Dental Associates

Ms [redacted] filed a complaint on February 18, concerning missed appointments and termination of services at Dental Associates.Upon receiving this complaint from the Revdex.com, a member of the billing team contacted Ms [redacted] to resolve her concernsThe team member researched the patient’s account and was able to move the family toward a timely resolutionThe patient’s account showed three missed appointments.The billing representative was able to reverse the missed appointment charges and the termination as the patient stated she had left a message for the clinic that they were unable to make the appointmentsMs [redacted] was reassured that the follcalls would receive further review and a discussion would occur within the organization.Ms [redacted] was given an explanation of the company’s policy for missed appointmentsMs [redacted] was given the billing representative’s direct number for any further questionsMs [redacted] and Dental Associates were able to come to a positive resolution, with the family planning to reschedule future appointmentsWe appreciate the [redacted] family’s business and apologize we did not meet the family’s initial expectations If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.Best Regards,Sara [redacted] ###-###-#### [redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.] RevDex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me, even though they are mistaken on some parts. I am hopeful to hear from them as of November 20th because I'm out of the country at this time. Regards, [redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution
is satisfactory to me. Thank you for your assistance. Dental Associates cleared up the problem Monday, 1/23/and I was able to receive service from them. Thank you again for your prompt assistance
Regards,
*** ***

We are sorry to hear that Ms
***’s experience with Dental Associates was unsatisfactory and we did not
deliver the service she has grown accustomed to for several years. We apologize for any
miscommunication regarding the estimated out of pocket expenses for the
treatment and the
bill that was subsequently receivedAt Dental Associates, we
strive to provide an accurate courtesy estimate of out-of-pocket costs for the
anticipated treatmentUltimately, what is provided is only an estimate and not
a guarantee of out of pocket expenses nor insurance payment. The patient provided Dental
Associates with new insurance information at her first appointment of The
***’s new insurance provided better coverage and lowered the out of pocket
costs quoted prior to the date of serviceAt the time of service, the new
estimated out of pocket cost for the patient was not fully collected prior to
the services being rendered causing additional confusion and frustration. We had the opportunity to speak
with Ms*** and feel we have come to a resolution that she is satisfied
withAs a courtesy, the out of pocket cost resulting from the date of service
was removed leaving a balance of zeroWe also provided Ms*** with
additional resources to answer her remaining questions. We appreciate the opportunity to
respond to this inquiryIf there are further questions, please feel free to
contact me directly at ###-###-#### or *** Regards,

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I would like to thank you for your help and for being there for people like me that need some help from you. I had been successfully reached by [redacted]; Supervisor of Patient Financial Service for Dental Associates. During our conversation today Dental Associates agreed that I should not had received that bill. Dental Associates had ensured that the bill did not go to a collector but to a pre-collector and that had not been reported to the credit bureau (I still need to verify that part). Dental Associates had compromised to sent me a receipt showing the 0 balance. Therefore I can say this dispute had been resolved amicably.Once again, I thank you very much for all your help.Cordially,

Ms. [redacted]
filed a complaint on February 18, 2016 concerning missed appointments and
termination of services at Dental Associates.Upon
receiving this complaint from the Revdex.com, a member of the billing team contacted
Ms. [redacted] to resolve her concerns. The team member researched the patient’s
account...

and was able to move the family toward a timely resolution. The patient’s account showed three missed appointments.The billing representative was able to reverse the missed appointment charges and the termination as the patient stated she had left a message for the clinic that they were unable to make the appointments. Ms. [redacted] was reassured that the follow-up calls would receive further review and a discussion would occur within the organization.Ms. [redacted] was given an explanation of the company’s policy for missed appointments. Ms. [redacted] was given the billing representative’s direct number for any further questions. Ms. [redacted] and
Dental Associates were able to come to a positive resolution, with the family
planning to reschedule future appointments. We appreciate the [redacted] family’s
business and apologize we did not meet the family’s initial expectations.  If you have
any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at your
convenience.Best
Regards,Sara [redacted]###-###-####[redacted]

We regret that Mr. [redacted] was not satisfied with the care provided by our clinic and appreciate the opportunity to address his concerns. Since we do not have an authorization to release protected health information, we will refer to his treatment in general terms at this time.When Mr. [redacted] was...

