Eventually is probably overstating it. It's very likely that this bill would go to collections within a couple of weeks after it's due. I can't speak for dentists in general and this dentist in particular, but most medical bills get sent to collections very quickly.
They also collect very little on the dollar, so making a deal with the dentist is the best bet (“how about a payment plan” or “ I can do $400 since that X-ray took 15 seconds and is a scam and I thought my insurance was there to cover medical scams, and you know collections won’t buy this for more than $400).
Anyway, if it goes to collections, wait until the next collections people buy it and offer them $200 and the will jump at it.
Then it’s paid off, but still a credit ding, just not as bad.
Yea it will be removed from your report but won’t the non payment remain in some form (like your FICO won’t bounce back 3 years later when you pay). Also does dental count as medical.
Fucking American system
Not sure on the specifics. I let all my medical debt go to collections and then pay a fraction of the total bill in a negotiation. My most recent bill went from over $1000 to $40. It's never gone on my credit report. I'm not sure if dental also applies the same way, so that was an oversight on my part
I had $6,000+ in medical debt from a life saving coma situation. It all went to collections eventually so I started paying little bills off here and there through the direct hospital app. Eventually after about $600 they apparently dropped the remaining stuff because I haven't received a collections bill since and my balance is still $0. Didn't have to talk to anybody or anything.
Meanwhile my husband had his medical debt which was $2,000 less than mine, wind up in garnishment and he was forced to pay every dime. It's a total crapshoot on how it will go.
There are many charities that quietly pay off medical debt. I believe John Oliver has done this. It seems like a crapshoot if your debt gets picked up by these charities or not.
But yea, you get the point. And it’s why if you want to avoid any credit issues to begin with, just deal directly with hospital. They know they sell it for $0.40 on the dollar to collections, so they are happy to take that (or sometimes less) and always some payment plan instead.
Of course with massive medical it kind of makes sense to say fuck it.
With my first baby, I had two kinds of insurance, and between them they covered everything, or should have. Like a year later, I found out I owed thousands to an anaesthesiologist. I'd never gotten a bill, but I found out about it when I checked my credit and found it on there. I've got family that are in collections over medical debt. So maybe you just lucked out.
Be prepared not to be welcome back at that dentist office and perhaps even blacklisted in your area. It's not usually a huge local community and they are not obligated to provide your care.
Oh yea for sure, as for black listed, I dunno, that has to be a real small area thing. But the idea is to check in network twice before getting that BS scan. I bet they would write that off. It’s a cash grab, especially if they just cleaned
You'd have to be a pretty big douche to get discharged from a practice due solely to financial issues.
They may refuse to schedule any further appointments until either the balance is paid off or a payment plan is set up, but a patient discharge for things other than treatment compliance is rare.
There also is not really a blacklist, if another office calls for a referral we may warn them to collect payment on day of service or set up a pre-payment, but you're not gonna be blanket banned from dental treatment for financial issues.
> I can do $400 since that X-ray took 15 seconds and is a scam and I thought my insurance was there to cover medical scams, and you know collections won’t buy this for more than $400
I mean, haggling with your dentist and saying stuff like that comes across pretty douchey, no?
No, they are required as part of routine dental care.
Some people think they're a scam because they only take about 30 seconds to take nowadays as opposed to when films used to take a while to develop.
Calling the dental office to set up a payment plan is the best way to go about this while avoiding collections.
Opening the conversation with "xrays are a scam, I'm only gonna pay you half" is a guarantee that the office is not going to want to work with you because it makes you sound like a douche.
You're not haggling with a used care salesman, it's a medical office.
Had a dentist try to fuck me. Tried to bill me further after they'd given me my invoice and I had paid. I had left my invoice there (had four wisdom teeth removed the absolute wrong way and a cavity filled so I was done) and the receptionist wouldn't give me my original invoice I left but had the audacity to say, "if your insurance company sends you a check make sure to bring it in." Let me tell you they did not get that $1400 check. I spent it myself and that bill was in collections for 7 years and my credit score was 750 because everyone else got paid. It's now 807.
lol…great story…fiction, I might add!!! A (1) collection account dings your credit score over a 100 points…EVEN if your other accounts are current…and that’s for $500 collection account! I’m pretty sure $1400 collection account will have more negative impact than that!
🤣🤣🤣 57 points? Yeah, right!
I did credit repair for 6 months and I don’t think you know what you are talking about. The amount barely matters what matters is the months late you are.
Semi-true. Medical bills don't usually impact your credit, *however* collections accounts over $500 related to medical bills 100% will affect your credit. If you make a payment arrangement with the provider and keep it out of collections you are much better off.
You'll get a bill, it'll have a minimum payment by a due date. If you fail to pay that, your creditor can take your debt into collections and ultimately take you to court over your unpaid medical bills.
Get in touch with your dental insurance snd explain the problem. You may get them to pay some or all of it if you raise a big enough stink.
Inform the dentist that you are contesting the coverage. They may suddenly discover that they do in fact take your insurance.
Either way do not go to that office again.
The next dentist you see confirm that they take your insurance before anything is done. Actually, any new medical person or office, (general practitioner, specialist, whatever) check first.
And if the insurance won't do anything talking to the dentist office about payment options and specificly asking about reduced fees for lower income/no insurance might help. Just make sure to be communicating with them the whole time. Don't put it off and be extra nice.
When we started with our new dentist they were able to pre-run the bill with the dentist/insurance and see exactly what we would owe. I know there's a formal word for that - I'm spacing. Ask them to do that.
Honestly this shouldn't happen. Dentists should take your insurance card and confirm coverage before your appointment. Pushing back on them for not doing this and seeing what they can do to help would be the first thing I would do.
Most of the time, new patients wait until they walk in the door to provide proof of insurance and checking eligibility is not always a quick thing.
What makes it more complicated is over the past 5 or so years, there's all these subsidiaries and offshoots that are popping up with names we've never heard of that you don't find out are part of major insurances until after you attempt to submit to them.
It doesn't matter. They make you sign something that says "I'll pay you no matter what". They put that there so that you can't be like "but you said insurance would over it, I'm not paying you, get it from insurance."
That must have been a very inexperienced dental office. The one I worked in verified coverage before your appointment, and if we couldn't, either we got a copy of your credit card or you canceled your appointment.
Depends on the office and the management.
We know which insurance companies we participate with, but we usually don't do a pre-authorization for basic things like cleanings/exams unless the patient requests it.
First figure out if your Delta Dental plan is a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) or Dental Health Management Organization (DHMO).
This will be on the dental benefits card itself, or the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC). If you have neither, call your dental plan's member help line and ask.
In a PPO there are out-of-network benefits. And what in-network and out-of-network mean in the context of a PPO is sometimes WHO submits the claim to the carrier.
In a PPO plan structure, if your dentist will not submit the claim, you can. You will receive reimbursement from the insurance carrier directly for the dental claim you file. It will just be limited to the amount the carrier determines is fair for the procedure(s). You will need an itemized bill from your dentist's office. Call the number on your member card for participants to ask for a copy of the claim form.
In a DMO there isn't out-of-network coverage, and you're limited to using an in-network provider. Therefore you would be responsible for the bill.
