Is it normal for a dentist to keep a credit from an insurance reimbursement? February 16, 2010
Posted by Banking in : Dental , trackback
If you had a dental procedure and your insurance covered it, but the dentist still made you pay out of pocket, shouldn’t the dentist inform the patient immediatley once the insurance company reimburses them? Shouldn’t the patient know that he/she has a credit? Is it normal for them to not tell you and just apply it to your next appointment without your knowledge?
By: kosm
About the Author:
By: kosm
About the Author:
Comments»
Usually dental insurances do not pay the whole thing. They pay part of it and then the patient pays the rest of the fee or a copayment.
If you are unsure CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY. The number is on your card. Call and speak to someone there. Ask them if they covered the whole dental procedure you had done. And then if they say they covered 100% then tell them that you also paid the doctor and the doctor didnt give you any money back. The insurance company needs to know if the doctor got paid 2 times (once by you and them) if he shouldnt have.
They can help you.
Most likely the insurance paid about 80% and you had to pay the balance.
It depends on the size of the credit. Under about $75 dollars, we will usually send a statement, showing the credit. If the patient requests a refund, we refund. Some request to leave it as a credit on the account. Since insurance companies are very secretive about what they will pay, we can only estimate what they’ll cover. If anything, we usually underestimate, then the patient wants to know why they are “paying again” If dentists had to be issuing reimbursements for credits, we’d never get anything else done. Most insurance companies should issue you a statement of benefits that shows exactly what they have paid towards your treatment. You should be able to see from this if you over or under paid and request a reimbursement or pay the balance accordingly