How does going to the dentist without insurance work?!
Question: I heard they can bill you but do they usually want anything up front? Or what if I need to get a root canal or something and they schedule me one for later do they expect a certain amount payed before they will do it? Or can they just bill it all?
Answers: I heard they can bill you but do they usually want anything up front? Or what if I need to get a root canal or something and they schedule me one for later do they expect a certain amount payed before they will do it? Or can they just bill it all?
I can only tell you how my office works. In my office it doesn't matter whether you have insurance or not. Our fees are the same regardless of who you are or if you have insurance or not. If someone needs a lengthy procedure, they are required to put down 1/3 of the cost when they schedule the appointment. This deposit is non-refundable. This cuts down on the amount of of patients who decide they don't want to have the work done for whatever reason, and either cancel at the last minute or just simply no-show. The remainder of the balance is due when the services are rendered. We do not bill nor do we do in office payment plans. We do offer payments through Care Credit however. If a patient uses this, they don't have to pay us anything up front, because it gets charged to Care Credit and they bill the patient. We do offer a discount for patients who prepay for services in full at least 48 hours in advance. If they want to pay the full balance and allow their insurance to reimburse them, they get a 20% discount. If they just want to pay their copay and let the insurance pay us, they get 10% off their copay.
There is no guarantee that billing a patient will get you the money. I have seen it happen time and time again, where patients ignore the bill or pay less than they owe. It costs a dentist more money to chase these payments down, and he still has to pay salaries and office overhead even if patients aren't paying their bill. In other offices I have worked in, I have seen the results of "billing" patients, and many don't ever pay their bill. Dentists either have to write off the balance, or spend money hiring a collection company (which still doesn't guarantee they will get paid) or take them to small claims court (Which costs the dentists even more money with court costs and time off work.) Many dentists don't feel it is worth the trouble, even if it costs them a few patients who demand a payment plan or want to be billed.
I just use a debit card with overdraft protection. LOL!
Speak to your dentist. Every one is different.
You need to plan on paying the bill for the rest of your existence! They bill you...
Ask around and find a really nice family dentist who is willing to accept monthly payments. As long as you make those monthly payments, you will be fine. Growing up, my mom paid 50 a month for our family visits. Now as a mother of 2 myself I have a dentist who accepts 20 a month. It is great if you work something out in advance. Then you don't have to deal with disgruntled employees and collection agencies. Most Dentists are really willing to work with you if you engage in open honest communication about it.
It works very simply: you pay. Whether your dentist will give you credit, by doing the work before you have paid anything, is up to him, perhaps based on how long a record you have as a reliable customer, as with anything else. All I would say is, if there's any talk of expensive work, take a real interest in what is being proposed, why, and what the options are (with their costs). If you aren't 100% happy, don't be shy of getting a second opinion. And make it clear you have to live on a budget, you aren't the one whose teeth are going to gold-plate his Rolls-Royce. In my opinion, dentists are generally far too wealthy for what they do.
In most cases the office girl can immediately determine exactly what your insurance will and will not pay...that is if you actually have insurance...Some people don't like to reveal they have insurance up front, because they think the fee will be cheaper if they don't, leaving less for them to pay after the work is completed. NOW, if you don't have insurance, you can depend on the dentist giving you an up front fee and asking for payment, probably in advance. There is a company called "Credit Care" that uses the credit card method that allows you to charge dental services. You pay the bill by the month and usually there is no interest if the full amount is paid within a year. No doubt your DDS knows about this service and can set it up for you while your in the office.
They will probably want you to pay some of it up front, then they will bill you for the rest or you pay off the rest when they're finished with your treatment. In our office, we also
take credit or debit cards. If you pay the day of treatment,
we give you a discount of 5%.
You better have plenty of money these days. Policy is different in all offfices!! Doc W