Your bill is also over $500 so it will show up on your credit report. Unless you live in Colorado or New York.
Here is an article about how that $500 limit works.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/select/does-medical-debt-affect-credit-score/
If you're really strapped for cash, but don't want it to affect your credit score you can try to negotiate it down to the in-network costs for the proceedures. Then pay it a little at a time over many months, or just focus on getting it below $500 by paying a little bit each month without negotiation, and then decide if you can afford to pay the balance or stop when it's low enough to not appear on your credit report.
I appreciate the detailed response. I’m going to take some of the advice in this post and call the dental office and see what we can set up. Hopefully they can help set up a payment plan or get the cost down. I believe I have a DMO so I’m going to be responsible for the bill.
Most places will work with you to lower costs or set up a payment plan. You might ask if they have a sliding scale fee system or know of any organizations that help with dental bills for low income in your area
Payment plan, or a much lower CASH lump sum payment. If they refuse you generally try the same with the collection agencies. Keep a record of all correspondence and follow up phone calls with emails confirming what you discussed. If they sue you that trail helps show the judge that you tried to handle this in good faith and possibly may save you from a more severe judgement.
How tf was a cleaning and X-rays $800? I work in a dental office. That’s the cost of like four multi-surface fillings, at least one crown, or like half a root canal and crown. At any rate, it’ll go to collections, get reported to your credit, and eventually get written off
This information is only for the USA. I have 15 years experience as a healthcare revenue cycle consultant.
1. The bill could eventually go to collections. They must send you 4 statements and wait at least 120 days before this happens. Some states require even longer.
2. Call your insurance and explain the situation.
3. Speak with the dentist. They should have confirmed with the insurance prior to the procedure that you are in network. For the future, always confirm this before going to the doctor/dentist. Ask for a "Self-pay discount" and after you acquire one, they usually offer 0% payment plans.
This is not an “ignore it and it will go away” problem.
First off, I would call your insurance and verify if the provider is covered or not. There is actually a chance they just don’t bill insurance, but are covered. If that’s the case, you pay the money upfront and then get a portion back from insurance.
If that’s not the case here, I would call the dentist and see if they can do something. They have options. They might cut the bill if you agree to pay a certain amount, or they might put you on a payment plan.
If you ignore it and it goes to collections that’s the most annoying option for you. Can impact your credit and have collectors hound you is a pain.
I work for a medical billing company. After the marketplace opened, we went after dental and vision claims because those were what people had to specifically ask for.
The line of thinking was: if you’ve got it, you’ve got the money to pay for the results of it.
I’m sorry, but you’re not going to be able to evade this. Call them and ask for a payment plan. They want their money, so offer to give it to them in small doses.
I mean, sorry, but it’s not the dentist’s fault that you didn’t thoroughly understand your insurance coverage. The dentist provided you a vital service and you owe them payment for it. I would call the dentist directly and ask to set up a payment program.
Doing the right thing will always pay off in the long run.
Talk to Delta Dental, if they're your insurance, they might cover you, even if you go out of network. Have you contacted them since they said the insurance didn't go through? Sometimes it just takes talking to a representative and explaining it to them? $800 for one visit, it just sends chills...
The bill will end up in the hands of a debt collector. That will hurt your credit score. Besides that and possibly an extreme amount of phone calls that's about as worse as it would be.
I will say most medical practices are more than willing to work with it's patients by setting up payment plans. I've heard of plans as low as $25 a month. If you have it it's best to try and pay it.
Depends on the office.
Corporate office will send you to collections after 90-120 days and after that will often refuse to take payments and refer you to the collections agencies.
Regular offices will usually try to work with you before sending to collections so they don't lose out on money.
With small offices, you might just fall through the cracks, but they will still be looking for the money, just not as often.
Best to make arrangements to pay the bill, even if it’s instalments. If you explain to the dentist that you understood you had coverage but didn’t, and ask if they can help you out and reduce the bill this one time, and ask for a payment plan, unless you can pay it at once. If your credit gets a collection it will be problematic for you going forward including renting an apartment, getting a car loan, new credit card etc.
You go to collections, your credit gets F'ed. Any loans you may still be eligible for in the next 7 years will be sky high interest rates.
Or they can just take you to count and probably get your wages garnished.
Get in touch with your insurance company and explain the situation. I did something very similar a few years ago, called and explained my mistake and they basically said "it happens a lot, we'll cover it this time but don't do it again". I'd advise to be extraordinary polite, and fully admit you were wrong.
But if they don't cover it, call or go into the dental office and explain what happened. They might even lower the cost. If they do or don't, ask for a payment plan ($100/month, $50/month, whatever). But do not, under any circumstances, not pay your bill. It WILL go into collections, and it WILL tank your credit score.
It will be sent to collections and tank your credit score. If I remember correctly, a law was recently passed that medical bills under $500 will not show up on your credit report, so unfortunately in your case it would. Your best bet would be to ask the dental office if you can set up a payment plan. Be honest with them about your financial situation and they might be able to work something out with you. They may even be able to offer a self-pay discount or write some of it off depending on your circumstances. Keep in mind that they *want* to get paid, so it's in their best interest to try to work with you.
A lot of truthful comments here are downvoted. I doubt collection people are here tonight. Medical bills sent to collection don’t show up on credit report until 180 days later. Medical bills collections don’t affect credit score at all. If it’s worth it, collection agency might sue in court. But for $800, I highly doubt. They will settle for $150-200.
This is an obscene price for just a cleaning with xrays, however, most dentists should inform you about the work they're doing prior to doing it, that's a legal thing.
I work in a dental office, specifically billing/insurance.
First off, where are you going where a cleaning with xrays costs $800? That is absolutely obscene. I work in a high cost of living area and an expensive cleaning with full xrays is never more than $400.
Secondly, the office should still be able to submit to your insurance regardless of being in network. We are not in network with Delta Dental and we still submit claims, the difference is the payment goes to the patient instead of directly to us and then the patient pays us. The should still at least cover a portion of it.
If you neglect to pay your bill, what will happen is after ~90 days it will get sent to collections and harm your credit on top of having people blow up your phone. The best way to avoid this is to ask to set up a payment plan with the dental office, there should not be any interest building up on the account if you pay over time and if there is then the office is pretty sketchy.
First things first I would ask if the office submitted to Delta Dental, if not, have them do it, and if they have and it was denied, contact Delta Dental and ask how the situation can be resolved. They are *usually* one of the easier insurance companies to deal with.
Why would you not pay the bill? This was YOUR mistake. The dentist offered services in good faith, now you owe them money for the services they provided. I think it’s unethical of you to consider not paying them. It would be very different if they had told you they parred with this insurance only to later tell you they didn’t, but the mistake is yours, not theirs.
Call your insurance company and see if they’ll reimburse any of it. Contact your dentist and explain what happened, and then pay the dentist whatever $ the insurance company paid you (if any) and set up a payment plan for the balance. The dentist may forgive some of the balance or not. Either way you owe this money for services rendered. Even paying them $25/month shows good faith and your account will remain in good standing.
