State: Nevada About 5 months ago I went to see a dentist and I had a dental insurance at that time. They recommended 2 fillings and a crown and I was told that I am going to have to pay 330.80 $ out of my pocket at the end of that visit and that is all (I signed a paper for that amount) As I was looking at the print out with the information regarding my account (after a phonecall from their collection department) they have made a mistake because my dental plan was not covering crowns so they denied a payment of 287$. When I paid that 330.80 it was 50% of that crown - 287$ plus some little additional charges. I understand that dental treatment is not cheap, however I do not feel responsible for that payment because if I would be told that it is going to be more than 600$ out of my pocket I just would not do that and probably wait for a year (there is a waiting period of 12 months on that policy I have and then they pay 50%) What do you think I should do. Is it a good idea to write a letter requesting a validation of that debt asking them for any kind of proof that I agreed too pay, which in fact they do not have, etc... What would be the bst thing to do in that situation?
"What do you think I should do?" The dental office isn't responsible for knowing the details of each individual insurance plan held by all patients. It'd also be easy to mistake an "estimate" of charges at the end of the visit as an actual bill due. Sometimes the dental billing s/w is confusing especially after being in the chair for a hour! FWIW, I think you should make the payment to the dentist but if you feel strongly about the nature of the error - talk to him/her. Explain why you failed to make payment and you think a reasonable compromise would be for the office to recall the collection account - if it's in outside collections. Then everyone comes out a winner.
You have to establish what's "collection department". Did the dentist just have his/her office employee call you to facilitate payment or did the dentist refer your account to his outside collections? Establish where your account is with the dentist. If it's been referred to an outside collections, you would diplomatically request that the dentist recall the collections account. ANY accout - medical or a credit card - can always be "recalled" from collections by the Original Creditor. As I read your post, it appeared to be a misunderstanding that seemed to point toward the "estimate" often used in dental office billing software. Many dentists wouldn't refer an account to outside collections at this point, but if it has been sent to collections, I'd recommend full payment and a request to recall the account from collections. I can see where you may have misunderstood the billing estimate and had the impression it was the final bill. It happens.
Addendum: There's absolutely nothing wrong in asking a medical professional about costs *prior* to recommended services or treatment. They know that many people don't have health insurance and that others have co-pays that may take a chunk out of their budget. Ask. The dentist or physician won't think you're odd or strange at all and they'll discuss costs with you.
I an a newbie to this board, but I have worked in the medical field for years. Most Dr's offices, including dentists have you sign a paper stating that you are ultimately responsible for checking you ins. coverage and you are responsible for any balance that remains after ins. payment. You may be able to negotiate with the dentist's office to reduce the balance, get on a payment plan with them or see if you signed anything that makes you responsible for the balance. Lesson is, that you should always speak with your ins. company before you have anything done, except in emergency situations. Jen
If you're a new patient, or an old one, ask for copies of everything you signed because they'll be glad to do it for you. Records are our friends.
Equitably, the services were provided, and at $300 the difference between what you pay with or without insurance coverage is minor. You might make sure the price you are paying is in line with the total that would be billed if insurance were part of the picture, particularly if the dentist were, say, a preferred provider under your plan, but this may be less of an issue than it is with medical billing, where "list price" may be 2 to 3 times the amounts contracted with insurance carriers. Since there has apparently been a misunderstanding regarding coverage, and the dentist was part of that misunderstanding, that is your basis for expecting that no negative information should be on your credit reports (including no collection account at all, not just "paid collection"), in exchange for your payment of the remaining amount due. Your best solution is working out a payment arrangement, and pulling it back from, or keeping it out of, collection. The faster you do this, the better.
