Consumer driven health is paying low monthly fees and receiving major discounts when going to the doctor and dentist. You pay no premium, deductable or co-pay like with traditional insurance.  All of that money you save by not paying premiums a deductibles could go straight to your discounted doctor or dentist bill. Which would you prefer and why?
201867
consumer driven health, cos i don't have that much money.
528695
Delta and almost all insurance companies have millions and millions of different plans.  Just because one Delta covers ortho does not mean your will.  The best thing to do is look on your insurance card to find the phone number.   Call them and ask the following questions:\n1.  Do you cover braces for adults?\n2.  If yes - at what percentage?\n3.  What is the deductible?\n4. Is there a maximum amount you will pay?\n5. DO you pay monthly or quarterly, or lump sum?\n6. Does the dental office need to file claims at every appointment, or only the first appointment?\n7.  Will i get a discount if i go to a dentist on your list of providers?\n\nThat will help you know how much they are Really going to pay.  Just because they say they cover braces doesn't mean they will pay 100%.  Be careful.  Also ask them if they will cover the Pre-ortho x-rays and impressions, and the retains after the ortho.
509430
By law hospitals have to give life saving care even if the patient cannot pay.  There are already low cost health clinics all over the place.  People have the option of medical bankruptcy which does not effect their credit rating.  So pretty much those 45 million should start thinking of taking care of themselves in my opinion.\n\nAnd out of that 45 million, how many actually need insurance.  That s just 15% of the population, does a healthy 25 year old really need full coverage?  How many of those are exercising their right not to buy insurance even though it is available?  These are numbers that are not represented in a blanket number.
103394
Ask a friend or neighbor you respect who they use.\nA deductible is the amount you must pay before insurance begins to pay.
449200
For medical I would go with a HSA compatible high deductible \nhealth insurance, not necessarily BC/BS. \nThere are many available out there.\nHSA stands for health savings account. For dental and vision\nI would recommend http://e-healthplus.com
213010
I had to go shopping for health insurance recently and got a lot of quotes with all kinds of options. Private pay - like what your asking. If your not over 40, healthy, don't smoke or have any special needs, then our situations are similar and I can tell you what I was impressed with. Out of 8 bids from various national company's; The two best were Mutual of Omaha and American Family. MofO was very impressive with coverage, additional free benefits and low cost riders like glasses and dental. American family was the same with an added benefit of a high yield health savings account that can be used as a tax deduction. Both had low deductables with free well care or low co pay well care, and were well under 200 a month not including riders. Good luck.
403898
Great Medical and dental insurance. They also face being charged by congress if they over step their boundaries and/or is found to be unscrupulous.
427520
Also, if you can't afford to pay for health insurance and your job doesn't offer it, or if they do it costs too much.....then you're in big trouble. I had to go to the emergency room once and I didn't have health insurance...omg it was bad.\n\n2 MRIs and some bloodwork later I was $12,000 in hole. Medical fees are effing insane here!\n\nBut yes, in general you always pay. Usually what it is is you pay a monthly fee for health insurance (averaging around $60 dollars a month) and then if you have to go to the doctor you have to pay a copay, like $20-$40 bucks. Then if you have to have medicine you have to pay the copay for that. Etc. for all medical related things really.\n\nBut someplaces can be free if you can prove your income is low enough. Such as PlannedParenthood. Which covers everything from actual pregnancies to mamograms and STDs.\n\nAnd then for kids if you're low income you can find clinics that'll cover vacinations and things like that.
37152
Different companies charge different amounts. It will also depend on how your health is, if you smoke, if you are over weight, etc. Start calling insurance agencies and ask for quotes. That is the only way to know who is going to be the cheapest.
343913
Some dentists will do this. They might have a loan company they work with. If it is just a regular dentist they might let you do this, but make you pay off the bill before they do the treatment.
