On Friday June 18th I called the dental office of Dr. David Shipper to see if they accepted my dental insurance plan. I was told unequivocally that yes, they did; so I made an appointment for the following Monday morning.
After my cleaning, as I was confirming my appointment for the next day to see the doctor, I was told "So that's $475 for today." I responded that I had been told, by that office, one business day earlier, that they accepted my Aetna dental plan. The young lady "explained" that, no, they do not accept any insurance, but that they would be helpful enough to hand me forms to fill out in hopes of getting partial re-imbursement from my insurance provider.
I was shocked by this demand for immediate payment after having been told without any qualification whatsoever that they indeed accepted my plan. Of course, I would never have made the appointment had I been told the truth at the beginning.
The office manager, Denytza, came over and immediately tried to spin the correct story into their new story, saying "So the issue is that you were told that we do not accept insurance, but you made the appointment anyway, so..." at which point I interrupted to say "No, no, the issue is that I was not told you don't take insurance, and was in fact told the opposite," and that I would never have scheduled any work with their office had I known that it was a veritable shakedown. I received no response other than repeated statements that they do not accept insurance, and demands for immediate payment--and for my social security number. Denytza told me she needed my social in order to process my insurance papers. This is not true.
I have since confirmed with my insurance company that the dentist does not need my social security number to process any claim; it is of course processed using my member ID number. (details and factual info relating to this recorded phone call, Aetna call reference # 7988853, available upon request) It seems they hoodwink patients into incurring a bill, and then use your SS# to report you to credit bureaus.
Therefore I do not believe that it was an innocent mistake by whomever I spoke with that first Friday afternoon. This situation has all the hallmarks of a scam, and we intend to treat it as such, reporting to the ADA as well as the Office of Professional Ethics.
About Front Desk: The office manager is rude, disingenuous at best, flat out dishonest at worst regarding insurance. Do not give your Social Security number! Absolutely NOT needed to process any claim.It is used solely for reporting to credit bureaus.
Front desk:
out of 5 stars
