AVOID THIS OFFICE IF YOU HAVE UNITED CONCORDIA INSURANCE.
My wife and I are new to the area and were looking for a trusting and well reviewed dentist. We both had sudden tooth issues which was very coincidental but needed to find one we trusted quickly. I needed a root canal and was referred to a endodontist, Providence Endodontics, who did a fantastic job. I was sent back to American Dental Excellence to have a build up of the tooth and a crown permanently placed. I can't stress enough, up until this point, the service was excellent and I was treated very well. When walking downstairs to the front desk to pay is where things quickly went south. The two employees behind the desk were whispering things to each other which I thought seemed unprofessional while reviewing my "bill" and insurance. I was told I had to pay $100. This didn't sound right at all, I have no co-pay and I have $1500 left on my annual allotment for insurance. I questioned this charge and the girl at the desk told me this was my co-pay and she's looking at my account as we speak on the computer. Shen then quickly corrected and said well this is what we charge. Then she said they charge this because the insurance says they have to but then they will also submit this to insurance....confused yet? I am too. I paid it because I didn't want to waste anymore time here and I just wanted to call my insurance to get a better explanation and I had to get home. I called my insurance (United Concordia) immediately after and was told that they have no idea why I would be charged $100. This was 100% covered, I have no co-pay. I became enraged at this point seeing that this great service I received and a dental office I finally had a good experience in could've potentially scammed me. The agent from my insurer quickly started a conference call where we had a rep from the office, myself, and the insurer on the phone. The woman on the phone from this office's name was Tabitha and she couldn't have made me feel any worse. She was so rude to the insurer and basically just said in so many words that this insurer isn't good and they always do this and say things are covered when they actually aren't and the office's practice is to make me (the customer) pay them until the insurer accepts/declines to make payment. Essentially their practice (to only United Concordia members) is to make them foot the bill until the insurer decides how to proceed. I found this practice completely offensive and quite honestly a bit unethical considering they are within network. After our conference call ended, I called back to speak to an office manager. Tabitha answered again and told me why do I want to speak to a manager, they're going to just say the same thing she said. The manager, who was very nice, said the same thing. United Concordia apparently is difficult to work with so they choose to charge their patients the amount they bill the insurance carrier and then "write a check to refund" the patient if the insurance carrier decided. This practice seems terrible and unethical. I am in the industry of insurance and what I would ask any patient that currently goes here or any potential patient is to ask yourself this question. If you were in a vehicle accident or your house burned down. Would you be asked to "foot the bill" and cover the costs until the insurance decides what to do? It pains me to write this review because I was in such pain prior to this appointment and I was treated wonderfully up until this point. In closing, I want to thank the office staff for teaching me something. I now have to call around and find another dentist in the area and pose them with this scenario to vet out which dental office would accept my "second rate insurance" and that won't make me foot the bill. It isn't about the $100, it's about doing what is right. read more