HealthCare Advocates, Inc. Blog

An easy way to save money is to seek treatment at a dental school instead of a private dental practice. The question most people ask is, what are the benefits and drawbacks?

Private dental offices have years of experience and master the craft of “butterfly hands.” Butterfly Hands means that the dentist knows how to perform the dental services with minimal pain and discomfort. Also, because they are in private practice, your treatment is completed as quickly as possible.

Dental schools operate on the basis that the student is being educated. Based on this a complete dental history, interview and exam is performed. After the initial exam, a treatment plan is created then treatment is started. This process results in multiple appointments each lasting hours – the completion of care could take months.

Many people are concerned that the care they receive will not be as good as a private dental office. While the student lacks the Butterfly Hands that a seasoned dentist has developed, their treatment is supervised by experienced dentist and utilize the latest technologies. One could argue that the benefit here is that you have a built-in second opinion. Yes, the student is learning but the students do challenge the view of the supervising dentist and viewing things differently is not a minus. One other clear benefit to a dental school is unnecessary care. We have all “heard” reports of medical treatments being done simply so the doctor can bill. While this practice is seldom, a dental school has no incentive to perform any unnecessary care.

Regardless if you use a dental school or a private dental office, always seek a second opinion.

Pluses of Private Dental Offices      

· “Butterfly Hands”                               

· Treatment is completed quickly

· Private Dental Offices are located in your area so they are easily accessed

Minuses of Private Dental Offices 

· Cost

Pluses of Dental Schools

· They are approximately ½ the price of a private dental office

· Multiple opinions

· No unnecessary care 

Minuses of Dental Schools 

· Multiple appointments that last hours

· A lack of “Butterfly Hands”

· There may not be a Dental School near you

Consumer Update: Are you under insured? A client has a health plan that has a $100,000 per year maximum payout. The problem was that she has cancer and the bills are much more than $100,000. Her life savings would have been wiped out if not for HealthCare Advocates.

What should you do? Review your policy and ensure that you have proper coverage in the event something happens.

United Healthcare (UHC) settled a class action lawsuit and you may be entitled to receive money from UHC if you were insured by them. This class action lawsuit pertains to payments made for care provided by out-of-network providers between March 15, 1994 through November 18, 2009. United Healthcare should be informing you but if they did not, we wanted to be sure that you knew.

As a result of the reform law, HealthCare Advocates is starting to see insurance companies closing their provider networks. What this means as a patient is that the number of in-network providers will be limited. Why are the insurance companies doing this? In an effort to control costs, the insurance companies need to provide greater oversight of their providers and to accomplish this, they must limit the number of providers in their networks.

HealthCare Advocates recommended in a new book by the renowned author and writer Gail Sheehy. The link to her book: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061661204/Passages_in_Caregiving/index.aspx?HCHP=TB_Passages+in+Caregiving

COBRA – Another Extension

On April 15, 2010, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010 was signed into law. By passing this law, the federal government has – again – extended the COBRA subsidy by lengthening:
1) The period during which the involuntary termination occurred. The employees’ termination date has been extended to those individuals involuntarily terminated from employment through May 31, 2010. All employees that qualify for COBRA are entitled to a 15 month, 65% COBRA subsidy.

2) The law also provides retroactive eligibility for individuals who were involuntarily terminated after the prior COBRA subsidy expired on March 31, 2010. Individuals involuntarily terminated after March 31, 2010 but before April 15, 2010, are now eligible to receive the subsidy.

President Obama’s healthcare reform bill that was signed this past March included some help for nursing mothers. The bill requires employers to provide break time for an employee to express breast milk for a nursing child. This provision is effective until the child is one year old.

On March 23, 2010 President Obama signed the healthcare reform legislation into law. This new legislation is expected to help cover an additional 32 million Americans. How does this law affect you?

Changes That Will Take Effect in 2010
• Insurance companies cannot rescind coverage when a person gets sick

• Insurance companies cannot place lifetime benefit caps on coverage.

• Insurance companies cannot deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.

• Children may stay on their parent’s plan until age 26.

• Uninsured people will have immediate access to coverage through high-risk pools if they have been denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition.

• Small businesses will receive tax credits to help purchase health insurance for their employees.

• Medicare beneficiaries will receive a $250 rebate when they hit the “doughnut hole.”

• Medicaid will be expanded to cover people with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty limit.

Changes That Will Take Effect in 2011

• Medicare beneficiaries will receive a 50% discount on brand-name prescriptions while in the doughnut hole.

• Insurance companies will be required to spend at least 80% of their premiums on medical claims. The interest on the monies earned by the insurance companies is not affected.

Changes That Will Take Effect in 2013

• Social Security payroll taxes will be increase for individuals making more than $200,000 and families earning more than $250,000. Unearned income will also be subject to a 3.8% tax.

Changes That Will Take Effect in 2014

• Americans will be required to carry health insurance or pay a $695 penalty; qualifying families will be able receive subsidies to help pay for insurance. There are some exceptions to this mandate.

• Medicaid programs will be required to include childless adults.

• Individuals and small companies will be able to purchase insurance through state exchanges. Illegal immigrants are barred from purchasing insurance from the exchanges.

• Small businesses with 50 or more employees must provide coverage to employees or pay a penalty.

• Insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage or charging more based on health status.

Changes That Will Take Effect in 2018

• Expensive employer based plans will be subject to a 40% excise tax. The thresholds are $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.

Changes That Will Take Effect in 2020

• The Medicare prescription drug coverage gap will be eliminated; seniors will still be responsible for 25 percent of the cost of their medications until Medicare’s catastrophic coverage starts.

Congress is preparing to vote on President Obama’s latest healthcare bill, will it pass?  In an NBC News & Wall Street Journal Poll, 46% of Americans said they would like the bill to pass. 45% of Americans do not want the bill to pass.

Despite opinions about the bill, one thing is clear. The majority of Americans do not like the way our government is handling this issue.