442738
You should not have a financial obligation to the dentist IF they value you as a patient/customer. Because of the lawsuit against OrthoClear by Invisalign, OrthoClear decided to go out of business. Invisalign is accepting all of their cases at the same rate initially quoted. AOA is also offering very good rates to finish the OrthoClear cases.\n\nYour dentist did incur expenses but since the closing of OrthoClear was not by your daughter's doing, they should not charge you. For her dentist to keep 80% of what your daughter has paid is totally unethical in my opinion. \n\nLegally, your dentist could not submit a claim to your insurance company if your daughter's treatment had not started. That is totally against the law. \n\nYour dentist should consider this as "the cost of doing business and trying a new product" and accept the loss and not pass any charges on to your daughter.\n\nHow do I know this, this is what we are doing. Those wanting to continue treatment will not be charged anything additionally no matter the costs we incur and those wanting to discontinue treatment (though we have none) would receive 100% of their money back. This is how I insist things are done at my office. It's the only way to do business, I feel.\n\nGood luck with this. I disagree with the aligners being in dentist offices' anyway; although Invisalign has certified dentists' to use Invisalign. Here is an excellent example of why they shouldn't. Only a trained Orthodontist  should be allowed to provided correction of malocclusions and other orthodontic problems. Many dentists don't know the limitations of the appliances nor will they admit their own limitations.\n\nAddendum: I respect the opinion of others even when they're in disagreement with me. I would be inclined to get a second opinion from someone who knows me on the arrogance charge, however. *giggle*
61821
The insurance company has what they call "Allowed amounts" or "usual and customary", which is the amount that they will pay on a service. Your copay or percentage/ded is part of that amount. The health care providers who are contracted as In Network Providers sign a contract with the health insurance to become part of the network. Those providers agree to take the allowed amount as payment in full for the services. Any amount they charge that is over that allowed amount is a write off for them. If the providers are not contracted with that insurance company, they can legally bill you for the amount over the allowed amount. The providers who are contracted get the advantage of advertising from the insurance company because they will be listed in your provider booklet or on your insurance company's provider directory on the website. They will get more patients from those searches than if they were not contracted, so the amount they have to write off is not a problem.
420877
In this instance, you would pay ths first $200.00 to the dentist and  then the insurance company would pay 80% of the remaining $1200.00.  That would be  $960.00.  That leaves another $240.00 for you to pay.  The billing clerk or insurance specialist in the dentist's office handles this for you.  Every office has one and they are very adept at working with insurance offices.
581293
You will have to use your medical savings account to pay for the uncovered dental expenses.  Workman's compensation will not cover gross negligence on the employees part.
257762
Hey Jewel,\nI am a dentist and if a person pays for the service in full on the same day I render it I will give them an 8% discount (Only 4% with a credit card as I have to pay the 3-4% for credit cards used in my office).  I don't do this for insurance patients because I have to collect the insurance payment directly from the insurance company and that takes a couple of weeks so I don't receive payment the same day.  One person suggested Care Credit for financing treatment and that it a great suggestion. I don't work with Care Credit but I work with the Dental Fee Plan through Capital One which is very similar and I'm sure your dentist has some institution he or she works with- just ask them.  I don't consider it tacky when a patient asks for a discount as long as they do it tactfully.  Just say something like "Do you have a discount for cash patients?"  Believe me cash patients are my favorite patients. Insurance companies are a pain in the butt to deal with and I have to take a discount when working with them, so I sure don't mind to do it for my cash paying patients. BUT...I DON'T GIVE THEM A CASH DISOUNT UNLESS THEY ASK FOR IT.\nDr. R.
156965
This is good for so many reasons.First, big companies should be happy they now play a more important role in the well being of the their consumers. Second, when you have universal health care, more people visit the doctors; 1- at the onset of a problem instead of waiting until it becomes worse, 2- visit the doctor for regular check ups, and 3- visit for preventative care. These reasons make for a healthier population in general thus often negating the need for more costly an evasive procedures down the road.  When a poor person goes to the hospital now a days, its usually because they have put it off for so long because of no insurance, that they are in worse shape than they would have been in if they had gone at the first sign of trouble. Their care now costs the state and the taxpayers more, or puts that poor person in DEEP DEBT for the rest of their life.\nWe are the only modern industrialized country in the world without Universal Health care for ALL its citizens.\nA good way to measure a nations moxie is to look at the way it cares for its population. All Americans should ask themselves this:\nDo you care more for the profits of big corporations, than you do for our poor, our children or our elderly?\nHealth care should be our # 1 priority. Good for you MASS!!
232008
I know, this is not something they cover in school (they should!).  The three month period is to prevent you from taking the job and the insurance with an unknown pre-existing condition.  They'll give you options (how many depends on your employer) of high-copay (what you pay up front at the doctor's office), low-deductable (what you pay every year before the insurance starts to kick in) or low-copay, high-deductable.  The premium is a separate, monthly fee you pay (usually taken out of your paycheck before you get it) for the privalege of having insurance.  The amount varies depending on the deductable and copay you want (if you have a low copay or deductable, the premium goes up because the insurance company assumes you anticipate going to the doctor more).  Some employers pay some or all of your premium, so ask how much they'll cover before you choose a plan.  Eye and Dental are usually additional options that you pay extra out of your paycheck each month.  According to your details, you probably want a low premium, high-copay, high-deductable plan with the optional eye plan.