seen in May, he agreed to the most conservative treatment recommended by the provider. However, the situation had changed in August when he came to our Appleton clinic seeking relief for the pain he was experiencing. In order to expedite treatment, our clinic manager suggested that he be seen at a nearby location in Greenville, which is a few miles away from the main clinic.Mr. [redacted] was treated in Greenville that day and prescribed medication for the treatment option he elected at that time. We scheduled a follow up appointment ten days later with the most appropriate provider in another facility.Mr. [redacted]’s spouse contacted our clinic after normal office hours the following day regarding his pain. The on-call doctor provided her recommendations over the telephone. We regret that Mr. [redacted] did not contact our office again when he felt his pain was unmanageable. Instead, over the next few days, he opted to be seen in the Emergency Room, by another general dentist and finally, by a specialist.Ultimately, Mr. [redacted] returned to our Greenville location for additional services the following week. We would have preferred to have worked with him to coordinate this care within our offices, as his insurance plan does have specific requirements about seeking care from in-network providers in most situations.A representative of CarePlus Dental Plans, Mr. [redacted]'s dental insurer, will contact him with instructions about how to submit claims for potential reimbursement of his expenses outside of Dental Associates under his policy. No payment can be made until this occurs, but we are hopeful that we will be able to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted] We regret that Ms. [redacted] is not satisfied with the experience she had with our organization. We had the opportunity to speak with Ms. [redacted] and feel we have come to a resolution that she is satisfied with. We apologize for any...

miscommunication regarding the cost of the services rendered and the bills that were received. Before services are rendered, we usually provide a courtesy estimate of out-of-pocket costs for the anticipated treatment. Ultimately, what is provided at the time of service is only an estimate and not a guarantee of insurance payment. Ms. [redacted]’s account had multiple claim submissions for the two dates of service that she was billed for. Dental Associates actively worked to get her claims paid for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, issues with her insurance carrier prevented the organization from receiving payment for her services rendered. As a standard of care, Dental Associates takes x-rays on all new patients and as a courtesy will take care of the cost if there are frequency issues attached to the claims. Ms. [redacted] stated the organization billed services to Humana illegally for services that would be denied due to frequency. Because the services were rendered, Dental Associates had to send a claim to the insurance company whether or not it is going to be paid. The account balance consisted of more than just x-rays that were not paid by insurance. As a courtesy, the account balance of $489.75 has been adjusted to a zero balance. We contacted our collection agency to remove the account from collections and this will not appear on a credit report. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-#### or [redacted]. Regards, [redacted] Supervisor of Patient Financial Services

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me, even though they are mistaken on some parts. I am hopeful to hear from them as of November 20th because I'm out of the country at this time.
Regards,
[redacted]

Our family has been going to Dental Associates for two years now, and are very pleased. They are a large clinic – which was a little daunting at first, having been to small clinics my entire life – but they still have the small clinic feel. I've always gotten the attention that I expected and have never felt rushed.
The separate pediatric dentistry area is great. My kids love to play with the toys and video games before their appointments. The Dental Associates staff has always been friendly and thorough. And, being able to schedule both of their appointments together, and around their school and my work schedule is very convenient.
I really like that Dental Associates is a practice within a practice. My son will more thank likely need braces when he gets older, and having orthodontics (as well as oral & maxillofacial surgery) at the same location as our pediatric and general dentistry clinic will really streamline the process.

Very disappointed with Dental Assoc. I had a bridge that came off and they did tons of x-rays (which I am sure was for them to see what else they could do for me LOL) reason was "well we have to make sure there is nothing wrong..bridges don't just come off"...REALLY, well nothing was found wrong , since the dentist cemented it back on, and didn't seem to know how to use cement , as much of it he had to scrape it off and stabbed me in the mouth and lip doing so. Then of course told me I needed a root canal and had them set an appointment over a month later. I go to my appointment and gee I am told they can't do a RC, after they already charged me, the tooth has to be pulled and they set me up for an appointment several weeks later, I got sick and reschedule my appt. but they could not even get me in for 2 month (June) because they only have a oral surgeon there once a week. Went else where and received way better care. Had to jump thru hoops to get a refund, and then they refunded to an old HSA account that was closed as of 3/31 since I was not with the company...so now I paid out of pocket to my new BETTER dentist to do what they could not...and was told there was nothing they could do about it, since the oral sur. is only there 1 day a week. Would never tell anyone to ever go there.

