Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingScot
Ask your dentist how much he charges for a cleaning, filing, whatever, to a noninsured patient. Then ask how much Delta allows him to charge a covered patient. It's not 10 or 20% less, it's enough to make your head explode. (Sadly, this is another example of how the struggling often pay more than the well off in our society.)
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This is factually true. Now, instead of getting mad about it, you can turn it to your advantage: simply meet with your dentist and ask for a discount. I did this out of necessity and I pay the same rate as insurance companies pay him. There is no real loss to the dentist. It's much simpler to pay the dentist directly. Some doctors are now using this strategy: instead of dealing with insurance companies, they collect a reduced payment directly from their patients, avoiding the huge expensive of insurance management.
I also highly recommend a Harvard Pilgrim Medicare Advantage plan called Stride Value Rx. It covers most medical procedures, dental and vision benefits, and other perks that add up to make the $40 a month premium worth it. (I mean in addition to Medicare Part A, which is free, and Medicare Part B, which costs $144/month.) The covered dental services for 2020 are: oral exams, cleanings, x-rays, peridontal exam, peridontal cleaning. There is a $35 copay per visit, no deductible, maximum $500 benefit per year.
That doesn't cover fillings, etc., which brings me back to my suggestion above: negotiate with your dentist. I once investigated Delta Dental and decided that the benefits were too low to justify the yearly premium.
My health insurance agent once told me that a viable option is to put the money you would have paid for insurance into a separate account and use it only when you need it. Just think of the hundreds of thousands of dollars you pay over the course of your lifetime for home, car, and health insurance. I've never filed a single home insurance claim. I've been paid about $4000 in car claims over several decades of buying insurance. Insurance companies make a profit because there is a very good chance that you will pay far more for insurance than you will ever collect on claims.