Patient Insurance Letter : December 2011
As the year comes to a close, more
than ever do I understand the importance of reducing health care cost for our
patients. I wanted to take this time to
discuss with you our plan and commitment to helping sustain the best possible
dental care for you and your family while reducing the “bottom line” expense at
the dentist. Last year we are proud to
announce that we were able to save our patients nearly $200,000 and we look to
increase that by 5% in 2012.
Dentistry has taken an interesting
turn since 2008. We went from the height
of huge cosmetic dental interest to a time when patients put off the ever
important cleaning and examination as well as necessary treatment of dental
disease.
This has become of great concern as
we have seen the detrimental effects of dental neglect. How did this
happen? A large part is due to the
change in practice of insurance companies.
The insurance companies have capitalized on the sale of their policies
to companies for a discounted rate enticing more companies to purchase such plans. These discount plans DO NOT allow patients to obtain the maximum dental care they need
or deserve. Meanwhile, the insurance
companies have manipulated many dentists to agree to charge a lower fee in
exchange for patient referrals. This
results in cheaper materials, cheaper labs, shorter office visits, and less
help available to fight the increasing denials by insurance companies. This is not the kind of dentistry any patient
deserves. We will always be committed to
provide the very best for our patients regardless of what the insurance
companies “allow”. Our goal is to treat
the patient and not the insurance company.
“Insurance
companies have the best interest of the stock holder in mind; we have the best
interest of our patient’s health.”
In an effort to help we have made strides to combat this situation. Here is a long term plan we have created for
our patients to help economically without compromising quality or commitment.
1) Since our seniors have been hit the hardest with increases in
health care costs, we have increased our senior discount to 10%.
2) This plan will eliminate
miscellaneous fees that PPO providers sometimes add to maximize insurance
payments.
3) Jobs are more important than ever so
we have increased our evening hours in order to help our patients that can’t
leave work. We have added Dr. Dan Adamo
a tremendous dentist from the Bloomingdale area to help out on Thursday evenings. In the next few weeks you will be receiving
an introductory letter from Dr. Adamo and our office. Also Dr. DiFranco, who has been with us 2
years, increased her hours on Monday evenings.
4) Insurance companies are hiring
qualified individuals to help find loop holes in plans to deny claims. So we have added 2 more highly qualified insurance
trained office personnel (Carole Curcio and Tonya Steeg) to combat the increase
in those denial claims.
5) Different financial policies to help combat
putting off dental needs that will become worse in the future.
6) NO fee for any x-ray taken outside of
routine hygiene care.
7) Reduction in the cost of fluoride,
which is proven to help prevent cavities.
8) In the next month we will be rolling
out a membership plan for our families without insurance. This plan will help combat those companies
getting rid of dental insurance. In fact
this plan will be better than some insurance’s out there. No waiting period, no maximum, nobody to deny
claims, no specific services only covered, no emergency exam and x-ray fee, and
most importantly the best materials and dentistry you can ask for.
If your insurance has changed
and they are demanding you see an in network doctor please call us and we will
explain how you can continue with Acierno Dental’s standard of care that you
deserve.
Sincerely,
Dr. Alan J. Acierno