Yet Another Fee

Hope you folks don't mind I digress a bit although it has to do with health care services (dentist, eye doctor, chiropractor, etc.)

I was scheduled to go to the eye doctor this Thursday. All set up and they told me the new procedures, wait in car until called, mask, etc, etc.

They also emailed me a form saying if you are coughing, contacts, symptoms, etc, etc. I sent them back the form everything negative except I'm coughing.

I always cough. I have pulmonary heart problems and fluid periodically builds up in my lungs. So I cough as the mucus builds up. It's not persistent and it's something I gotta live with. Before this covid crap I coughed in front of my health care professionals and they didn't bat an eye. Of course I looked away and coughed in my elbow with apologies.

Except this time it raised the red flag, lol. They told me they'll get back to me after figuring out if it is safe for them to treat me. I laughed and told them I understand if they don't want to see me. I jokingly told them I guess this is goodbye and we'll never see each other again, lol!!!

 

I have a dental appointment coming up in a couple days, so I'll find out if my dentist is charging a "Covid fee". He didn't mention anything when I last spoke to him, but he also had some additional work done in his office with the installation of a new air filtration system, etc. I've been a patient of his for ages, as well as his father who retired and turned his practice over to him.

 

A lady friend had her hair cut today. Her charge was $4 more than usual. She assumed that it was for the extra sanitizing measures that the salon did, and as I recall, they really were fairly extensive, like washing coverings between customers, closing every other chair, requiring a shampoo, and marking vacant chairs "sanitized" before they can be used.

 

Don't give our bigwigs any ideas!

 

From what I've seen it's a PPE or Covid charge where the dentist add an additional $10-20 charge to each patient. Of course fees can vary by dds but then you're getting in to In vs Out of network.

I'm sure my next week my dentist will be tacking on one of these fees. It will be interesting to see if my insurance pays it or not.

I would also be for it just being added in as one exclusive price but even in this case I can see my insurance not paying more than what they usually paid for these visits.

 

All these non sense BS charges, I get it covid made our life living hell...and we must all pay somehow to do our part; such as paying these BS fees... like some of you posted above “fuel surcharges” also remember when airline started the “luggage fee” started out cover the fuel cost and as the fuel prices came out did the luggage cost go away(?) nope and it will stay forever. I heard some of the restaurants are charging “covid fees” as well. Sick and tired of these fees.... just had to vent it out!!! I feel better lol but still pissed about paying fees.

 

Wouldn't the insurers have to add a specific code(s) for it and set a price(s)? I mean, they should do that, but wouldn't they have to in order to fit in with how everything else is billed and paid for?

 

The dental offices are the ones who usually send the claim forms to the insurance but they would definitely be ones to put the procedure codes for these new charges on the claim form. And they certainly are doing that as it is more money for them.

 

I set up an appointment so he could finish what was started on March 3. He has plans for a Hawaiian condo with the money he is making off of me by replacing two bridges, yanking my wisdom teeth (to balance my jaw) and putting implants in my front lower teeth.

Well, he is going to get the shit surprised out of him because after he puts the left bridge back together, he's done. All of this shit is superfluous, I am feeling zero pain and his line about having to replace both bridges due to a mystery abcess which I can't see on the xrays. I am feeling no pain.

I told him over and over that I do not care about a great fucking smile at the age of 71. That shit is for younger people who are trying to impress the opposite sex and I don't care about that at all.

Even with Aetna and Aetna Dental Supplemental Insurance, it is too much out of pocket ($1200) for one bridge, I do not have that kind of money.

 

I am sooooo glad I found a no-nonsense dentist who does not try to upsell and say you need this and that and $uch! So many people I know report having dentists recommend all kinds of things that really are not needed.

On one of my last visits I commended him for not pressuring for services and he remarked that they have enough business as is and don't need to. He said that "for your age you are stable" and that I probably have already had 99% of the cavities I will ever get. The only unusual thing I've had to have done in maybe the past 10 years or so was a chipped tooth, which he fixed in maybe 20 minutes with what looked to be some "Instant Tooth" putty.