Alberta's NDP government will create a dental fee guide

[iggy_oi]

Were people under the impression that insurance companies set limits to how much they will pay for any claim? Are they unaware that there is nothing which stops their insurer from paying above the fee guidelines? Just out of curiosity, how many of these insurers are giving their client a discount for their reduced coverage, and how many employers are passing those savings along to their employees?

[Knut]

yeah but the dentist can just trade in his Lamborghini for a Porsche...

[Northendzone]

sorry dentoman - I was thinking that you were a dentist, and I now get what you are saying.

I thought you menat small business in general.

Originally Posted by Dentoman

If the patient refuses to stay in the practice due to increased copay + insurance company does not lessen its premiums to assist patient to pay the increased copay = small business eats the cost of the fee guide.

My office will follow the 2017 Fee Guide put out in the fall. The further reduction in the 2018 Fee Guide is too significant for me to absorb and I refuse to reduce wages for my staff since they are likely more valuable to my patient base than I am (some have been with me for 20 years). I will look for efficiencies and try to negotiate lower supply costs, but really, outside of wages, there is not much wiggle room on a lot of costs.

[Dentoman]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

sorry dentoman - I was thinking that you were a dentist, and I now get what you are saying.

I thought you menat small business in general.

I am a dentist but I was speaking of my practice as a small business. No apolgoy necessary.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Locke

I think Hes' point was that for the most part insurance companies would cover it, but now those insurance companies will only cover what is covered in the fee guide.

So if your dentist charges more than the NDP say they should your dentist may not alter their fees but your insurance company has grounds to cover less, leaving people and their families on the hook for more.

Oh. All of the dental portions of my benefits plans were always based on 80% or 90% of the fee guide.

edit: sorry, not the fee guide, but whatever "reasonable" was termed as.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

exorbitant - as in unreasonably high?

so many people say this without having a clue about what it costs to operate a private practice.

yes, I do think the prices are too high at the dentist. exorbitant? that can be argued.

I think compared to equivalent services from a BC dental office, Alberta is quite high.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I think compared to equivalent services from a BC dental office, Alberta is quite high.

This is correct as far as I understand, but again, we can go and dive into the plethora of reasons for this anytime we want.

Most salaries for most positions are higher in Alberta than elsewhere which means that Hygienists likely get paid more as do support staff, rent might be higher, cost of supplies, etc, etc, its the same as any other section of the medical profession where Alberta has some of the highest wages and associated costs and ergo; fees.

[Northendzone]

you are right, the dental plan can be set up to pay based on whatever "fee guide" the client wants. there are some plans (not many) out there set up to pay the cost submitted.

the monthly premium costs for many dental plans are fully paid for by the employer, so there is no cost savings to be passed on to the employee.

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Were people under the impression that insurance companies set limits to how much they will pay for any claim? Are they unaware that there is nothing which stops their insurer from paying above the fee guidelines? Just out of curiosity, how many of these insurers are giving their client a discount for their reduced coverage, and how many employers are passing those savings along to their employees?

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

you are right, the dental plan can be set up to pay based on whatever "fee guide" the client wants. there are some plans (not many) out there set up to pay the cost submitted.

the monthly premium costs for many dental plans are fully paid for by the employer, so there is no cost savings to be passed on to the employee.

If their coverage has been reduced though wouldn’t the prices for their premiums go down as well?

[Amethyst]

Yup, the new fee guide screwed me over today. Went to the dentist today. My benefits usually covered it all. Today, I had to pay an extra $60. Now I'm even more annoyed that I have to go back next week for a filling.

[Northendzone]

weird I can't seem to post using the quote feature - but iggy_oi the thing to remember is that with all things being equal in a dental group insurance plan the claims cost should decrease due to the implementation of the dental fee guide; however, the fee guide was announced after September and then finalized again in November or so. if an employers premium rates were set before the first fee guide was announced then the rates would have included an allowance for expected inflation due to new dental fees being implemented part way thru the plan year.

if the claims were more than the premium being paid, then the rates would need to go up just based on that.

there are several cost drivers in your group insurance plan that need to be taken into consideration. that is why premiums will just not drop because of this fee guide.

this thought has been mentioned several times in this thread, but to me the whole exercise of the NDP doing this is like lipstick on a pig - it will likely not really do anything with respect to dental costs - but dentoman would likely be able to provide more insight.

to be honest, I am surprised that dentists in other provinces have not decided to ditch their fee guides, as to me it (the dentists in alberta getting rid of the fee guide) seemed to really help their practices.

I will also note, that based on my anecdotal observations, everytime I go to the dentist, it seems they have some new technology that makes the process a little faster and less painful - so I get that dentists are constantly making investments in equipment.

[indes]

From talking with friends who live in Alberta it's cheaper for you guys to drive to Castlegar, get a hotel, get dental work done and drive back the next day.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by indes

From talking with friends who live in Alberta it's cheaper for you guys to drive to Castlegar, get a hotel, get dental work done and drive back the next day.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...ce-dental-work

[indes]

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...ce-dental-work

Ya it's crazy, might be a ####ty plan but my buddy said he paid 700$ out of pocket for his family of 4 to get cleaning/check ups. In contrast with no insurance I pay 150$ for a checkup and cleaning.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by indes

Ya it's crazy, might be a ####ty plan but my buddy said he paid 700$ out of pocket for his family of 4 to get cleaning/check ups. In contrast with no insurance I pay 150$ for a checkup and cleaning.

I believe the dental office in Golden was (or still is) offering free return bus service from Calgary each week to get dental work done for Albertans.

[Calgary14]

I've been using my dentist in BC the entire time I've lived in Calgary and save hundreds each time, I didn't know others were doing the same