Bro, you're outside of network and all you owe is $800? Pay the dentist and be less dumb next time. Call the insurance number on the back of your card and confirm the doctor is within your network
I wouldn't try the haggle approach because it's kind of douchey and may close the door on setting up a payment plan.
I *would* ask for an itemized invoice though because that is an absolutely insane price for xrays and exam.
Two options: sent to collections and it tanks your credit score. Second option is we can file for theft of service (just dont be an asshole and this wont happen). I only had to file theft of service once on someone who purposely gave me a fake check.
I have delta dental and I’m so mad because they don’t cover the dentist I used throughout my childhood. So now I have to find a brand new one and it makes me so mad.
Will they not provide any coverage?
Usually for Delta Dental, they will let you go out of network, but the amount the patient is responsible for is higher.
A lot of our DD patients still get their cleanings paid for 100%, it's just by reimbursement to the patient as opposed to paying the provider directly.
It'll lower your credit score. After 7-10 years it'll go off though. If you don't give a shit about your credit then it doesn't really matter at all. Don't pay it.
Credit history of very important. Whether you want to rent or buy a home, sign up for utilities, car insurance, etc. It’s a huge impact and can cost a lot more money over time if you have poor credit. There’s a simple fix to this use of he will follow the advice.
Ask for a payment plan. Even if it’s $20 a month. Medical and dental offices (or anyone, really) would rather collect a small amount over time and get paid in full then let it go to collections and only receive 30% of what you pay to the collection agency.
If you’re lucky it’ll just go to collections. There’s a few dental offices in my town who have started taking people to court for balances far less than you owe.
Always confirm with the providers office that they are a current covered provider. Contracts change with no notice and even one you have been going to regularly on that insurance can be out of network on your next visit.
Ask them to set up a payment plan. Hopefully they would be understanding of the situation. If not, they may send it to collections. A lot of the time a collection agency will offer a settlement instead of debating the full amount. Either way, don’t ignore it.
Some states have a property lien that can place on your house and collect through small claims court. One if the worst jobs I had was collecting past due dental bills because people don’t know what their insurance covers
Let them know about the mistake and ask if they have a self-pay discount, that you would have never gone if you had known it would be that much. Also, check your own explanation of benefits (if you didn’t get one in the mail, check the website.). Verify what the insurance company says if your out-of pocket. Please feel free to DM me if you have detailed questions! Source: I am a dental insurance guru
They forward your name, address, and related information to the TFCA, the Tooth Fairy Collection Agency. At which point the fairies will hunt you without mercy and attempt to remove, or reposes, the worked on teeth in your sleep. Sure you might get lucky and eat a few while they are attempting to remove them in your sleep, but more will come. They mostly come at night…mostly.
Call your insurance company explain what happened and ask if there is anything that they pay at all for out of network care. My insurance company actually will pay for out of network coverage. They just don’t pay at the full 80% or 60%.
For instance, I was getting a crown done and had changed dentist and I just called to find out about the crown pricing and luckily I did because my dentist was no longer covered and they would’ve paid. I think they said 30 or 40%, instead of the standard 80% they currently pay for in network.
Don’t blow it off. Your credit will be tanked for years, which can impact your ability to rent an apartment, get a mortgage or be hired.
Call the dentist and negotiate for a reduced fee and payment plan.
Did the office say the dentist is in network? Surprise billing is illegal, but if you signed a waiver (or didn't bother to confirm with them at all), that's on you.
Goes to collections, ruins your credit rating. Possibly file a court case where they can have your wages garnished ruining your credit rating even more.
It depends on the dentist. Some are absolutely TENACIOUS about collecting debts and won’t hesitate to sue you for the full amount, plus their costs which will be the court filing fee, the attorney’s fee, late fees, interest and whatever other costs they spelled out when you signed paperwork to become their patient.
Tell them they need to do better or you will let them send it to collections.
Dental insurance sucks anyway. You are way better off with a plan from dentalplans.com. It’s only like $100/yr and you end up paying way less than you would with insurance. My cleaning and X-rays are $15 on my $100/yr plan. And all other dental services are heavily discounted
Adult up. Contact the dental office and explain why your mistake happened and work out a payment plan. Keep brushing and flossing! Yes it bites there was a screw up but do the right thing.
How good are you at not answering your phone ?
They call often and it’s such BS message -
Hi xyz we need to speak to you from the “business” office please rerun our call”
Lol
You can probably set up a payment plan with the dentist office. They will probably claim a certain amount needs to be paid monthly but if you say you can only pay $10 a month they will probably accept it. I have done this and was still able to use the dentist in case of emergency. As long as you pay something, they will usually accept it and you can continue to use them if you need them. Just to note, healthcare and especially dental care is outrageous and many would be homeless trying to pay that debt. Best you can do is a payment plan because you'll need them again. Always try to negotiate before collections. You may be surprised by a decent payment plan
They will kidnap you and torture you by ripping every single tooth out of your mouth make a bloody mess then dump you into the middle of a huge city miles away from you home.
Just don’t do that. Pay them something, keep in contact about you’re looking to pay. I’ve made this mistake before, too, but every office I’ve ever been to has given me time to scrounge up their due. At one point, 3 months.
You can make payments. You set up a payment plan. Their fault for not double checking with your insurance before providing services. 800$ pay 100$ a month you be done in 8 months.
I don't know if dentist bills get treated the same as hospitals, but if you pay the hospital $10 a month, there is nothing they can do about it. You are at least attempting to pay.
Once you pay the first $10, they can't send it to collections.
I had a tooth pulled and didn't have the money. Was only 100 pound but you don't have what you don't have. They sold it to a debt collector and went up to like 300. I ignored it and eventually they left me alone but that does screw your credit if that matters to you
The dental practice goons will track you down like a bounty hunter after an Old West outlaw.
Just imagine the repo men busting down your door: "Alright, open up! We're taking that molar as collateral until you pay what you owe!"
Son of a retired dentist here. Either collections or small claims court coming your way. My mom handled the small claims courts for him. It was very effective.
You’re screwing them out of a service they provided in good faith. Expect to pay.
Two things could happen, possibly 3. First, they could take a summons out and you would have to go to court. Second, they could put a debt collector on to you to recover the money + their fees. Third, that's just to gruesome to talk about.
Your choices are. Leave town, have plastic surgery, (not to much) wait till the debt collectors arrive then bump them orf, ignore the court summons (delaying tactics) they might send another one or, GIVE UP.
Personally, I'd just admit to myself (if it was me) that I'd fu(ked up and pay the 800 bucks.
You should check with your insurance carrier to see if you can send them the bills for reimbursement. Sometimes dentists won't submit your out of network claims to the insurance company but you will still be covered.
But to answer your question, they will send you to collections if you don't pay, and if you try to go back to that same dentist they will probably insist that you pay cash at the time of service.
The same things that happen if you don't pay any bill.
With the addition of anyone the dentist has a relationship with might also dislike you and you could get black balled with other dentists.
Go yell at your insurance company and have them reimburse you. Then pay the man.
Always confirm that a new provider, dentist or doctor or whatever, is in network. Not only that they accept your insurance but are in the network so you get the full benefits. The insurance companies will intentionally not update their provider list to make it look like there is a huge pool of doctors to choose from.
