The Truth about Dental Insurance Companies

North Country Smiles is an Insurance friendly Dental Office.  As a courtesy to our Patients we will contact your Insurance company to inquire about your covrage.  We will verify your yearly maximum, covered procedures and what your expected out of pocket will be.  This process used to be relatively quick, easy and accurate.  Lately this is not the case.

Many Insurance companies have started to outsource their customer service call centers.  It is common to have calls answered overseas. Unlike U.S. based representatives these reps have minimal training and knowledge base.  They often do not understand what is being asked of them and because of this, inaccurate information is given.  This makes it difficult to relay to out Patients what services they can have and what financial responsibilities they can expect.  This happens with both  Out- of -network and In- Network Companies.

Many claims are answered with a request for more information, which ultimately delays payment.  This is deliberate.  Insurance Companies don’t want to pay claims, for them this is a loss.  Dual coverage or having two insurances only multiplies these issues.  This is why we ask our Patients for their out of pocket or copays at the time of service with the understanding that Patient responsibility can change.  We are often asked why we don’t participate with all Insurance Plans.  Many Insurance companies, in order in increase their profits don’t support our Standard of Care that we provide for our Patients.  We will never let an outside party dictate how we treat our Patients.

“Working” with your Insurance has taken on a new meaning.  It has tuned into a “Battle” at times.  Insurance companies continue to make it harder to communicate and ultimately trust what they tell us when it comes to your coverage and care….