Smiles Kids is sad to hear about ***’s unfortunate experienceWe strive to make every appointment a great experienceWhen we give estimates for our services we try to be as accurate as possibleWe are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused, however we do want to emphasize that when a patient needs dental treatment we only give an ESTIMATE on what the patients portion will beOur paperwork clearly states that “your insurance policy is an agreement you have with your insurance carrierIf you have questions regarding payments from your insurance company, we recommend that you call your insurance provider directly for the most accurate and speedy answer.” See attached paperwork signed and agreed to As [redacted] said multiple times in his complaint that our estimate provided "was grossly erroneous" we do want to clarify that the definition of the word estimate is: an approximate calculation or judgment of the value, number, quantity, or extent of somethingWe can't give a 100% accurate amount owed at the time of service, we are not the insurance company, and we can't guarantee their payment [redacted] stated that he feels “Smiles Kids should write off these uncovered charges” that his insurance policy didn’t cover “due to Smiles Kids negligence in obtaining and providing an accurate estimate.” We don’t see how we can provide a 100% accurate estimate, because an estimate is just that, an estimate and never will be 100% accurateIt is the policy holder’s responsibility, not ours, to know what their insurance policy coversWe honestly give anywhere from 5-estimates a day and we have never had an issue until nowWhen [redacted] states that Alexis told them at the time of service that they paid in full for their dental treatment, it is simply untrueWe always inform our patients when they pay at the time of service that it is only an estimate and as a courtesy we will bill out their insurance company for themOnce we hear back from the insurance company we will let the patient know if there is a balance owedWe also state that if the patient does over pay at the time of service all overpayments will be reimbursed back to the patientWe do apologize if that was misunderstood at the time of paymentMoving forward, [redacted] states in his complaint that “when insurance originally denied the space maintainer and root canals/pulpotomy Alexis again informed me it was included in the benefits.” Again this is simply untrueOnce the insurance company came back with payment and the explanation of the payment, we informed [redacted] at that time that his insurance policy doesn’t cover the procedures: space maintainer and root canals/pulpotomyWe would have never told [redacted] that his insurance is wrong and that these procedures are coveredThey clearly are not; the insurance company told us that they were not a covered benefitWe actually sent [redacted] a copy of the explanation of the benefits that we received from his insurance company, even though the insurance company sends a copy to the patient as well, so he could see what his insurance company paid forWhen [redacted] was asking us why his insurance policy didn’t cover those procedures Alexis did respond in the manor of: “I have only known root canals/pulpotomys to be covered all the same, I have not seen on any dental plan where it covers a root canal but not a pulpotomy This plan you have [redacted] on seems to be very adult oriented and there are several dental plans out there which are much more geared for children's care.” By her stating that, she never indicated that his insurance company should have paid on these proceduresAll that it indicated was that in her personal experience in the dental field (which has been 15+ years); she has never seen a policy where it covers a root canal but not a pulpotomyEvery conversation with [redacted] has been very frustrating and we are not sure why there’s always a miscommunication and misunderstandingWe have tried to be very clear with him and it seems that he misunderstands what we communicate to himWhat it boils down to is [redacted] is upset with us because his insurance policy didn’t cover as much as we estimatedWhen [redacted] discovered that he still owed Smiles Kids a balance for the treatment his child received, he wanted to make up his own payment planHe originally informed us that due to the holidays he didn’t have the money, but as soon as he caught up he would pay the moneyHe then came back and informed Smiles Kids that he would pay us $every month until the amount was paid in full and he didn’t want any interest charged to him because our “estimate was grossly erroneous.” We informed [redacted] that he would need to pay more than $a month, because we couldn’t carry his account balance for years until he got it paid off in fullWe were willing to work with him and allow a month payment plan, despite only typically allowing monthsThat was still unsatisfactory to ***He is now upset because he is being charged interest feesAs you can see we have attached our paperwork that his wife signed and agreed to, “it is the parent’s/guardian’s responsibility to pay for any deductible or other balance not covered by the insuranceRegardless of insurance, I agree the balance will be paid in full within days of treatment, unless previous arrangements have been madeShould my account exceed days, one percent (1%) interest per month, twelve percent (12%) per year will be charged.” [redacted] is stating that he feels it is unfair that he is being charged an interest fee, when we have been upfront at the time of service that there will be interest fees charged outWe feel like we have been honest and we have been willing to work with ***All we have asked is that he be cooperative and reasonable regarding the financial arrangements we can provide