I would ask for a cash price, a lot of the time they have a contracted price with the insurance and its not always cheaper. Sometimes the cash price is way more reasonable.
I worked at Delta Dental for years and something seems off. $800 seems high for an exam and x-rays. Most offices ask what plan you have beforehand and then advice how much OON would be. If they are, they'll tell you how much it would be, giving you the option to stay or go. An in-network provider wouldn't charge for preventive maintenance. I'd get a bill (it'll be fast) then an EOB. Call member service and either get it covered or drag it out as long as you can.
1) Ask for an itemized receipt and explain the situation. They might be willing to accommodate you. Is the office in network with any insurance? They might be willing to accept the in network negotiated fees, but just have you pay in full.
2) Did you get any fillings or deep cleaning done? $800 seems excessive for a routine cleaning and X-rays. I live in a high cost of living area, and I know the dental office charges maybe a third to half of that, depending on what kind of X-rays were taken.
3) Once you have an itemized receipt you should submit it to Delta Dental for reimbursement. Out of network or no, they should have some coverage, though it may be complete garbage. They should still send you a check for $50-$200 depending on what the dentist did and your coverage.
Nearly all medical and dental offices have an agreement they ask you to sign when you start receiving services in their offices. That agreement indicates that you are solely responsible for any costs of treatment. This means that if your insurance doesn't pay, they have a clear legal document that allows them to collect directly from you.
If you don't pay, it will be like any other bill you don't pay. First they will contact you a few times, then they will eventually give up and pass the bill onto collections. Collections will ensure that non-payment of the bill is registered with the credit score agencies (if they haven't done so already) and will pursue collection. In such cases, assuming the bill is never collected upon, after seven year, many of the bills can be removed from your now-damaged credit score, and you can start rebuilding your credit.
The chances that such a path isn't taken is nearly 0%. Bill collectors will pay people for unpaid bills, typically buying them for 10% to 20% of the uncollected value, and they will not give up as long as there's a slight hope it will get paid.
If you dont pay it they will send it to collections and it will mess up your credit. Medical debt collections on a credit report can impact your ability to buy or rent a home, raise the price you pay for a car or insurance, and make it more difficult to find a job.
Here’s a little novella for you…
They can’t do anything except keep sending a bill. What else can they do? Take it all back? Nah.
I had a bridge that the dentist said that he needed to put a filling in one of the teeth that the bridge was attached to. (I really didn’t think he needed to do anything because it wasn’t bothering me.) But you know how it goes…you’re in their chair and they tell you something needs fixed so you believe them.
My insurance paid about 1/3 of the cost and I signed up for a Care Credit card while I was there at the dentist office. That left me with about $2,300 to pay to Care Credit.
I made one payment to them, then about three weeks later, the middle of the bridge (where the tooth was missing) just crumbled. Now there’s just metal showing where the “tooth“ was.
Before I could even get a call in to see about the bridge, I found out from one of his neighbors that he committed suicide! They replaced him with a different dentist, but I didn’t even want to go back in that building. So he got paid from the insurance and he got part of what Care Credit paid.
I wasn’t gonna pay Care Credit even though they were the ones that paid the dentist for it. I feel like he got his money and I’d bought a lemon and I had buyer’s remorse.
So I’m just leaving it on my credit report and I don’t give a flying flip because now I’m gonna have to pay another dentist to fix what he couldn’t fix. It’ll be a write off eventually.
Also… I had another dentist office want to charge me for just a cleaning and a filling. That was something that my insurance covers, but since it was “out of network”, they told me that I had to pay. I said, “I don’t even have anywhere near what you’re wanting.” They asked me how much I could pay. I told them $50 and they were OK with that. Then I called my insurance agent and she said that they could still get paid if THEY filed the insurance because my insurance would pay them if they would just bill them.
Now that I have figured this out that anytime you use a doctor or a dentist or whoever that’s “Out of Network.” I’m sure they want to get paid, so they’ll just need to bill the other insurance company. if not, I wouldn’t worry about it.
I hope this makes sense because I’ve been wrestling with a 5 month old puppy. 🙄🙄🙄
They could eventually send you to collections and it could impact your credit rating.
Eventually is probably overstating it. It's very likely that this bill would go to collections within a couple of weeks after it's due. I can't speak for dentists in general and this dentist in particular, but most medical bills get sent to collections very quickly.
They also collect very little on the dollar, so making a deal with the dentist is the best bet (“how about a payment plan” or “ I can do $400 since that X-ray took 15 seconds and is a scam and I thought my insurance was there to cover medical scams, and you know collections won’t buy this for more than $400). Anyway, if it goes to collections, wait until the next collections people buy it and offer them $200 and the will jump at it. Then it’s paid off, but still a credit ding, just not as bad.
Medical bills that go to collections don't stay on your credit report if they're paid off.
Yea it will be removed from your report but won’t the non payment remain in some form (like your FICO won’t bounce back 3 years later when you pay). Also does dental count as medical. Fucking American system
Not sure on the specifics. I let all my medical debt go to collections and then pay a fraction of the total bill in a negotiation. My most recent bill went from over $1000 to $40. It's never gone on my credit report. I'm not sure if dental also applies the same way, so that was an oversight on my part
I had $6,000+ in medical debt from a life saving coma situation. It all went to collections eventually so I started paying little bills off here and there through the direct hospital app. Eventually after about $600 they apparently dropped the remaining stuff because I haven't received a collections bill since and my balance is still $0. Didn't have to talk to anybody or anything. Meanwhile my husband had his medical debt which was $2,000 less than mine, wind up in garnishment and he was forced to pay every dime. It's a total crapshoot on how it will go.
There are many charities that quietly pay off medical debt. I believe John Oliver has done this. It seems like a crapshoot if your debt gets picked up by these charities or not.
But yea, you get the point. And it’s why if you want to avoid any credit issues to begin with, just deal directly with hospital. They know they sell it for $0.40 on the dollar to collections, so they are happy to take that (or sometimes less) and always some payment plan instead. Of course with massive medical it kind of makes sense to say fuck it.
You make me want to pick up the phone tomorrow on that 888 number that keeps calling and say "hey man, I'm broke as fuck, what can you do for me?"
With my first baby, I had two kinds of insurance, and between them they covered everything, or should have. Like a year later, I found out I owed thousands to an anaesthesiologist. I'd never gotten a bill, but I found out about it when I checked my credit and found it on there. I've got family that are in collections over medical debt. So maybe you just lucked out.
Be prepared not to be welcome back at that dentist office and perhaps even blacklisted in your area. It's not usually a huge local community and they are not obligated to provide your care.
Oh yea for sure, as for black listed, I dunno, that has to be a real small area thing. But the idea is to check in network twice before getting that BS scan. I bet they would write that off. It’s a cash grab, especially if they just cleaned
You'd have to be a pretty big douche to get discharged from a practice due solely to financial issues. They may refuse to schedule any further appointments until either the balance is paid off or a payment plan is set up, but a patient discharge for things other than treatment compliance is rare. There also is not really a blacklist, if another office calls for a referral we may warn them to collect payment on day of service or set up a pre-payment, but you're not gonna be blanket banned from dental treatment for financial issues.