I received the worst customer service, upon arriving for an extraction appointment. I was told that my appointment date was changed a week before the extraction date & was told "Well theirs nothing we can do", I was also told by the surgery consultant that she contacted me by phone..I never received a voicemal on either my mobile or home phone! I received an email confirmation dating the changes 7 days before the extraction.
Upon arrival I wasn't greeted by the clerk at the front desk & found that she hadn't processed my paperwork right away which delayed my extraction, I was then told again by [redacted] the sugery consulant that I can wait or leave, but since I was late the doctor couldn't see me right away.

Review: I had my general dentist apt at dental associates in Nov 2013. She asked me to take a periodontist apt within the same group. So at the reception desk, I took the perio consultation app. and the person mentioned that this visit is not covered by insurance, and I need to pay out-of-pocket. I said fine.The doctors office left 2 messages before my apt reminding me about the apt and that the fees should be paid by me.On dec 24th, my apt date, I paid the fees of $92.00 with my FSA debit card and then saw the doctor.On dec 30/31, my insurance sent me receipt saying that they paid $ 92 for the dec24, 2013 perio apt. I called Dental associates on jan 6, mentioning that they double billed me and need to credit back my money since the insurance paid them.They said they'll look into it. From then on, I called them several times asking for my money and if they don't credit before march 2014, I cant use it anymore because all previous year's FSA money/credit should be used up before march 2014, or I lose it.I have called them 4 times since jan 6th, and everytime they say I should call back 1 wk later to check again.First of all, if I paid for the apt, why did they claim from my insurance again??If I hadn't paid attention to all my insurance papers, I would have never known about it.Secondly, why is such a delay in crediting my money back??Please help me get my money back in time.Also, I want to make sure they don't do this to anybody else.thank you[redacted]Desired Settlement: Credit my $ 92.00 before march 2014, otherwise i'll lose it.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir or Madam,

We apologize for Ms. [redacted]'s

frustration in waiting for her insurance payment to be posted and her refund to

be issued. We received the insurance payment on January 8 and processed the

refund to her credit card on January 27. We anticipate that the credit company

will receive the funds within seven to ten business days.

Review: In May of 2014 I attended to the dentist for a treatment plan. I was deceived by the dentist assistant to take x-ray with the promise that I would not be charged (because I did explain that I have had taken x-ray somewhere else for the extraction of a tooth and I told them they could request the xrays to the previous dentist. The dentist assistant said that the clinic wanted to have their own x-rays since they have the best in technology). Later on Dental Associates not just billed me for the xrays but also put my husbands name on the bill. I requested as is my rights as a consumer to have my name and my own file and since that day until today they have violated my rights and declined to make me have my own file that does not include my husbands name on the bill. The dentist office illegally are billing Humana Dental for a service that they said I would not be charged and that they said they would take care of that. I did mention that I would allowed them to take me the x-rays as long as they would not charged me anything. Later on they sent me a bill, charged my insurance and not enough they have sent my husband to collection for a service that he has not even received. I have cooperated with Dental Associates to get this resolved amicably and I notified them that my telephone has no voice mail service and that I would love to be contacted for a follow up by email. I have spoke several times over the phone for almost 2 years with the billing department and all that I get are promises that they will take care of this and that I just need to contact Humana Dental to let them know that I dont have any other insurance at the time of the service. But still, they want Humana to pay for the x-rays when as I said before Dental Associates have promise they would not charge for that service (since they could have received the copy of my x-rays from the previous dental office in Shorewood WI).Desired Settlement: I want that Dental Associates have any bills from my services on my name, I want them to adjust my bill and to make the necessary corrections on my husband ([redacted]) credit report immediately.

This the last step before I proceed to take this case to a civil court. I expect that dental associates will remove all of the charges that do not apply to my case like the x-rays and make the adjustment on the credit report.

I would like to let Dental Associates know that if this case does not get resolve I will take it to court and that implies that I would need to take a flight ticket, stay in a hotel, miss days of work and I am also will be exposed to large amount of stress that most likely will trigger seizures since I suffer from Epilepsy and Stress is one of the main triggers in my condition.

