Doctor, Doctor -- Whose Mouth Is It Anyway? -- Part 6

My deleted facebook post: 

"Wow.  I feel like I just stepped off the bus.  I had a minor procedure done at a different dentist a month ago.  He took MY money upfront and filed my insurance. OK.  When do I get a refund?  We mail it to you.  Really?  Whatever.  I wanted to reschedule the follow up when I had a dead battery.  She wanted to charge me $35 for rescheduling.  I told her if I'd known yesterday I was going to have a dead battery today, I certainly would have called yesterday.  She dropped the $35 and I cancelled the appointment.  I still haven't received my insurance refund which technically is MY money.  Is this the way it goes?  How much of our money is it legal for doctors to sit on?"

Doctor, Doctor -- Inusrance Money Whores and Sensitive Husbands -- Part 5

If I let someone dig around in my mouth for money that allegedly isn't even mine, who would be the whore, the pimp, and the trick?

This pretty much brings us up to date.  I stewed about this for a while and decided I would give my own dentist a courtesy call about the Periodontist A charging new patients whether they have insurance or not.  I told her it was my fault for not asking the right questions.  I took the blame for what happened to me.  I asked her about some of the charges that weren't covered when I had been told they would be.

I found out that I am only supposed to "see" the doctor one time a year.  Anything after that comes out of my pocket.  That's useful information.  After the fact.  She laughed when she told me.  Apparently Periodontist A "beat" them to the punch.  Oh, yeah, that is funny.

So anyway, I suggested the office prepare a handout for when they do a referral so the patient will know what to expect when going to another dentist.

I kind of felt better.  I'd done my good deed for the day.  Maybe they would do something like that for future patients and referrals.  I decided to tell my husband what I'd done.  As is always the case whenever we talk, he hurt my feelings again, for the millionth time.

He said, in so many words she hung up the phone and either ignored what I said or laughed/made fun of me to the other staff.  He's probably right.  I thought about that when I decided to call, but he didn't have to say it

Doctor, Doctor -- The Invisible Doctor -- Part 4

Well, the insurance statements began to roll in and it wasn't a pretty picture.  There were charges that weren't covered at all, and some were partially covered.  This side venture was beginning to cost me hundreds of dollars when I was assured everything was covered.  I was so angry.  They had told me it was covered on insurance.  I had always trusted them to steer me right and didn't question.  It was their jobs.  Shouldn't they know what they were doing?

This brings me to something I noticed on my bill with Periodontist A many years ago.  When I got to reception, I saw a charge for  a consultation by the big cheese himself, when I knew he was out of town because his children would not be at the weekly music lessons.  The family was going out of town.  I had also heard a nurse tell a patient that the doctor was not in the office "this week."  Yet, here, on my bill was a charge for a consultation.  This caused me to pause for a moment and wonder how many times he'd done this before.  I couldn't prove one way or the other because it would be his entire office against me.  I guessed he'd done that before.  Why not?  The patient doesn't care.  It's covered on Insurance.

I wonder how many patients the the "invisible doctor" saw that week?

Doctor, Doctor -- A Man in My Mouth -- Part 2

A week later I go to the periodontist visit.  He swoops in shakes my hands and the creepy feeling starts.  Now here is the side note.  I taught his children piano for years.  His wife, also a dentist of some kind slept on my couch out of pure exhaustion while their children took their lessons.  Anyway, he says those things that are supposed to make me feel like he cares.  He's so sensitive.  I'm feeling guarded.  He looks and probes and I hear his stomach rumble.  I wonder if he's had lunch.  I flatter him with how gentle he is.  It's almost like a date.  My husband hasn't been this close to me in months.  There is a man I no longer care for in the slightest, in fact may even detest in my mouth.

Two things, there's a new test for bacteria.  I need to spit in a cup.  It's not covered on insurance, but it will help him know if there's any activity, rush, rush, rush, professional . . .

$150  cha chang

Ok.  I agree, I'm on the verge of tears.  I keep rolling my eyes and blinking.

Finally, it's over.  I get to the desk and I have to figure out a way to pay a 200-plus dollar visit.  Apparently, they don't take insurance from initial patients.  It doesn't matter I went to this doctor every three or four months for ten years.  I'm about to cry, so I'm desperately looking for my credit card, accidentally pull out my debit card, she swipes it and I'm on my way.

The next time I open my wallet I see my debit card in a strange place.  That's when I realize I just paid cash for the visit.

Doctor, Doctor -- A Lesson in You Can Never Be Me -- Prt. 1

Lately, when I see an advertisement with patients gushing about how important their doctors make them feel, I want to throw up.  I become physically ill.  Here's the sign I'm holding up:

WAKE UP, IT'S NOT YOU THEY CARE ABOUT, IT'S YOUR INSURANCE MONEY!

I don't have a doctor, but I do have a dentist.  Due to some genetic problems (which after this last month I'm beginning to question) with my teeth I have to go to the dentist every three months.  On my last visit the hygienist was alarmed at an alleged increase in some of the pockets around my teeth.  I wasn't too worried, I'd been through this before.  They stick that probe into the gum beside every single one of my teeth in three places on each side.  That's six times for those of you not keeping track.  They find something to focus on and want to swoop in with the cavalry.  Well, it happened again, except this time it was a financial disaster.  Ended up costing me hundreds of dollars I don't have.

The hygienist decided she needed a second opinion.  Here comes the doctor.  He wants me to go back to the periodontist that I left for trying to do the very thing I'm about to fall victim to once again.  I'm tired.  I'm beat down from school.  He wants me to go to the periodontist.  I tell them I can't do it unless it's covered.  They scramble to make some phone calls and everything is "covered."  The catch is I need a new set of x-rays.  I have a lunch appointment, I so I go can come back.  The doctor comes in again and asks me yet again if I want to go to the periodontist.  My dentist is concerned about my teeth.  I agree to go for the second time.