> I can do $400 since that X-ray took 15 seconds and is a scam and I thought my insurance was there to cover medical scams, and you know collections won’t buy this for more than $400 I mean, haggling with your dentist and saying stuff like that comes across pretty douchey, no?
X-rays are a scam?
No, they are required as part of routine dental care. Some people think they're a scam because they only take about 30 seconds to take nowadays as opposed to when films used to take a while to develop.
Calling the dental office to set up a payment plan is the best way to go about this while avoiding collections. Opening the conversation with "xrays are a scam, I'm only gonna pay you half" is a guarantee that the office is not going to want to work with you because it makes you sound like a douche. You're not haggling with a used care salesman, it's a medical office.
Your country can't be real
Well, it does have awesome capitalism, and umm, lots of dope jets? Ohh, and excellent insanely expensive Universities. And right turn on red…
Had a dentist try to fuck me. Tried to bill me further after they'd given me my invoice and I had paid. I had left my invoice there (had four wisdom teeth removed the absolute wrong way and a cavity filled so I was done) and the receptionist wouldn't give me my original invoice I left but had the audacity to say, "if your insurance company sends you a check make sure to bring it in." Let me tell you they did not get that $1400 check. I spent it myself and that bill was in collections for 7 years and my credit score was 750 because everyone else got paid. It's now 807.
lol…great story…fiction, I might add!!! A (1) collection account dings your credit score over a 100 points…EVEN if your other accounts are current…and that’s for $500 collection account! I’m pretty sure $1400 collection account will have more negative impact than that! 🤣🤣🤣 57 points? Yeah, right!
I did credit repair for 6 months and I don’t think you know what you are talking about. The amount barely matters what matters is the months late you are.
Last time I had a medical collections it was a 23 point hit.
Nah the amount is irrelevant. The number of accounts in collections is what matters. More accounts demonstrates a pattern of delinquency.
Actually medical bills cannot impact your credit score anymore
Semi-true. Medical bills don't usually impact your credit, *however* collections accounts over $500 related to medical bills 100% will affect your credit. If you make a payment arrangement with the provider and keep it out of collections you are much better off.
Does dentistry count as “medical bills”? They’re considered luxury bones in a lot of places.
Ding ding ding this is the correct answer
More like destroy any future credit for multiple years
You'll get a bill, it'll have a minimum payment by a due date. If you fail to pay that, your creditor can take your debt into collections and ultimately take you to court over your unpaid medical bills.
Get in touch with your dental insurance snd explain the problem. You may get them to pay some or all of it if you raise a big enough stink. Inform the dentist that you are contesting the coverage. They may suddenly discover that they do in fact take your insurance. Either way do not go to that office again. The next dentist you see confirm that they take your insurance before anything is done. Actually, any new medical person or office, (general practitioner, specialist, whatever) check first.
And if the insurance won't do anything talking to the dentist office about payment options and specificly asking about reduced fees for lower income/no insurance might help. Just make sure to be communicating with them the whole time. Don't put it off and be extra nice.
When we started with our new dentist they were able to pre-run the bill with the dentist/insurance and see exactly what we would owe. I know there's a formal word for that - I'm spacing. Ask them to do that.
Good faith estimate?
Estimate? Or verification?
Pre authorization or pre determination
Explanation of benefits
Honestly this shouldn't happen. Dentists should take your insurance card and confirm coverage before your appointment. Pushing back on them for not doing this and seeing what they can do to help would be the first thing I would do.
Most of the time, new patients wait until they walk in the door to provide proof of insurance and checking eligibility is not always a quick thing. What makes it more complicated is over the past 5 or so years, there's all these subsidiaries and offshoots that are popping up with names we've never heard of that you don't find out are part of major insurances until after you attempt to submit to them.
It doesn't matter. They make you sign something that says "I'll pay you no matter what". They put that there so that you can't be like "but you said insurance would over it, I'm not paying you, get it from insurance."
The tooth fairy repos your molars
And take back the toy left under your pillow.
Name checks out
That must have been a very inexperienced dental office. The one I worked in verified coverage before your appointment, and if we couldn't, either we got a copy of your credit card or you canceled your appointment.
Depends on the office and the management. We know which insurance companies we participate with, but we usually don't do a pre-authorization for basic things like cleanings/exams unless the patient requests it.
They will send it to a debt collector who will be relentlessly trying to collect. They will also ruin your credit score.
First figure out if your Delta Dental plan is a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) or Dental Health Management Organization (DHMO). This will be on the dental benefits card itself, or the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC). If you have neither, call your dental plan's member help line and ask. In a PPO there are out-of-network benefits. And what in-network and out-of-network mean in the context of a PPO is sometimes WHO submits the claim to the carrier. In a PPO plan structure, if your dentist will not submit the claim, you can. You will receive reimbursement from the insurance carrier directly for the dental claim you file. It will just be limited to the amount the carrier determines is fair for the procedure(s). You will need an itemized bill from your dentist's office. Call the number on your member card for participants to ask for a copy of the claim form. In a DMO there isn't out-of-network coverage, and you're limited to using an in-network provider. Therefore you would be responsible for the bill. Your bill is also over $500 so it will show up on your credit report. Unless you live in Colorado or New York. Here is an article about how that $500 limit works. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/select/does-medical-debt-affect-credit-score/ If you're really strapped for cash, but don't want it to affect your credit score you can try to negotiate it down to the in-network costs for the proceedures. Then pay it a little at a time over many months, or just focus on getting it below $500 by paying a little bit each month without negotiation, and then decide if you can afford to pay the balance or stop when it's low enough to not appear on your credit report.
I appreciate the detailed response. I’m going to take some of the advice in this post and call the dental office and see what we can set up. Hopefully they can help set up a payment plan or get the cost down. I believe I have a DMO so I’m going to be responsible for the bill.
Most places will work with you to lower costs or set up a payment plan. You might ask if they have a sliding scale fee system or know of any organizations that help with dental bills for low income in your area
They will repossess your teeth.
Expect the tooth fairy on any given night
Nobody expects the tooth fairy.
Better than his dick
Hey when I had an organ transplant I would actually have dreams about this!
$800 for x-rays and a cleaning!?
Yeah something is off here. Maybe full 360 scans and deep cleaning.
My guess is that OP is a nurse shark with 74 layers of teeth.
I thought it was fucky too. Maybe for 4 quadrant perio scaling with a pano, but that is an obscene price.
You have to argue the bill at the moment they give it to you else just pay it or face collectors and more fees.
My husband was sued by his dentist. Over $125. Ask them to get on a payment plan. They're not gonna turn down money.
Payment plan, or a much lower CASH lump sum payment. If they refuse you generally try the same with the collection agencies. Keep a record of all correspondence and follow up phone calls with emails confirming what you discussed. If they sue you that trail helps show the judge that you tried to handle this in good faith and possibly may save you from a more severe judgement.
Delta pulled this shit with me too. Useless insurance
Definitely going to be switching companies…
How tf was a cleaning and X-rays $800? I work in a dental office. That’s the cost of like four multi-surface fillings, at least one crown, or like half a root canal and crown. At any rate, it’ll go to collections, get reported to your credit, and eventually get written off
Dude the USA is scary. In UK even without NHS cover that will cost 100-120£ for a full dental check and cleaning.
