes we do". I thought it was all good.
Unfortunately, I should have asked the question I told you earlier "Are you in-network with my insurance?"What's the difference? Many offices take your insurance, but not all of them are "in-network" so you do not get the full benefit of your plan. You only get "out-of-network" coverage, which is usually significantly worse.So my visits that should have $50-$75 became $300-$400.
Is it disappointing that the dentist office never bothered to mention I was out-of-network which is why I was paying so much? Yes.
Is it their responsibility to? No. And technically they did answer my question honestly. They did take my insurance.
It is a lesson learned the hard way and it highlights the nuances of our healthcare system especially when it comes to the insurance piece. I hope that by sharing this story, it helps others avoid the same mistake.