Business

Response:

Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted] We regret that Ms. [redacted] is not satisfied with the experience she had with our organization. We had the opportunity to speak with Ms. [redacted] and feel we have come to a resolution that she is satisfied with. We apologize for any miscommunication regarding the cost of the services rendered and the bills that were received. Before services are rendered, we usually provide a courtesy estimate of out-of-pocket costs for the anticipated treatment. Ultimately, what is provided at the time of service is only an estimate and not a guarantee of insurance payment. Ms. [redacted]’s account had multiple claim submissions for the two dates of service that she was billed for. Dental Associates actively worked to get her claims paid for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, issues with her insurance carrier prevented the organization from receiving payment for her services rendered. As a standard of care, Dental Associates takes x-rays on all new patients and as a courtesy will take care of the cost if there are frequency issues attached to the claims. Ms. [redacted] stated the organization billed services to Humana illegally for services that would be denied due to frequency. Because the services were rendered, Dental Associates had to send a claim to the insurance company whether or not it is going to be paid. The account balance consisted of more than just x-rays that were not paid by insurance. As a courtesy, the account balance of $489.75 has been adjusted to a zero balance. We contacted our collection agency to remove the account from collections and this will not appear on a credit report. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-#### or [redacted]. Regards, [redacted] Supervisor of Patient Financial Services

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I would like to thank you for your help and for being there for people like me that need some help from you. I had been successfully reached by [redacted]; Supervisor of Patient Financial Service for Dental Associates. During our conversation today Dental Associates agreed that I should not had received that bill. Dental Associates had ensured that the bill did not go to a collector but to a pre-collector and that had not been reported to the credit bureau (I still need to verify that part). Dental Associates had compromised to sent me a receipt showing the 0 balance. Therefore I can say this dispute had been resolved amicably.Once again, I thank you very much for all your help.Cordially,

My family and I had been a longtime customers of Dental Associates (DA). I have had extensive dental work including surgeries. My son had braces and surgery and the rest of the family routine dental work over the past decade.

Last year I need to have implants and it was decided that an ALL-ON-FOUR methodology was indicated. DA deployed a very "hard-sell" and also demanded the entire cost of the procedure upfront. (almost $40,000 even though most of the expensive work is six months to year down the road) Oh and if I gave a "glowing testimonial" I would get up to a $6,000 rebate. Well, apparently I had the audacity to seek a second opinion and found EON Clinics to have a more advanced ALL-ON-FOUR program. They also did not require a 100% upfront so I went with EON.

Well DA has now informed us that they no longer want our business. Well that's fine with us too. I just want to warn people that they don't have to submit to the heavy handed pressure to have the implants paid for up front. But be warned that doing so can have implications for your family. My children found out that after a long term relationship with their dentist they would have to find a new dentist because DA has taken their floss and gone home to pout.

I am surprised at the amount of bad reviews so I was leery of going with DA for dental insurance. I was always treated with respect and I was always warmly greeted. It comes down to the understanding of the insurance that gets me.
I went through your clinic, your billing your insurance and then got denied....we are only speaking of a couple of hundred dollars but it is the basis of how it was done.
I went to you because it was one stop, but now I am wondering if I was doing the right thing?
It is best to just say I am disappointed in your business practice, you are one big company and so you should have all of the facts in front of you. Yet I guess they weren't that means that your providers, your billing staff and then your insurance staff do not talk to one another.
Let;s just say I will suffer until insurance renewal and go elsewhere you need to fix this problem because if I am writing a review there are at least 100 people that feel the same way that are not.
I can honestly say I remember when you first started out and you were going to change the way people go to the dentist, well no you haven't maybe smaller is better.
Regards

I took my daughter to Dental Associates in December 2011 to get an expander for her pallet. My insurance covered 50% of the costs and I was responsible for the other 50%. I paid my 50% portion right away up front. I told DA at the appointment in December that I would no longer have dental insurance effective May 2012. The lady I talked to said that was no problem. I was very upfront about this as I didn't want to have any surprises with billing.

In September of 2012, I receive a bill in the mail for $334.50 that my insurance company didn't pay. This bill included a demand that I pay this amount in full within 30 days.

This after having my daughter's expander delayed for over a month because DA "lost" her impressions and the orthodontist couldn't get the first expander to stay in her mouth. These delays pushed back insurance billings, but apparently I'm required to pay for DA's mistakes.

After calling the billing department, the lady I had worked with in December DENIED that I ever told her my insurance was ending May 1st.