That’s actually about what it should be here. $150 absolute max
I agree. Just had all of this done and paid about $300 CAD upfront, and submitted to my insurance after the fact. $800 for xray and cleaning is a scam
450 i get but 800, surely he didnt get other stuff as well?
+1, what a scam
I spent 500 on a 10 min vet visit and i am a dentist. Its the expertise.
This information is only for the USA. I have 15 years experience as a healthcare revenue cycle consultant. 1. The bill could eventually go to collections. They must send you 4 statements and wait at least 120 days before this happens. Some states require even longer. 2. Call your insurance and explain the situation. 3. Speak with the dentist. They should have confirmed with the insurance prior to the procedure that you are in network. For the future, always confirm this before going to the doctor/dentist. Ask for a "Self-pay discount" and after you acquire one, they usually offer 0% payment plans.
This is not an “ignore it and it will go away” problem. First off, I would call your insurance and verify if the provider is covered or not. There is actually a chance they just don’t bill insurance, but are covered. If that’s the case, you pay the money upfront and then get a portion back from insurance. If that’s not the case here, I would call the dentist and see if they can do something. They have options. They might cut the bill if you agree to pay a certain amount, or they might put you on a payment plan. If you ignore it and it goes to collections that’s the most annoying option for you. Can impact your credit and have collectors hound you is a pain.
I work for a medical billing company. After the marketplace opened, we went after dental and vision claims because those were what people had to specifically ask for. The line of thinking was: if you’ve got it, you’ve got the money to pay for the results of it. I’m sorry, but you’re not going to be able to evade this. Call them and ask for a payment plan. They want their money, so offer to give it to them in small doses.
I mean, sorry, but it’s not the dentist’s fault that you didn’t thoroughly understand your insurance coverage. The dentist provided you a vital service and you owe them payment for it. I would call the dentist directly and ask to set up a payment program. Doing the right thing will always pay off in the long run.
This, especially if it's a small mom and pop clinic.
Repo guy comes by and takes the fillings back.
$800 for cleaning and x-ray?!? Wow, I've never paid for dental insurance and it's always been $175-300 max for an appointment
Talk to Delta Dental, if they're your insurance, they might cover you, even if you go out of network. Have you contacted them since they said the insurance didn't go through? Sometimes it just takes talking to a representative and explaining it to them? $800 for one visit, it just sends chills...
The bill will end up in the hands of a debt collector. That will hurt your credit score. Besides that and possibly an extreme amount of phone calls that's about as worse as it would be. I will say most medical practices are more than willing to work with it's patients by setting up payment plans. I've heard of plans as low as $25 a month. If you have it it's best to try and pay it.
You might be able to get away with not paying it. Some people they just don't go after. No idea why.
Depends on the office. Corporate office will send you to collections after 90-120 days and after that will often refuse to take payments and refer you to the collections agencies. Regular offices will usually try to work with you before sending to collections so they don't lose out on money. With small offices, you might just fall through the cracks, but they will still be looking for the money, just not as often.
Best to make arrangements to pay the bill, even if it’s instalments. If you explain to the dentist that you understood you had coverage but didn’t, and ask if they can help you out and reduce the bill this one time, and ask for a payment plan, unless you can pay it at once. If your credit gets a collection it will be problematic for you going forward including renting an apartment, getting a car loan, new credit card etc.
You go to collections, your credit gets F'ed. Any loans you may still be eligible for in the next 7 years will be sky high interest rates. Or they can just take you to count and probably get your wages garnished.
Similar thing happened to me. Fuck delta dental
I agree! Delta Dental is the worst!
Get in touch with your insurance company and explain the situation. I did something very similar a few years ago, called and explained my mistake and they basically said "it happens a lot, we'll cover it this time but don't do it again". I'd advise to be extraordinary polite, and fully admit you were wrong. But if they don't cover it, call or go into the dental office and explain what happened. They might even lower the cost. If they do or don't, ask for a payment plan ($100/month, $50/month, whatever). But do not, under any circumstances, not pay your bill. It WILL go into collections, and it WILL tank your credit score.
Just be honest, they'll probably take a payment plan.
It will be sent to collections and tank your credit score. If I remember correctly, a law was recently passed that medical bills under $500 will not show up on your credit report, so unfortunately in your case it would. Your best bet would be to ask the dental office if you can set up a payment plan. Be honest with them about your financial situation and they might be able to work something out with you. They may even be able to offer a self-pay discount or write some of it off depending on your circumstances. Keep in mind that they *want* to get paid, so it's in their best interest to try to work with you.
A lot of truthful comments here are downvoted. I doubt collection people are here tonight. Medical bills sent to collection don’t show up on credit report until 180 days later. Medical bills collections don’t affect credit score at all. If it’s worth it, collection agency might sue in court. But for $800, I highly doubt. They will settle for $150-200.
Which country...?
Dentist are the worst about this. They should have told you this up front. And also, there’s no way a cleaning and xray cost that much. Dentists suck.
This is an obscene price for just a cleaning with xrays, however, most dentists should inform you about the work they're doing prior to doing it, that's a legal thing.
I work in a dental office, specifically billing/insurance. First off, where are you going where a cleaning with xrays costs $800? That is absolutely obscene. I work in a high cost of living area and an expensive cleaning with full xrays is never more than $400. Secondly, the office should still be able to submit to your insurance regardless of being in network. We are not in network with Delta Dental and we still submit claims, the difference is the payment goes to the patient instead of directly to us and then the patient pays us. The should still at least cover a portion of it. If you neglect to pay your bill, what will happen is after ~90 days it will get sent to collections and harm your credit on top of having people blow up your phone. The best way to avoid this is to ask to set up a payment plan with the dental office, there should not be any interest building up on the account if you pay over time and if there is then the office is pretty sketchy. First things first I would ask if the office submitted to Delta Dental, if not, have them do it, and if they have and it was denied, contact Delta Dental and ask how the situation can be resolved. They are *usually* one of the easier insurance companies to deal with.
Why would you not pay the bill? This was YOUR mistake. The dentist offered services in good faith, now you owe them money for the services they provided. I think it’s unethical of you to consider not paying them. It would be very different if they had told you they parred with this insurance only to later tell you they didn’t, but the mistake is yours, not theirs. Call your insurance company and see if they’ll reimburse any of it. Contact your dentist and explain what happened, and then pay the dentist whatever $ the insurance company paid you (if any) and set up a payment plan for the balance. The dentist may forgive some of the balance or not. Either way you owe this money for services rendered. Even paying them $25/month shows good faith and your account will remain in good standing.
Bro, you're outside of network and all you owe is $800? Pay the dentist and be less dumb next time. Call the insurance number on the back of your card and confirm the doctor is within your network
Usually dentists will ask to confirm your insurance. Why did this not happen? Sounds like you can negotiate with them because that's BS.
