Financial Policy Information
We try our best to keep you informed about your
financial status to keep communication open.
In order to reduce the costs of bookkeeping and billing, we ask for your cooperation in paying for services that can be completed in one appointment on the day of that appointment. This includes new patients (at their first visit) covered by dental insurance.
Dental treatment is an investment in the overall dental, medical, and psychological well being of children and adults, and should not be denied due to financial restrictions. Being sensitive to the fact that different people have different needs in fulfilling their financial obligations, we offer the following payment options:
1. We accept cash, checks, money orders, debit cards, and credit cards (Discover, Visa, and MasterCard) for your convenience. There is a $25.00 NSF fee for returned checks.
2. Payment in full by cash or check for treatment totaling more than $500.00 prior to the first treatment appointment will receive a refund of our bookkeeping and billing cost. This savings to you represents 5% of the total fee. (3% for payment by credit card)
3. We offer pre authorized credit card payments. An initial payment of one-third of the total fee and additional payments of one-third of the original balance to be applied to your account in thirty (30) days and sixty (60) days from date of service.
4. Financing available through CareCredit. Applications can be done on-line (www.carecredit.com) or we can help you in our office.
**NOTE: ALL fixed and removable prosthetics (crowns, bridges, partials, and dentures) must be paid for in full by date of delivery.
To avoid increased fees to all patients, ANY ACCOUNT BALANCES OVER 30 DAYS WILL INCUR A $2.00 PER STATEMENT BILLING FEE, and ANY ACCOUNT BALANCES OVER 60 DAYS WILL BE ASSESSED A FEE OF 1.5% OF THE BALANCE DUE. These billing and finance charges are added to a patient's account each month that the bill is not paid. These charge offset our costs.
Please remember: our patients with the lowest dental expenses over time are the ones who complete comprehensive treatment and follow up with good home care and on-time checkups.
If something has been getting in the way of your completing comprehensive dental care, please talk to us.
DENTAL INSURANCE
You
and your insurance company have an agreement that does not
involve our office. At our office we will provide you with the
best advised procedure based on your personal dental needs,
NOT based on your insurance coverage.
If
your insurance company rejects a claim and refuses to pay for a
service, that is not a reflection of how important that service
is. It is based on a master contract drawn up between your
company and an insurance company. Most benefits are based on a
fee scale rather than a percentage of the dentist’s charge.
If
you have dental insurance, make yourself knowledgeable about it
and make sure your benefits officers tell you and your
co-workers exactly what’s covered and what is not.
Please note that our agreement is with you, NOT your insurance company. Because of this, if your insurance company refuses to pay, or pays less than you think it should, remember that dental insurance is designed to offset the costs of your dental treatment. You are responsible for the cost of your treatment and any insurance reimbursement problems. It is unusual for all of the charges to be paid by insurance, but our office staff will help you obtain your maximum benefits by prompt and efficient processing of your claims.