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 How
are Appointments Scheduled?
The office attempts to
schedule appointments at your convenience and when time is available.
Preschool children should be seen in the morning because they are
fresher and we can work more slowly with the child for their comfort.
School children with a lot of work to be done should be seen in the
morning for the same reason. Dental appointments are an excused absence.
Missing school can be kept to a minimum when regular dental care is
continued.
Since appointed times are reserved exclusively for each patient we ask
that you please notify our office 24 hours in advance of your scheduled
appointment time if you are unable to keep your appointment. Another
patient who needs our care could be scheduled if we have sufficient time
to notify them. We realize that unexpected things can happen, but we ask
for your assistance in this regard.
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Our Payment Policy & Insurance
We ask that you pay for office visits and treatment at
the time the service is rendered. We accept cash, check, as well as
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, for your convenience.
We also accept Care Credit, which offers no interest payment plans with
no annual fees (subject to credit approval). If you anticipate a problem
in paying for services, please discuss this in advance with our
receptionist.
We will review your insurance information with you at the time of your
first appointment. You will need to be prepared to pay any amount that
is determined not payable by your insurance plan, such as co-pays,
deductibles and/or percentages. Please notify the office of any changes
to your insurance at the time of appointment.
We file all insurance the same day as your appointment
so your insurance company will receive each claim within days of the
treatment. You are responsible for any balance on your account after 30
days, whether insurance has paid or not. All charges that remain unpaid
for 30 days or more are subject to a late fee. At 60 days, all accounts
are turned over to our billing agent and/or our attorney, and
correspondence with resume with them. You are responsible for all costs
of collection, including late fees, court costs, and reasonable
attorneys’ fees.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND that we file dental insurance as a
courtesy to our patients. We do not have a contract with your insurance
company, only you do. We are not responsible for how your insurance
company handles its claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We
can only assist you in estimating your portion of the cost of treatment,
and we at no time guarantee what your insurance will or will not do with
each claim. We also can not be responsible for any errors in filing your
insurance, as once again, we file claims as a courtesy to you.
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Fact 1 - NO INSURANCE PAYS 100% OF ALL PROCEDURES
Dental insurance is meant to be an aid in receiving dental care. Many
patients think that their insurance pays 90%-100% of all dental fees.
This is not true! Most plans only pay between 50%-80% of the average
total fee. Some pay more, some pay less. The percentage paid is usually
determined by how much you or your employer has paid for coverage or the
type of contract your employer has set up with the insurance company.
Fact 2 - BENEFITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY OUR OFFICE
You may have noticed that sometimes your dental insurer reimburses you
or the dentist at a lower rate than the dentist's actual fee.
Frequently, insurance companies state that the reimbursement was reduced
because your dentist's fee has exceeded the usual, customary, or
reasonable fee ("UCR") used by the company.
A statement such as this gives the impression that any fee greater than
the amount paid by the insurance company is unreasonable or well above
what most dentists in the area charge for a certain service. This can be
very misleading and simply is not accurate.
Insurance companies set their own schedules and each company uses a
different set of fees they consider allowable. These allowable fees may
vary widely because each company collects fee information from claims it
processes. The insurance company then takes this data and arbitrarily
chooses a level they call the "allowable" UCR Fee. Frequently this data
can be three to five years old and these "allowable" fees are set by the
insurance company so they can make a net 20%-30% profit.
Unfortunately, insurance companies imply that your dentist is
"overcharging" rather than say that they are "underpaying" or that their
benefits are low. In general, the less expensive insurance policy will
use a lower usual, customary, or reasonable (UCR) figure.
Fact 3 - DEDUCTIBLES & CO-PAYMENTS MUST BE CONSIDERED
When estimating dental benefits, deductibles and percentages must be
considered. To illustrate, assume the fee for service is $150.00.
Assuming that the insurance company allows $150.00 as its usual and
customary (UCR) fee, we can figure out what benefits will be paid. First
a deductible (paid by you), on average $50, is subtracted, leaving
$100.00. The plan then pays 80% for this particular procedure. The
insurance company will then pay 80% of $100.00, or $80.00. Out of a
$150.00 fee they will pay an estimated $80.00 leaving a remaining
portion of $70.00 (to be paid by the patient) Of course, if the UCR is
less than $150.00 or your plan pays only at 50% then the insurance
benefits will also be significantly less.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, please keep us informed of any insurance changes such
as policy name, insurance company address, or a change of employment.
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6415
Sheldon Road
Tampa, Florida 33615
phone: 813-880-0100
fax: 813-880-0111
email:
smilebuilders@verizon.net
Click
here for a map and driving directions.
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