Washington Employers Mistrust

One's health is important. You want to believe you can trust people who care for your health. You want to believe that someone who helps keep you alive is someone trustworthy, that they are looking out for you, and that they will try to keep you alive. Sadly, I have recently found this not to be the case.

My insurance company, Washington Employers Trust, has been anything but trustworthy. At my previous job, I had to wait 6 1/2 months before I could get dental, which gave me only a month's worth of coverage before the job ended. Recognizing that I had a slim window, I made sure I did everything by the book. I called Washington Employers Trust to get them to preapprove me for a crown. They told me that I had to go in and get it prepped first, before they would preapprove it. 2 weeks later, just before the appointment, they told me that what they told me earlier was not their policy, necessitating me to reschedule the appointment for two weeks after that. At the appointment I had them check my teeth as they'd planned, and it was discovered that I needed another crown, and this one urgently. That of course needed preapproval as well, and it took some doing, but they did preapprove the 2nd- but there was no time available to get a dental appointment with this dentist before the insurance lapsed, as the insurance company hadn't done the preapproval when I'd first called. Now, of course, they are denying what they told me about preapproval, as the agent neglected to input the data.

The result? Since the dental insurance is pretty bad and covers only 1/2 the cost, as I look for work I have to pay $560 for one tooth, and let the more urgent tooth go. Looks like Michael Moore was right after all. I would appreciate prayer for the ability to fix these teeth, or a speedy path to Canadian citizenship.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I feel ya...I missed the deadline to get my dental insurance when I started work, and have to wait till Jan 1st before my coverage kicks in! I had a tooth that needed a root canal in the far back. I was in so much pain, I just told them to pull it. Was only $140 versus paying $900 for a root canal and crown. Its been 3 months and I havnt even noticed the tooth missing. Its so far in the back anyways...I have another tooth that need work, if I canhold out 2 more weeks Ill have the insurance! (:
Anonymous said…
These stories are typical, sadly. Insurance is a business, and businesses have to make a profit. That's where the consumers get hurt. Discount dental plans are a good option in this case. You pay one yearly fee and receive considerable discounts on most dental care procedures. Most will provide discounts on crowns - you may be surprised to hear. The good thing is, when you need the dental work you don't need to fill out endless forms or wait for approval. Worth checking out if you're fed up with the hassle of dental insurance. One good site I found for purchasing Dental Plans is dental-plan-providers.com
Jed Carosaari said…
I recognize that you are a commercial post, Christian, but I leave them in place when they are germaine to the blog post. Thank you for your suggestion. I actually did go that route, with Dental Health Services, a dental plan that, for $13/month, gives me a 20% discount on most procedures, including the wisdom tooth extraction.

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