Cheyenne Advanced Dental Arts

L. Scott Brooksby, DDS, DICOI

How do you handle my Insurance?

In our office we have developed a program that allows 90 days same as cash.  We are paid directly by you or the finance company and then we bill your insurance for you.  Insurance usually pays with in 30 days and you then have the remainder of the 90 days to pay off the loan interest free.

Does Cheyenne Advanced Dental Arts accept assignment of benefits?

Insurance plans are contracted between your employer, you and your insurance company.  A dentist or medical provider generally is not a party to the actual contract and therefore their rights to deal with the insurance company or the state insurance commissioner in the event of improper actions by the insurance company are limited.  We understand that insurance was originally designed to reduce the amount of out of pocket expenses you have with your dental or medical care.  For that reason we do not accept the assignment of insurance benefits, in other words the insurance company is instructed by our office to reimburse you directly.  We therefore provide the 90 days same as cash, at our expense, to make this much easier for you.

What happens if the insurance company sends the patient's check to the Dentist?

In our office, if an insurance company sends the patient's check to us we immediately write the patient a check and forward it to them.  We used to endorse the back of the check and forward it to the patient, but because of so many cases of bank fraud, the banks have asked us to deposit the check and write one of our checks to the patient.

What happens if the insurance company does not pay my claim on time?

We will gladly help provide any needed information to your insurance company to help process the claim.  If your company asks you for more information, contact us immediately so that we can help.  Nevada state law requires an insurance company to either pay or deny a claim within 30 days.  Most do this.   Those that do not need to received a visit from the Nevada State Insurance Commisioner acting in your behalf.  We recommend calling the insurance company at day twenty and inviting the insurance commisioner to help on day 31.

Why aren't you a PPO or HMO provider?

We try and provide the very best care that we can at a reasonable fee.  We do not short cut our patient's health care.  PPO and HMO insurance plans either require a substantial discount off of our normal fees, or ask that we accept a very low amount per patient per month while providing all of the care the patient needs.  Often the HMO's pay the offices $5 per patient whether the patient come in or not.  We can not afford to mainain the high quality of customer service for only $5 per month.  Nevada State law requires that the insurance carrier provide payment for services render by providers outside of their plans.  Most do this, but pay at a lower level or with a higher deductible.

With the high cost of Dental Insurance, and the restriction on coverages, what can a person do?

In the 1980's the California Teachers Association developed a programs which suggested their members to visit a dentist every six months.  As an inducement they slowly increased the percentage they would pay for a given service each year.  After five years on the plan, the CTA plan would pay 100% of the cost of the dental care.  They did this because by the time the fifth year arrived, the major dental problems had been treated or eliminated and after that the only cost to them was for the cleanings, checkups and an occasional problem.  This saved the insurance company a ton of money.

Why not learn from the insurance company.  Once your mouth is healthy again, stay on a regular maintenance program and your cost will be less than you ever pay for insurance and you will get to chose the care you receive and by whom.

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