Are You Concerned that the CBO Says the Trump Bill Will Cause 11.8 Million to Lose Health Care?

While insurance is not healthcare, it does provide access to healthcare. As a consequence patients without adequate insurance frequently defer needed medical care sometimes with tragic consequences.

Just a question if an uninsured patient at the dental practice that you manage said upfront that he or she was unable to pay for a treatment plan estimated to cost in the thousands of dollars would the practice still provide the treatment knowing that the cost would have to be written off as a loss.

 

What kind of ridiculous question is that?

We are in business to serve our patients. So no we do not think about writing off services. In fact we charge what our services are worth. The services we and our employees work extremely hard to deliver at the highest level. Hence we are very successful.

We have lots of patients with no insurance. Reason. There really is no such thing as dental insurance. Now if your employer offers it as a benefit then one should take it. And many employer plans are pretty good for out of network preventative. But reality is they are just a discount plan.

And yes we will work with patients to get them the best treatment they can afford. We absolutely understand money is part of the equation. Some may do something temporary until they can afford something more permanent that costs more. Every patient is different. But thank goodness we don’t see many people come and expect free service as you insinuate. The worst ones are the few patients that have the money and complain.

 

What on earth are you talking about? You're like the kid who didn't read the book and then stood up in front of the class while confidently giving a lengthy report about another book entirely.

 

The literal definition of insure is to make certain, secure. What is it securing in this discussion?? Healthcare. Now what that healthcare looks like is another conversation,

 

You apparently completely missed my point. I wasn't suggesting that you run the practice like a charity. My point was the ability to pay whether through private insurance, completely out-of-pocket or through government insurance or some other governmental program directly affects access to care.

 

"Choose" is doing a lot of work there. I guess I choose not to live in a 50k square foot mansion in New York City. When monetary resources forbid another choice, that does get into the question of "what is choice?"

That is called efficiency. That is what we are asking insurance companies to do: hold down costs by having somebody negotiate on our part that doesn't care if we as individuals die (removing the greatest leverage held by providers in negotiating pricing).

 

You think health insurance pays for every little thing? What planet are you living on?

 

Word salad for sure

 

Insurance is a product you buy.

Care is a service you deliver.

No doubt insurance is a problem and part of the equation. But the bigger problem is that insurance is not "insurance" when it comes to health insurance. There is no reason "insurance" should be profiting on a $50 annual exam. Or bloodwork that costs $20 but is billed for $300.

Insurance does not provide care.

 

So does buying Coca Cola/cigarettes/cheap seed oils...

You see those things would reduce the stress on the healthcare system by so much. But so many just cannot get away from the addiction to them. People find ways to buy things that stress the healthcare system. Then want to complain about costs when it finally hits them at the doctors office.

I appreciate your discourse by the way. And always have. You truly want to have a good discourse on the subject.

Absolutely I have a soft spot for the patient that is doing everything right but lacks the means. And our family has our way for giving back. It is not always the same each year either.

 

I am talking about a question that really had no bearing other than to try and stroke a bleeding hearts heart string. Which it looks like it might have stroked yours?!

Do you go to your doctor and expect to receive care/service for free. We do not deal with that except in very few circumstances. And typically those circumstances involve people who can afford to pay but are bleeding hearts that think they are better than those serving them. Just my honest opinion on the situation. And while we do not treat them any different. They are a piece of work for sure!

That said...I got to deal with one last week lol.

 

I can afford to pay with or without insurance. But yes, I have sympathy for people who are unable to do so and don't want them to be in a position where they are suddenly unable to get the care they may need. I guess that pulls on the strings of my bleeding heart?

 

Nonsense. Insurance companies would fight to the end if we pushed to make health insurance actually health insurance. Want to know what it costs to get care at our office. Call and we will tell you. Initial visit and Comp exam. Will be an hour and a half. Full set of Xrays will be taken (if you had them recently and did not like your experience and get them sent over will not have to take them). Intra Oral pictures of all your teeth will be taken. A comprehensive full mouth evaluation will be provided where you are able to let us know what your concerns and expectation are and we will be able to get the documentation information necessary to provide that service to you. The Exam cost is $97. The FMX is $175. So $272 if you need both. Most people do. We will call and file your insurance as well if you have it. If it pays us we will ask for the difference if there is one (quite a few will cover all $272). By the way. A periodic exam is $65 at our office. Prophy $110. Perio Maintenance $155. Any others you want to know I have no problem sharing what we charge.

There is no reason to use health insurance for an annual exam (medical or dental). But the insurance companies are very good at guiding you to believe that is the case.

 

Clearly you strings were pulled...

Let's change the question. Should the person that drinks 6 Coca Colas a day. Smokes a pack of cigarettes. Or to simplify it easily spends more than $10 a day on things they enjoy (good for them)...

Complain about a product (health insurance)? Or should they decide for themselves what is more important to them?

I do not care what they choose. But spare me the bleeding heart take it sure feels you are insinuating.

 

You keep saying this as if its a profound insight, but everyone knows health insurance is just a payment plan. That's literally all insurance is. The insurance company doesn't fix your house, conduct your funeral or repair your car either. Its cap your risk at $500 a month vs. take a chance and pay $50000 at once if something bad happens.

 

I don't believe in taking away healthcare from people because of selective examples of other people who may not "deserve it." Examples like that are just to make people like yourself feel better that you're still a good person despite supporting something that is going to severely negatively impact a lot of people's lives. That's the equivalent of we should end all food stamps because your neighbor's friend saw someone buying lobster tails with their food stamps.

 

Just mindless drivel. It's like saying money does not provide food.

 

How so?

 

That's an entirely different argument. Without insurance, people don't get healthcare because they can't afford it. So insurance allows for healthcare. Are you advocating for universal healthcare??

 

That’s ok, this admin knows how to handle those disabled and seniors.