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Sometimes it pays to ask ...

July 11th, 2012 at 06:56 pm


or in this case "saves" to ask.

Older daughter is getting braces next month. She has a metal allergy and we've dealt with consultations and orthodontists (three) since last April. Anyhow, we decided to return to the first orthodontist who my daughter felt comfortable with. He doesn't happen to be in network for our PPO, so I forego a $1K benefit. The oral surgeon who needs to remove three teeth IS in network. The $190 picture (3D cat scan cone picture) was billed under the ortho, no benefits to be paid. The same picture would be covered if it was billed under the oral surgeon (both are in the same big dental practice). I asked if the $190 picture could be re-submitted under the covered doc. The answer, as I had figured, was "no" but they opted to remove that charge from the overall fee for braces.

So with two five minute phone calls (one to the dental insurance provider and the other to the billing and benefits coordinator at the dental practice) saved me $190. Smile

6 Responses to “Sometimes it pays to ask ...”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1342029614

    That is a great savings. So many things you can pay for with the $190!

  2. patientsaver Says:
    1342030509

    What about Invisalign? They're plastic.

  3. laura Says:
    1342031020


    We looked into Invisalign, but because she has an impacted canine and the tooth next to it is rotated 90 degrees, we need to resort to the conventional approach to close a gap, bring down the canine, and move molars forward Frown I did learn that gold is an option and we'll be using porcelain brackets + titanium.

  4. PNW Mom Says:
    1342035892

    You are right....it does pay to ask!

  5. LuckyRobin Says:
    1342043898

    I can't have any gold in my mouth. I am so ridiculously allergic to gold. Metal allergies are hard so I hope you find a good way around it.

  6. Jerry Says:
    1342385321

    I can't believe that your dental insurance was willing to work with the orthodontists like that IN YOUR FAVOR! That is amazing. If more companies were like that it would lead to a much better reputation for the entire industry! Way to ask, too, by the way. Smile Jerry

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