My elderly parents have had an abolsolutely bad experience along with me witnessing it. They both had appointments for themselves. Dad was having new dentures. Mom needs teeth repaired. To start they had a consultation to discuss insurance and make appointments to get the work done. Both parents have a different supplements for their teeth since Mom does not have dentures. They went to one appointment where they did the impressions for my father then he would be waiting for my mother, well he took a tumble in the office and they did call me to let me know his blood pressure was very low. So I went to pick them up and was told nothing is being done to my mother. So we made another appointment for Mom before we left. Took Mom to that appointment at 7:30 am. At about 8:15 they came out to ask me for her insurance card. Hmm I thought well if that was all checked out beforehand why would they need her card half way through her appointment. Well 9:30 comes and they are walking her out telling me she has no insurance. My thought was how could you even make an appointment for someone especially an elderly person early in the morning. Being elderly and having issues this causes stress. So we wasted a trip basically a second time and I feel there is no excuse for the lack of follow through I checking insurance for the ease of your clients. I will never recommend this place. Also the dentist she saw wanted to pull all her teeth and was rude that my mother didn't want to co that route. [redacted] She wanted to have her teeth taken care of for my daughters baby shower, well that's not going to work now since she can't get in until a week after. Very dissappointing.

Review: Received an estimate on a dental procedure through my insurance at this dentist's office. After the procedure was completed on 1/31/14, I went to the billing desk to ask what my final charges would be. I was told I owed $495.00. I paid the bill in its entirety. One month later, I get a statement in the mail saying I owe over $900. I called to speak with the billing manager who initially stated their was an accounting error and that I did not owe anything, to disregard anytime statement I had received stating I owed for the procedure. 15 minutes later, I get a call back from the billing manager stating she misspoke and I actually owe $218. When I pressed for an explanation on how her estimates have varied so wildly all she could do was state she could send me an estimate of benefits (which I already have access to through my dental insurance website). I received her information on the estimate and it was a printout of what I can already access online. The billing manager has yet to disclose how she estimated my initial cost, where the discrepancy took place that caused me from being paid in full to owing over $900 to now owing $218, and they have yet to provide me with an updated bill or statement reflecting any adjustments.Desired Settlement: There are two resolutions I expect:

The first one is to provide documentation on how the initial estimate was calculated and where the office's miscalculation took place causing them to underestimate the cost of the procedure to the patient.

The second resolution would be for the office to incur the excess cost. I understand estimates can vary, but what I can't understand is how they can vary from $200-$900. The worst part about the billing is the day of the procedure, if the bill would've been $200 more at that time, I would have paid it. Understand, I was only able to finally have this procedure done due to having FSA funds available to me at the time. But instead of the billing personnel really crunching the numbers and doing the job I expect them to do, they just send me an unexpected billing statement in the mail with no explanation on why I'm receiving the bill when it was supposed to be paid in full.

Business

Response:

April 24, 2014To Whom It May Concern:**. [redacted] came to our office for periodontal services, which according to **. [redacted]’s insurance company [redacted] are covered at 80%.Procedures performed totaled $2,275.00. Including the deductible, it was estimated by our office that **. [redacted]’s out of pocket would be $495.00, which he paid at the time of service.The formula for his insurance payment is as follows: Charges ($2,275.00) - Deductible ($50.00) X 80% = $1,780.00, therefore his responsibility is $495.00.Our Surgeon performed the following procedures:[redacted]#21, [redacted] #22, [redacted] #22, which [redacted] for benefit purposes took the liberty of changing procedure code [redacted]65 to [redacted]73 for reimbursement purposes. Please know that a consultant that has never seen nor examined **. [redacted] makes this decision.The $900 statement is actually $866.40 to be exact. **., [redacted] received the statement with charges of $2,275.00 — patient payment of $495.00 — insurance payment of $913.60 = $866.40.After **. [redacted]'s phone call to our office, our billing department was contacted immediately. There was an error on our part, and **. [redacted] was not given the adjustment he was entitled to. Upon receiving payment from **. [redacted], we were under the impression that our communication was understood and the situation was resolved.I will also be sending **. [redacted] a copy of his account ledger, explanation of benefits as well as his insurance benefits break down. In instances like these where an insurance company has downgraded a patients benefits, we always encourage our patients to discuss discrepancies with their insurance carrier.Please let me know if you shall have any farther questions.Sincerely,