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Office Policy


 

Office Hours

We are available Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:00 pm.

A doctor is always on call and available to patients for any emergency needs.

Finances

Payment for services is due once rendered. We will always provide you with an estimated treatment plan prior ro restorative services.

We accept cash, personal checks and most major credit cards.

For your convenience, our doctors are in-network providers for several major PPO insurance plans.

For specific plan participation, please contact the office staff.

Scheduling

We strive to schedule your child’s appointment at a date and time that is convenient for your schedule.

Preschool children (5 years and under) should be seen in the morning because they are better rested and we can take extra time to better meet their needs. School age children (5 years and older) with a lot of outstanding dental work also are best treated in the morning for the same reason.

Dental appointments are an excused absence from school and we will be happy to send along documentation of your visit with us. Missing school can be minimized when regular dental care is continual. The most common reason for missed school days in the United States is dental related issues (toothaches and fractured teeth).

Appointment times are scheduled exclusively for each patient. We ask you to notify us within 24 hours of a cancellation if you are unable to keep your appointment. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Dental Insurance

If we have received all of your insurance information on the day of the appointment, we will be happy to file your claim for you.

You must be familiar with your insurance benefits, as we will collect from you the estimated amount insurance is not expected to pay.

By law your insurance company is required to pay each claim within 30 days of receipt. We file all insurance electronically so your insurance company will receive each claim within days of the treatment.

You are responsible for any balance on your account after 30 days, whether insurance has paid or not. If you have not paid your balance within 60 days a finance charge of 1.5% or $5, whichever is greater, will be added to your account each month until paid. We will be glad to send a refund to you once insurance has paid us.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND that we file dental insurance as a courtesy to our patients. We do not have a contract with your insurance company, only you do.

We are not responsible for how your insurance company handles its claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We can only assist you in estimating your portion of the cost of treatment, we at no time guarantee what your insurance will or will not do with each claim.

We also cannot be responsible for any errors in filing your insurance, once again we file claims as a courtesy to you.

Fact 1 – NO INSURANCE PAYS 100% OF ALL PROCEDURES

Dental insurance is meant to be an aid in receiving dental care. Many patients think that their insurance pays 90%-100% of all dental fees. This is not true! Most plans only pay between 50%-80% of the average total fee. Some pay more, some pay less. The percentage paid is usually determined by how much you or your employer has paid for coverage or the type of contract your employer has set up with the insurance company.

Fact 2 – BENEFITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY OUR OFFICE

You may have noticed that sometimes your dental insurer reimburses you or the dentist at a lower rate than the dentist’s actual fee. Frequently, insurance companies state that the reimbursement was reduced because your dentist’s fee has exceeded the usual, customary, or reasonable fee (“UCR”) used by the company.

A statement such as this gives the impression that any fee greater than the amount paid by the insurance company is unreasonable or well above what most dentists in the area charge for a certain service. This can be very misleading and simply is not accurate.

Insurance companies set their own schedules and each company uses a different set of fees they consider allowable. These allowable fees may vary widely because each company collects fee information from claims it processes. The insurance company then takes this data and arbitrarily chooses a level they call the “allowable” UCR Fee. Frequently this data can be three to five years old and these “allowable” fees are set by the insurance company so that they can make a net 20%-30% profit.

Unfortunately, insurance companies imply that your dentist is “overcharging” rather than say that they are “underpaying” or that their benefits are low. In general, the less expensive insurance policy will use a lower usual, customary, or reasonable UCR figure.

Fact 3 – DEDUCTIBLES & CO-PAYMENTS MUST BE CONSIDERED

When estimating dental benefits, deductibles and percentages must be considered.

To illustrate, assume the fee for service is $150.00. Assuming that the insurance company allows $150.00 as its usual and customary (UCR) fee, we can figure out what benefits will be paid. First a deductible (paid by you), on average $50, is subtracted, leaving $100.00. The plan then pays 80% for this particular procedure. The insurance company will then pay 80% of $100.00, or $80.00. Out of a $150.00 fee they will pay an estimated $80.00 leaving a remaining portion of $70.00 (to be paid by the patient). Of course, if the UCR is less than $150.00 or your plan pays only at 50% then the insurance benefits will also be significantly less.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, please keep us informed of any insurance changes such as policy name, insurance company address, or a change of employment.

Location

Wanuck, Hier & Associates
1232 West Indiantown Road, Suite 109
Jupiter, FL 33458
Phone: 561-747-5778
Fax: 561-747-5721

Office Hours

Get in touch

561-747-5778