Pikachu surprise gif
Now split out health care outcomes by income and you see the American system is working as designed.
Hasnāt this story come out every year since forever? Itās like gun control ākilling a bunch of 5 and 6 yr olds will surely move the needleā.
Today I made an appointment with a Dermatologist. First available in network I have found so far has a January appointment lol. Guess I should have started looking before I ran into a prescription problem.
I got referred to an endodontist by my dentist to see if I need to get a root canal. We have dental insurance. My appointment was yesterday. After Iām done and have an appointment scheduled next Wednesday for a root canal, they let me know that this is all out of network and I have to pay $250 now for the evaluation, and will have to pay $1665 up front next week for the root canal. And then I will still have to get a crown with my normal dentist. Or I can keep staying up all night with ridiculous toothaches. USA #1
How much would it have been if it was in network. Iāve had a couple of root canals and it wasnāt that different for in vs out. And I also supposedly have good dental insurance.
Dental insurance seems like a bigger scam than health insurance. I have a buddy who could easily afford it, but doesnāt get it. He just pays out of pocket for all of his cleanings and he comes out way ahead over what he would pay in premiums. I donāt know if he has needed major dental work since he started doing this though.
Iāve had good luck just showing up and ask nicely if they have a cancellation. It seems like they always can squeeze you in.
Depends on how you measure health care āsuccessā. The US is first in Luxury Sedans Owned by Purely Admiistrative VPs, for example.
I do this, Just have an HSA account where I put money away every month and I never have to use it all for dentistry. That includes my wife and 2 kids altho luckily apart from a filling here and there we have never had much other than the regular cleaning etc.
Was told by a health insurance guy that dental insurance is almost never worth it.
Dental coverage is almost definitely worth it if it is offered through work and thus (likely) subsidized by your employer, and you actually go to the dentist 2x/yr.
In 2023, I paid $284 in dental premiums. With two routine appointments (cleanings, x-rays) each for me and my spouse, the insurance saved me $588 ($147/appt). So $300+ savings without even factoring in the tax deductibility of the premiums.
My spouse actually needed a crown as well, and that saved an additional $585.
I actually lolād at this opening line:
āThe health system in the U.S. is failing, a startling new report finds.ā
startling my arse. Just lol at being surprised.
That is really cheap dental insurance. Mine is also subsidized by employer and is quite a bit more.
Also buddy is not paying rack rates for his cleanings and he doesnāt get x-rays every year (he says he does every two). Plan might fail if he needs significant dental work, tho. I do know that when I have significant dental work, the out of pocket expense is significant.
My coverage is just me+spouse. Family coverage would be $658/yr, but obviously still save me money even with only 1 child. Donāt neglect the tax deductibility which is knocking an effective 30% off the cost for many people.
Not sure what is meant by ārack rates for cleaningsā. My dentist bills $210 for an oral exam and cleaning. This is āniceā dental practice in a major city. Iād be surprised if it was cheaper if paying cash, but maybe? Some redditing indicates that dentists may knock off 5-10%, and some may not.
Dental insurance is basically a scam, because it caps so low and doesnāt cover most of the expensive stuff. I just paid $2500 for a specialist root canal and a crown replacement from my regular dentist. I may have gotten $500 off the root canal but was already capped out. Worth getting if itās cheap but not something to rely on.
He gets a discount for paying cash at the time of the visit. It is less than what the dentist bills insurance for the same services. I donāt know how much less, but he said he just called them and asked if they offered a discount if he would pay cash and they said yes.
He also doesnāt get the exam every time. I suspect that knocks off a good chunk. I wonder what the breakdown is between cleaning and exam. I get two exams a year and I think the aggregate time spent with the dentist is under 2 minutes, unless there is something wrong, which Iāve faded for a while now.
I wonder if the dentist views cash-pay as a way to save on:
- CC fees
or
- CC fees and taxes
Neither of the above is the main incentive. The main incentive is to avoid dealing with fucking insurance companies.
I abbreviated your post for you.
I need to get into the insurance business. iād like to drive a high end Mercedes and have a marble lined foyer too.
I swipe like 1-3k every time I go to the dentist. He doesnāt even prefer debit over credit.