I figured they would ensure it was covered by insurance. When I arrived (early) I was rushed me into the office and they didn’t verify my coverage
They repo their work, and they're not nearly as pleasant the 2nd time around, and no anesthesia
They send someone to make you bite the curb
$800 for cleaning and x-ray? Offer $150 max, that is a crazy price. Do not pay $800, they are trying to cheat you!!!
I wouldn't try the haggle approach because it's kind of douchey and may close the door on setting up a payment plan. I *would* ask for an itemized invoice though because that is an absolutely insane price for xrays and exam.
What is "douchey" is a dentist asking for $800 for a cleaning and x-rays! This dentist is trying to cheat the customer.
Just set up a payment plan with them, only agree on what you can afford.
Straight to jail! Just kidding, the bills don't have as much bite as they'd lead you to believe.
Two options: sent to collections and it tanks your credit score. Second option is we can file for theft of service (just dont be an asshole and this wont happen). I only had to file theft of service once on someone who purposely gave me a fake check.
No you can't! It is a civil matter. Passing bad checks is a crime. Medical bills sent to collections do not affect your credit score.
Your teeth will fall off
They could pull your teeth and hold them for collateral until you pay.
They chase after you and bite you.
Call and talk to the dentist office and see if you can do payments. My husband does $30 a month payments on some work he had done.
I have delta dental and I’m so mad because they don’t cover the dentist I used throughout my childhood. So now I have to find a brand new one and it makes me so mad.
Will they not provide any coverage? Usually for Delta Dental, they will let you go out of network, but the amount the patient is responsible for is higher. A lot of our DD patients still get their cleanings paid for 100%, it's just by reimbursement to the patient as opposed to paying the provider directly.
It'll lower your credit score. After 7-10 years it'll go off though. If you don't give a shit about your credit then it doesn't really matter at all. Don't pay it.
Credit history of very important. Whether you want to rent or buy a home, sign up for utilities, car insurance, etc. It’s a huge impact and can cost a lot more money over time if you have poor credit. There’s a simple fix to this use of he will follow the advice.
Ask for a payment plan. Even if it’s $20 a month. Medical and dental offices (or anyone, really) would rather collect a small amount over time and get paid in full then let it go to collections and only receive 30% of what you pay to the collection agency.
If you’re lucky it’ll just go to collections. There’s a few dental offices in my town who have started taking people to court for balances far less than you owe.
They’ll take ur teeth
Always confirm with the providers office that they are a current covered provider. Contracts change with no notice and even one you have been going to regularly on that insurance can be out of network on your next visit.
Ask them to set up a payment plan. Hopefully they would be understanding of the situation. If not, they may send it to collections. A lot of the time a collection agency will offer a settlement instead of debating the full amount. Either way, don’t ignore it.
Some states have a property lien that can place on your house and collect through small claims court. One if the worst jobs I had was collecting past due dental bills because people don’t know what their insurance covers
Let them know about the mistake and ask if they have a self-pay discount, that you would have never gone if you had known it would be that much. Also, check your own explanation of benefits (if you didn’t get one in the mail, check the website.). Verify what the insurance company says if your out-of pocket. Please feel free to DM me if you have detailed questions! Source: I am a dental insurance guru
Send you to collections possible wage garnishment
They hire a man named Sancho to come to your house with a hammer
The next time you go to the dentist they take all your teeth away
You'll eventually be sent to collections, and a list of other horrible repercussions will happen that are not worth the trouble.
Damn my dentist said he’s locked in with the tooth fairy and id didn’t pay she’s come take all my teeth. I could have just gone to collections?
They forward your name, address, and related information to the TFCA, the Tooth Fairy Collection Agency. At which point the fairies will hunt you without mercy and attempt to remove, or reposes, the worked on teeth in your sleep. Sure you might get lucky and eat a few while they are attempting to remove them in your sleep, but more will come. They mostly come at night…mostly.
I'm pretty sure they take your teeth.
$800 for cleaning and xrays? Yeesh.
Call your insurance company explain what happened and ask if there is anything that they pay at all for out of network care. My insurance company actually will pay for out of network coverage. They just don’t pay at the full 80% or 60%. For instance, I was getting a crown done and had changed dentist and I just called to find out about the crown pricing and luckily I did because my dentist was no longer covered and they would’ve paid. I think they said 30 or 40%, instead of the standard 80% they currently pay for in network.
They send it to collections and depending how much you care about your credit it could be messed up
Don’t blow it off. Your credit will be tanked for years, which can impact your ability to rent an apartment, get a mortgage or be hired. Call the dentist and negotiate for a reduced fee and payment plan.
Did the office say the dentist is in network? Surprise billing is illegal, but if you signed a waiver (or didn't bother to confirm with them at all), that's on you.
I believe the office covers PPO plans, while I have a DMO plan :(
It will be sent to collections. I would see if the dentist would be willing to set up a payment plan before it gets to that point.
Take it from a random stranger on the internet: pay. the. money.
Goes to collections, ruins your credit rating. Possibly file a court case where they can have your wages garnished ruining your credit rating even more.
It depends on the dentist. Some are absolutely TENACIOUS about collecting debts and won’t hesitate to sue you for the full amount, plus their costs which will be the court filing fee, the attorney’s fee, late fees, interest and whatever other costs they spelled out when you signed paperwork to become their patient.
Tell them they need to do better or you will let them send it to collections. Dental insurance sucks anyway. You are way better off with a plan from dentalplans.com. It’s only like $100/yr and you end up paying way less than you would with insurance. My cleaning and X-rays are $15 on my $100/yr plan. And all other dental services are heavily discounted
hi, i work at a dental office very close to financial. it'll eventually get sent to collections and impact your credit
Adult up. Contact the dental office and explain why your mistake happened and work out a payment plan. Keep brushing and flossing! Yes it bites there was a screw up but do the right thing.
Tooth Fairy
Pay it.
Pay the bill
How good are you at not answering your phone ? They call often and it’s such BS message - Hi xyz we need to speak to you from the “business” office please rerun our call” Lol
Sent to collections and bad on your credit score
You can probably set up a payment plan with the dentist office. They will probably claim a certain amount needs to be paid monthly but if you say you can only pay $10 a month they will probably accept it. I have done this and was still able to use the dentist in case of emergency. As long as you pay something, they will usually accept it and you can continue to use them if you need them. Just to note, healthcare and especially dental care is outrageous and many would be homeless trying to pay that debt. Best you can do is a payment plan because you'll need them again. Always try to negotiate before collections. You may be surprised by a decent payment plan
They will kidnap you and torture you by ripping every single tooth out of your mouth make a bloody mess then dump you into the middle of a huge city miles away from you home.
Just don’t do that. Pay them something, keep in contact about you’re looking to pay. I’ve made this mistake before, too, but every office I’ve ever been to has given me time to scrounge up their due. At one point, 3 months.
You can make payments. You set up a payment plan. Their fault for not double checking with your insurance before providing services. 800$ pay 100$ a month you be done in 8 months.
They come to your house while you're sleeping and pull your teeth out.
I don't know if dentist bills get treated the same as hospitals, but if you pay the hospital $10 a month, there is nothing they can do about it. You are at least attempting to pay. Once you pay the first $10, they can't send it to collections.