Smiles Kids is sad to hear about ***’s unfortunate experienceWe strive to make every appointment a great experienceWhen we give estimates for our services we try to be as accurate as possibleWe are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused, however we do want to emphasize that when a patient needs dental treatment we only give an ESTIMATE on what the patients portion will beOur paperwork clearly states that “your insurance policy is an agreement you have with your insurance carrierIf you have questions regarding payments from your insurance company, we recommend that you call your insurance provider directly for the most accurate and speedy answer.” See attached paperwork signed and agreed to As [redacted] said multiple times in his complaint that our estimate provided "was grossly erroneous" we do want to clarify that the definition of the word estimate is: an approximate calculation or judgment of the value, number, quantity, or extent of somethingWe can't give a 100% accurate amount owed at the time of service, we are not the insurance company, and we can't guarantee their payment [redacted] stated that he feels “Smiles Kids should write off these uncovered charges” that his insurance policy didn’t cover “due to Smiles Kids negligence in obtaining and providing an accurate estimate.” We don’t see how we can provide a 100% accurate estimate, because an estimate is just that, an estimate and never will be 100% accurateIt is the policy holder’s responsibility, not ours, to know what their insurance policy coversWe honestly give anywhere from 5-estimates a day and we have never had an issue until nowWhen [redacted] states that Alexis told them at the time of service that they paid in full for their dental treatment, it is simply untrueWe always inform our patients when they pay at the time of service that it is only an estimate and as a courtesy we will bill out their insurance company for themOnce we hear back from the insurance company we will let the patient know if there is a balance owedWe also state that if the patient does over pay at the time of service all overpayments will be reimbursed back to the patientWe do apologize if that was misunderstood at the time of paymentMoving forward, [redacted] states in his complaint that “when insurance originally denied the space maintainer and root canals/pulpotomy Alexis again informed me it was included in the benefits.” Again this is simply untrueOnce the insurance company came back with payment and the explanation of the payment, we informed [redacted] at that time that his insurance policy doesn’t cover the procedures: space maintainer and root canals/pulpotomyWe would have never told [redacted] that his insurance is wrong and that these procedures are coveredThey clearly are not; the insurance company told us that they were not a covered benefitWe actually sent [redacted] a copy of the explanation of the benefits that we received from his insurance company, even though the insurance company sends a copy to the patient as well, so he could see what his insurance company paid forWhen [redacted] was asking us why his insurance policy didn’t cover those procedures Alexis did respond in the manor of: “I have only known root canals/pulpotomys to be covered all the same, I have not seen on any dental plan where it covers a root canal but not a pulpotomy This plan you have [redacted] on seems to be very adult oriented and there are several dental plans out there which are much more geared for children's care.” By her stating that, she never indicated that his insurance company should have paid on these proceduresAll that it indicated was that in her personal experience in the dental field (which has been 15+ years); she has never seen a policy where it covers a root canal but not a pulpotomyEvery conversation with [redacted] has been very frustrating and we are not sure why there’s always a miscommunication and misunderstandingWe have tried to be very clear with him and it seems that he misunderstands what we communicate to himWhat it boils down to is [redacted] is upset with us because his insurance policy didn’t cover as much as we estimatedWhen [redacted] discovered that he still owed Smiles Kids a balance for the treatment his child received, he wanted to make up his own payment planHe originally informed us that due to the holidays he didn’t have the money, but as soon as he caught up he would pay the moneyHe then came back and informed Smiles Kids that he would pay us $every month until the amount was paid in full and he didn’t want any interest charged to him because our “estimate was grossly erroneous.” We informed [redacted] that he would need to pay more than $a month, because we couldn’t carry his account balance for years until he got it paid off in fullWe were willing to work with him and allow a month payment plan, despite only typically allowing monthsThat was still unsatisfactory to ***He is now upset because he is being charged interest feesAs you can see we have attached our paperwork that his wife signed and agreed to, “it is the parent’s/guardian’s responsibility to pay for any deductible or other balance not covered by the insuranceRegardless of insurance, I agree the balance will be paid in full within days of treatment, unless previous arrangements have been madeShould my account exceed days, one percent (1%) interest per month, twelve percent (12%) per year will be charged.” [redacted] is stating that he feels it is unfair that he is being charged an interest fee, when we have been upfront at the time of service that there will be interest fees charged outWe feel like we have been honest and we have been willing to work with ***All we have asked is that he be cooperative and reasonable regarding the financial arrangements we can provide