Why I hate all anesthesiologists

[Mikey]

Sorry, need to vent a bit.

Had a few operations in the past and no anesthesiologists ever took the insurance.

In the end had to pay out of pocket -- for YEARS on end.

Instead off accepting insurance they'd much rather take a $10.00 bill every month for eternity

My nephew just told me his baby girl needs dental surgery but no anesthesiologists take his insurance --- which means he's going to be paying out-of-pocket for years.

People say they hate lawyers ...

I have another profession that's even worse ...

[Brazoo]

Sorry, need to vent a bit.

Had a few operations in the past and no anesthesiologists ever took the insurance.

In the end had to pay out of pocket -- for YEARS on end.

Instead off accepting insurance they'd much rather take a $10.00 bill every month for eternity

My nephew just told me his baby girl needs dental surgery but no anesthesiologists take his insurance --- which means he's going to be paying out-of-pocket for years.

People say they hate lawyers ...

I have another profession that's even worse ...

Not meant to be political — so I hope nobody takes it that way — but, as a Canadian your post is completely baffling. For medical surgery your anesthesiologist can refuse insurance that the surgeon/hospital will accept? That sounds crazy. Why?

For dental stuff we basically pay out-of-pocket for everything, unless it's deemed a medical emergency. Even with my wife's company's insurance plan I won't get covered for some stuff I'm suppose to get done (but don't do, because I can't afford it), and she works for AN INSURANCE COMPANY. Sigh.

[cjefferys]

I heard stories like this from my US co-workers saying so-and-so wouldn't accept their insurance. Is this common? Here in Canada, I just have to worry about insurance for dental, prescription drugs and glasses, and I've never had any of those places say they wouldn't accept my insurance.

[SKotK]

I know that about 13-14 years ago I had to have a deep cleaning done on my teeth at the dentist, after not having medical insurance for 7 years prior (due to having to work as a contractor). Even though I now had insurance at that point, it still ran me $1200.00 out of pocket. A big chunk of that I'm sure was due to the anesthesiologist taking their not-covered cut. I was pretty furious about it.

--SKot

[Nostalgiabuff]

most people in the states have really crappy dental insurance. although compared to those who have none I guess it is still better than nothing. my family and I switched to a different dental group so they would take our insurance and as long as we don't go over our limit per person in a year, everything is paid for

[EmergencyIan]

^ And, the limit is often $2000 per person, annually. The catch with my dental plan is that they cover &0% and you pay the remaining 20%, sans biannual cleanings.

- Ian

[MIB41]

Before you have any procedure done, you should ask your insurance company for a list of participating providers.

[Sideshow Spock]

most people in the states have really crappy dental insurance. although compared to those who have none I guess it is still better than nothing.

[daz71]

i don't think they hardly use them over here just a jab in the gob and they do it all while you are awake.

[dcohendmd]

okay here is the skinny on dental insurance....its not insurance at all....its financial help. It works completely different from medical insurance. Dental disease is so prevalent that it is basically uninsurable...the only way that a 3rd party insurance company can make a profit off of the premiums is to limit the coverage to a maximum dollar amount and/or have copayments. So the insurance company will give you a "free" cleaning exam and radiographs (usually the dentist is taking a much lower reimbursement and subsidizing the treatment in order to have you as a patient) however you will have to pay often times a 20-50% copayment up to your maximum dollar benefit ... which is usually 1-2 thousand dollars (a lot of dentistry in 1965...not so much in 2016). you can shop around and probably never find a plan that doesn't have a dollar limit (like medical insurance)...but your premiums will probably be not "affordable"... moral of the story...brush, floss and less sugar...if not then pay the dentist what he is worth.

[EmergencyIan]

^ Thanks, Dr. Cohen.

- Ian

[Rallygirl]

My husband's insurance promises a $50 co-pay on all outpatient procedures as long as everyone accepts his insurance. To ensure that is what we would actually pay, we requested a list of providers. First, there was not an an anesthesiologist within two hundred miles on that list. Honestly, there were only about six in the entire state of Michigan. Second, the hospital said "secondary providers cannot be specially requested" meaning we could choose a surgeon, but everyone else in that operating room is chosen by the hospital based on schedules and workload. Yes, I know, there are surely procedures, hoops, and loopholes that we could navigate to come by an anesthesiologist that accepted our insurance, but would we really want to tick off the hospital and insurance company that much? They kind of have you between a rock and a hard place; I mean how many people would say, "Nevermind, I don't think I need an anesthesiologist during my surgery; just go ahead and cut away without one"?