While out of the country a few months back, I ended up cracking my upper and lower molars. My dentist was able to fix my upper molar, but unfortunately, my lower one required a root canal. I was extremely upset about this, because I'm deathly afraid of the dentist as it is. Even being in the office and hearing her drilling on someone else sets my anxiety ablaze, let alone drilling on me. Knowing that I needed a root canal really scared me.
I had an appointment today at RootVision Endo after being referred by my regular dentist, who did a partial root canal. The nerve was gone and she cleaned the canals as much as she could, but told me that I still needed to visit the endodontist, so that the canals could be properly cleaned and resealed. Reluctantly, I made my appointment for the end of the week, but because the pain was so bad, I moved my appointment up to two days later. The temporary sealant is only good for about a week or so, so that also pushed me to get in there and get it done.
I arrived on time for my appointment and was a nervous wreck, as I'd been full of anxiety all day. Gabby gave me paperwork to fill out and asked about my insurance information. I told her that my dental insurance was new and that I didn't have a membership number. I provided her with the name and my social security number and also showed her an email from my HR department confirming that I was signed up for coverage. She said that they still have to call to verify coverage.
They called the insurance and advised me that they are showing that I don't have coverage, however my name did come up in the system, just coverage information hasn't been uploaded, yet. I was just added to my dental insurance on Monday, because of a paperwork issue, but my effective date was retroactive to April 1st. Today is Thursday, so in all honesty, I didn't expect to be in the system, yet and I told them that. This is why I had the email from my HR department handy to show that I do in fact have coverage.
This wasn't good enough for them. They said that I have to have insurance in order to be seen, otherwise I have to pay cash. I asked how much it would cost to be seen and was told that it's $100 just for the consult and if he finds that I need a root canal, which clearly I do, because I've had a partial already done, then I'm looking at paying between $1000-$3000. Hmmm....does that include tax?? Is anesthesia included or is that a separate charge?
Through all of this back and forth, my pain level was steadily rising. I needed treatment now! I can barely open my mouth, let alone eat and drink. Coming back next week was not an option, as each day, the pain is getting worse. She suggested that I come back next week or something. I told her that I'm in a lot of pain and need to be treated. She and another woman gave me that "Oh well, there's nothing we can do" look. The other woman said that I can pay the consult fee and see the doctor and get antibiotics and pain medication if needed, but I asked her what good is that going to do, but mask what the problem is. All of this transpired with other patients in the small waiting area, who were within ear shot. Maybe it's just me, but I felt that that was unprofessional, especially when you have a conference room right across from the waiting area.
I felt like they didn't even try to help me find a solution. I told the lady that I did sign paperwork that says that I'm financially responsible, so they will get payment no matter what and asked if they can give it a few more days and then run the insurance, but they refused, saying that it has to be verified on the day of treatment. You know, I completely understand that you want payment, but to turn a patient away who is in obvious pain, so much so that I'm almost in tears...where's your humanity??? You are doctors...you did take oaths, right? Or better yet, you do have an ethical and moral code, right? How you could have a policy in effect that denies treatment to individuals in pain is utterly irresponsible and frightening! I can only imagine others who may be worse than me, with infections or in need of multiple root canals.
When I left the office, I called the insurance myself. Again, it was verified that I was in the system, but insurance information hadn't been uploaded, yet. The representative told me that it takes 48-72 hours for it to download into the system and will most likely upload tonight. So I left the office, but by this time, my pain was a 20 on that infamous scale of 1-10. I swallowed a motrin with no water as I rushed home to get a vicodin. That's how painful it was. It took hours for the pain to subside enough for me to try to eat something and by this time, I was sick from the vicodin. Pissed off doesn't even convey my feelings toward this office...
And guess what...I called my insurance this morning...coverage is verified not even 10 hours later! read more