I’ve been going to the same dentist for a little over 10 years. I’ve had many fillings replaced and added, a bridge, a root canal, and now a root canal & crown. I’ve always paid my bills within a couple of weeks after receiving their statements.
Today I was in for my temporary crown and on my way out I was led by the dental assistant to what I think of as the auxiliary appointment desk. I wasn’t sure why because I already had an appointment for the permanent crown. Surprise, surprise. I was handed a bill for $458 and asked if I’d like to pay it right then and there. I replied that I wanted to go home and go over my paperwork first. Then I was asked if I wanted to pay *some *of it now. Same reply from me.
Is this common practice? I felt insulted by it. I’ve never had a medical office (however politely) badger me for immediate payment on a procedure that isn’t complete yet and that they haven’t received the insurance payment for. To top it all off, according to my calculations, they’re overbilling me by $86 (probably due to an incorrect estimate on what the insurance will pay, but still). I’m sending them a partial payment of $200 tomorrow on what I think should be a bill for $372.
I want to say something to my dentist about this but am afraid I’ll be making a fuss over something that’s commonly done.
Mine charges me as I’m walking out the door, but then, I don’t have dental insurance and haven’t been a patient at that practice for very long.
I’m surprised that you’re being expected to pay anything for your service right now. The insurance hasn’t paid their portion yet, and the work isn’t complete. Just a question, though: is the billing person you talked to new, by any chance?
That’s standard for my dentist. And I don’t feel insulted at all – I’d rather get the bill up front and hash things out, instead of getting an unexpected surprise in the mail a few weeks later.
I was also overbilled one time for about $100 (the insurance company paid more than originally quoted), and the dentist called to get my credit card number so he could credit me the difference.
I don’t know if she was new or not but I don’t think that was it. Something in the tone of her voice. But maybe that would be a good way to bring it up to the dentist. “Do you have someone new up at the front desk because two weeks ago on my way out…”
For as long as I’ve been paying my own dentist’s bills (at least twenty years), I’ve always been required to pay, in full, as I leave the dentist’s office, unless, of course, I’m half way through a treatment. In that time I’ve had four different dentists. None of them has ever offered payment via account. The procedure is:
get total bill
swipe card from medical insurer to find out the refund
I’m in the middle of a root canal/crown right now myself - 4 visits total. I paid (uninsured) about half the amount due on visit two and will pay the rest on visit 4, but this has been unusual for my dentist- he usually requires payment after every visit.
That’s the way it worked for my checkup on Monday, and it’s the way it’ll work for my filling on Friday.
To the OP - it may be worth finding out if it’s a new policy. You’re a good payer, but I’ve heard from a friend in the medical industry that medical bills are some of the most defaulted-on, because what’re they going to do, rip your teeth out or re-break your arm? They might have had problems with too many people not paying in a timely fashion, and decided to cut it off at the root.
I’ve been with this dentist for about 7 years and have never had anything more serious than a filling, but I’ve always paid on the way out: they look up my insurance coverage and bill me for the estimated difference (like what Cunctator said). It works out pretty well, and they have never wound up owing me money. There have been one or two times when I’ve wound up owing them $1-2, but I’ve never been billed for such a small amount.
I’ve been with the same dentist my entire life - so that’s 26, nearly 27 years. He’s also one of my grandfather’s oldest and closest friends. But he still requires payment before I leave. Always has. So does my doctor. It’s just the way things are.
I always get the bill/paperwork when I am leaving, although there’s never any tone … I can see why that might tick you off. Depending on what’s going on, I either pay right then and there, or if there’s insurance paperwork to process, take the bill with me and wait for the adjusted statement to come in the mail, and then send in a check. But there’s always some sort of touching base with the desk lady, I would never expect simply to stroll on out.
I’m having extractions twice monthly, and after every visit, we go to the bookkeeper’s office where she figures out what the charge for the procedures is, looks it up on a table in the insurance provider’s book, and writes us a bill for our portion. We pay for it on the CareCredit card and go home. We assume that this is the way they do business, and we didn’t feel like we were being shook down for cash on the way out.
The only time I’ve been asked to pay on my way out was when it was something that CLEARLY was not covered by my insurance (bleaching kit). Otherwise, we are billed for the difference not coveredby insurance.
Uninsured and pay on the way out. Always have at various dentists over the years. Other than super expensive stuff why wouldn’t you? Sending you a bill for routine procedures would seem to be a waste of a stamp.
I had two crowns this winter. Exactly the same situation - after the temporary crowns were done, they gave me a bill. I must have looked puzzled (because at the consultation for the work they never mentioned that payment was expected before the work was complete). Then she said I could pay “some” of it and gave me a “suggestion”. I wasn’t expecting them to bill me (I have to pay all costs and wait to be reimbursed) but I was expecting to see the final result before paying. It wasn’t that big a problem to pay some up front, but not informing patients is bad business.
At my dentist, he gives a 5% discount if you pay when leaving. So I always do.
But they are very discreet about this. I’ve been going the for over 25 years, and they know I pay on leaving, so they always have the bill ready for me. For other long time patients, who don’t pay on leaving, they never ask, just say goodbye & see you next time. Only on new patients have I seen them ask – they explain the discount policy, and ask the patient what they prefer to do.
The only exception I remember was when I had an expensive root canal & crown done. That was nearly $2,000 total, and they politely explained that they asked for about 1/4 down after the first visit, when they placed the order for the crown. That seemed reasonable to me.
The only time mine asks me to pay on the way out is if I haven’t met my decutable yet. If I haven’t, I just pay whatever that is.
But then again I’ve had the same dentist for over 17 years. So that might have something to do with it.
Geez, I feel guilty now. I got pissed last time I went to the dentist because they stoped validating my parking!!
Don’t have Dental insurance and was told upon leaving (first time at dentist in a few years) that they’d knock 10% off if I just wanted to pay there. I whipped out my citicard and paid. Seemed like a good deal to me.
No dental insurance, needed a crown. I had to pay a $150 deposit up front, and am being billed for the rest. I still owe about $500 but am whittling it down slowly. As long as I keep paying, and I’m just not able to make big payments but I’m talking at least $50 a month, they’re happy. When I called to make my initial appointment – a back molar had been quietly disintegrating for a long time and I’d been ignoring it, big mistake – I asked if they could bill me. They said yes. Otherwise, I guess I’d have called around until I found someone who could.
I just wish I hadn’t moved. He was my favorite dentist ever. One of my SO’s has a wife here who is a dentist and I really like her, having met her at a couple of parties, and I guess I’ll try her the next time I need to be seen, but I want to get rid of the crown bill first.
All the dentists I’ve ever gone to have required payment as you leave the office.
Interestingly, one dentist did not deal directly with insurance companies at all, though his receptionist would fill out the necessary claim forms so I could mail my claim to the insurer later. I never needed any really expensive work from this dentist (probably the most expensive was a wisdom tooth that needed an emergency extraction), but I’m sure that in such cases, some time-payment plan could be worked out. But his policy for everything I ever had done was always cash, cheque, or credit card on the spot, and I dealt with my insurer myself.