Dentist battle won!

This is a very boring post, but I needed to vent!

A couple months ago, I was at my dentist checking out, and the chipper administrative girl tells me that if I sign up for their in-office savings plan, it will allow me to pay less than my dental insurance plan will. Hmm. I look at the numbers she's showing me, and they don't seem to make sense. I am pretty good at math, and it seems like my overall liability OUGHT to be less than the $95 she's quoting me (and I'm not complaining; $95 for a same-day visit to fill in a chipped tooth is not a bad deal). But I can't seem to make the girl understand the math as I see it, so I just pay the $95 and leave.

Last week, I get an EOB from our dental plan, which says I SHOULD have owed only $79.60. I call the office, and they say, no, because they're not in-network, so I would be liable for the full amount, not the "contracted" amount. But they told me they were in network! And so did my dental plan! The woman is getting rather snippy and fed up with me now.

I call my dental plan, who says, yes, they ARE in network, and the amount on my EOB is the total I should pay. She offers to call Miss Snippy for me. I accept gratefully.

A few minutes later, I hear from Miss Snippy, who is now Miss Polite and Apologetic. She says, well, whaddya know, they are in network for my super-special plan, apparently. She still thinks I owe them an extra $50 for my deductible. I go over the math with her again to show her that it's already included in my total. She is confused, and calls my dental plan back.

A few minutes later, she calls back, confirms that I was right from the beginning, and will issue me a check to refund my $15.40.

Was it worth it for $15? Probably not, particularly as I get all adrenaline-full and miserable and stomach-upset when I'm in conflict with anyone, even a dental billing office. But I knew I was right. And I have to hope that maybe I'm striking a blow for the other confused customers who are maybe not as good at math, not as assertive, or don't have the time to put up a fight for a few bucks. I wonder how much extra a doctor or dentist can take in "accidentally" simply because of people who don't have the time or knowledge to get errors corrected?

Besides, it was a nice break from cleaning my oven.