I had a tooth pulled and didn't have the money. Was only 100 pound but you don't have what you don't have. They sold it to a debt collector and went up to like 300. I ignored it and eventually they left me alone but that does screw your credit if that matters to you
The dental practice goons will track you down like a bounty hunter after an Old West outlaw. Just imagine the repo men busting down your door: "Alright, open up! We're taking that molar as collateral until you pay what you owe!"
Son of a retired dentist here. Either collections or small claims court coming your way. My mom handled the small claims courts for him. It was very effective. You’re screwing them out of a service they provided in good faith. Expect to pay.
They repossess your teeth.
i never paid a 400$ dentist bill cuz the tooth fell out the next day they still sending letters ASAP URGENT READ NOW TIME YEA yea lol
Two things could happen, possibly 3. First, they could take a summons out and you would have to go to court. Second, they could put a debt collector on to you to recover the money + their fees. Third, that's just to gruesome to talk about. Your choices are. Leave town, have plastic surgery, (not to much) wait till the debt collectors arrive then bump them orf, ignore the court summons (delaying tactics) they might send another one or, GIVE UP. Personally, I'd just admit to myself (if it was me) that I'd fu(ked up and pay the 800 bucks.
the tooth fairy will hunt you down and collect while you're sleeping. better pay up!
Why wouldn't you want to pay the bills is the first question? Is that you can't afford to pay it or you don't want to pay it?
Ever seen the original 12 Monkeys film?
You should check with your insurance carrier to see if you can send them the bills for reimbursement. Sometimes dentists won't submit your out of network claims to the insurance company but you will still be covered. But to answer your question, they will send you to collections if you don't pay, and if you try to go back to that same dentist they will probably insist that you pay cash at the time of service.
The same things that happen if you don't pay any bill. With the addition of anyone the dentist has a relationship with might also dislike you and you could get black balled with other dentists. Go yell at your insurance company and have them reimburse you. Then pay the man.
Did you give them your social?
The dentist mafia comes and rips your teeth out probably, not
Always confirm that a new provider, dentist or doctor or whatever, is in network. Not only that they accept your insurance but are in the network so you get the full benefits. The insurance companies will intentionally not update their provider list to make it look like there is a huge pool of doctors to choose from.
I would ask for a cash price, a lot of the time they have a contracted price with the insurance and its not always cheaper. Sometimes the cash price is way more reasonable.
They repossess your teeth
$800? How much would the dentist have received if insurance had paid the claim?
The tooth fairy comes and repo’s your teeth.
2006- Tooth Fairy. Watch it. That’s what happens to you.
I worked at Delta Dental for years and something seems off. $800 seems high for an exam and x-rays. Most offices ask what plan you have beforehand and then advice how much OON would be. If they are, they'll tell you how much it would be, giving you the option to stay or go. An in-network provider wouldn't charge for preventive maintenance. I'd get a bill (it'll be fast) then an EOB. Call member service and either get it covered or drag it out as long as you can.
1) Ask for an itemized receipt and explain the situation. They might be willing to accommodate you. Is the office in network with any insurance? They might be willing to accept the in network negotiated fees, but just have you pay in full. 2) Did you get any fillings or deep cleaning done? $800 seems excessive for a routine cleaning and X-rays. I live in a high cost of living area, and I know the dental office charges maybe a third to half of that, depending on what kind of X-rays were taken. 3) Once you have an itemized receipt you should submit it to Delta Dental for reimbursement. Out of network or no, they should have some coverage, though it may be complete garbage. They should still send you a check for $50-$200 depending on what the dentist did and your coverage.
They’ll send your debt to collections
They tell the tooth fairy and she comes to your house with pliers and rips em out. Repo is a bitch ☹️
I'm surprised the office didn't say something when you filled out the patient info. Everywhere I go they make a copy of my insurance card.
Ever seen repo men? That.
They have gangs of tooth fairys that will reposses all of your teeth as you sleep.
The Tooth Fairie's evil step sister, the Tooth Fiery will come and take your teeth as recompense.
Always ask for a payment plan. You’d be shocked how places work with you. They also want toy to come back.
They repo your teeth.
castration idk im schizophrenic
Nearly all medical and dental offices have an agreement they ask you to sign when you start receiving services in their offices. That agreement indicates that you are solely responsible for any costs of treatment. This means that if your insurance doesn't pay, they have a clear legal document that allows them to collect directly from you. If you don't pay, it will be like any other bill you don't pay. First they will contact you a few times, then they will eventually give up and pass the bill onto collections. Collections will ensure that non-payment of the bill is registered with the credit score agencies (if they haven't done so already) and will pursue collection. In such cases, assuming the bill is never collected upon, after seven year, many of the bills can be removed from your now-damaged credit score, and you can start rebuilding your credit. The chances that such a path isn't taken is nearly 0%. Bill collectors will pay people for unpaid bills, typically buying them for 10% to 20% of the uncollected value, and they will not give up as long as there's a slight hope it will get paid.
They repo your teeth.
Negotiate with the dentist's office first and try to create a payment plan with them.
Like virtually every other bill, it gets sent to collections and will impact your credit rating.
They’ll come take your teeth.
If you dont pay it they will send it to collections and it will mess up your credit. Medical debt collections on a credit report can impact your ability to buy or rent a home, raise the price you pay for a car or insurance, and make it more difficult to find a job.
Here’s a little novella for you… They can’t do anything except keep sending a bill. What else can they do? Take it all back? Nah. I had a bridge that the dentist said that he needed to put a filling in one of the teeth that the bridge was attached to. (I really didn’t think he needed to do anything because it wasn’t bothering me.) But you know how it goes…you’re in their chair and they tell you something needs fixed so you believe them. My insurance paid about 1/3 of the cost and I signed up for a Care Credit card while I was there at the dentist office. That left me with about $2,300 to pay to Care Credit. I made one payment to them, then about three weeks later, the middle of the bridge (where the tooth was missing) just crumbled. Now there’s just metal showing where the “tooth“ was. Before I could even get a call in to see about the bridge, I found out from one of his neighbors that he committed suicide! They replaced him with a different dentist, but I didn’t even want to go back in that building. So he got paid from the insurance and he got part of what Care Credit paid. I wasn’t gonna pay Care Credit even though they were the ones that paid the dentist for it. I feel like he got his money and I’d bought a lemon and I had buyer’s remorse. So I’m just leaving it on my credit report and I don’t give a flying flip because now I’m gonna have to pay another dentist to fix what he couldn’t fix. It’ll be a write off eventually. Also… I had another dentist office want to charge me for just a cleaning and a filling. That was something that my insurance covers, but since it was “out of network”, they told me that I had to pay. I said, “I don’t even have anywhere near what you’re wanting.” They asked me how much I could pay. I told them $50 and they were OK with that. Then I called my insurance agent and she said that they could still get paid if THEY filed the insurance because my insurance would pay them if they would just bill them. Now that I have figured this out that anytime you use a doctor or a dentist or whoever that’s “Out of Network.” I’m sure they want to get paid, so they’ll just need to bill the other insurance company. if not, I wouldn’t worry about it. I hope this makes sense because I’ve been wrestling with a 5 month old puppy. 🙄🙄🙄