Medicare and dental needs.

Judycat said:
I just have original Medicare. I go to the dentist when I lose a filling or break off a piece of a tooth. The guy I go to, if I pay cash he'll give me a break. I went last Thursday, he did a checkup, cleaned my teeth, numbed my mouth and filled my tooth and in the end charged me $110.
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Ditto for me as well, though the dentist I saw charged considerably more. If I thought your dentist was near my N.E. Ohio border, it might be worth driving to him, even with the price of gas!
 

JonSR77 said:
I still have zero clue what to do.

Here's the thing...the folks that know how to navigate this world, find it so easy, that they can't easily relate to the folks who can't.

There is no bridge between the two.

It is like a math whiz telling a 5th grader that calculus is easy.

Ok...but that still doesn't help the kid understand calculus.

I had carbon monoxide poisoning. Brain damage. Huge cognitive problems.

I need the "Dummy" version. Otherwise, it just doesn't take...

When I Google Medicare and Dental...what comes up are just a bunch of companies trying to sell you their services. It is not unbiased info.

And the Medicare site itself just says that dental is not covered.


Here's the deal.

Now I can't afford any of this. But if I want to see if my brother can pay for my dental insurance, I think that would technically violate me off of Medicare, as a received financial gain or something.
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I don't think that would be the case. Just like If that cousin were to give you $15 for a new knee brace, it would not effect your benefits. ( it might effect him, doing for others could make him a better human) A monetary or any other gift from another will not change your status.
 
Monetary value gifts from others, do effect some coverages, such as Medicaid, but not Medicare.

*****
I am editing to add that I don't know the recent years' changes, such as the current rules for reduced rates for Medicare on the Affordable Care website. So, it is possible that a lowered rate, if you have one of those (@JonSR77 if you have one of those)
might possibly be effected by someone's gift of dental supplement.
 

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JonSR77 said:
Why don't you just run me the parameters by which you find those agents...
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Google search...
Medicare advisors in my area.
Medicare agents...........
Health insurance agents.........
Health insurance brokers.........

Also if I remember correctly you can do a search directly from the official Medicare website.
 
C50 said:
Google search...
Medicare advisors in my area.
Medicare agents...........
Health insurance agents.........
Health insurance brokers.........

Also if I remember correctly you can do a search directly from the official Medicare website.
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Thanks, I will cut and paste this into a file and look into it...

I have had dental problems for over 20 years. Basically some level of constant pain that entire time. During the last year, every single time I chew, I am in pain. And not a small amount either.

I have had crippling pain, this is not that. But that moderate level of pain and the obstruction of ever being able to enjoy a meal...

that is quite destructive to one's happiness.

So, it is a serious issue.

And, in that regard, your willingness to help me resolve this serious issue is not lost on me.

My gratitude...
 
Kaila said:
I would advise that keeping yours will probably be best for you.

Regular Medicare only covers very unusual trauma for dental, and I don't think Medicare Advantage plans (the ones that do cover more dental issues) would be as good or any better than what you have, is my guess.

Of course you'd want to research it more specifically.

I would personally prefer and recommend, regular traditional Medicare, with a decent supplement plan, to any (so-called) Medicare Advantage plan.
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Thank you very much for taking the time to respond.

I do have regular Medicare. At least I think. I am disabled. Officially since 1987.

when you say "a decent supplement plan"

--- I really don't know what that means

---- and I really don't know if the existence of that would violate me off of Medicare, for receiving that form of "financial assistance"


Thanks
 
JonSR77 said:
Thanks, I will cut and paste this into a file and look into it...

I have had dental problems for over 20 years. Basically some level of constant pain that entire time. During the last year, every single time I chew, I am in pain. And not a small amount either.

I have had crippling pain, this is not that. But that moderate level of pain and the obstruction of ever being able to enjoy a meal...

that is quite destructive to one's happiness.

So, it is a serious issue.

And, in that regard, your willingness to help me resolve this serious issue is not lost on me.

My gratitude...
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Jon you are very welcome, I hope you can find relief.

I have experienced the constant ache of a tooth as you described, bothered me for five years. Dentist said there must be a cavity under an old filling, needs a crown, that didn't fix it. Dentist said must need a root canal, that didn't fix it plus had to replace the crown that was only months old. Got tired of dealing with it and decided to have an implant procedure, it's perfect now.

Dental issues are no fun. Good luck to you.
 
JonSR77 said:
I have had dental problems for over 20 years. Basically some level of constant pain that entire time. During the last year, every single time I chew, I am in pain. And not a small amount either.
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What the heck, Jon! That's unacceptable. I just went to the dentist last week for, "pain while chewing." I had a cleaning, x-rays and exam for $173. He said my teeth were fine but I had injured my jaw somehow and constant inflammation was causing the pain. He recommended a daily Advil to reduce the inflammation but said it might be a sort of permanent condition. My pain is slight at this point, I sure hope yours gets better. Living on ice-cream isn't as fun as I thought it would be.

We have Medicare plus the Air Force's supplemental insurance. It's great for medical, but doesn't cover any dental costs at all. So we pay all that out of pocket.

When I was 45, I had perfect white teeth that had never had a cavity. One day the dentist told me my teeth were dissolving under the gum due to a genetic type of periodontal disease. To save my teeth I had to have a bunch of surgery plus a ten piece bridge. Total cost, $11,000 that I paid cash for. It would be about three times that now.

So when the Air Force came up with a dental plan, you might think we would have jumped on it. Nope. Close inspection showed that while it covered cavities and a few annual exams, it had an annual cap of $1000. So we would have been paying monthly for this plan and never really being covered for the big stuff.

It's not your brain that's the problem, Jon, it's the insurance companies' purposefully vague double talk.
 
JonSR77 said:
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond.

I do have regular Medicare. At least I think. I am disabled. Officially since 1987.

when you say "a decent supplement plan"

--- I really don't know what that means

---- and I really don't know if the existence of that would violate me off of Medicare, for receiving that form of "financial assistance"


Thanks
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Jon, when you are searching for an insurance agent, be SURE you find an "independent" agent. If you talk to an agent who is connected to a particular carrier, they will of course try to sell you products from that carrier, even tho better deals may be available.
 
If you're fortunate enough to seldom have serious dental issues, it won't really matter what type of insurance you have, or whether or not you have coverage. If you have serious dental issues (like me) you need to be knowledgeable about different procedures for treatment.
Example: There are several types of crowns & the cheaper materials don't last very long or fit very well. Many dental plans allow your insurer to choose the least expensive option - which may be detrimental to your health. You want to hear about the best treatment options; not the cheapest ones or only the ones that are covered. Your dentist may only mention the cheapest ones, as he was instructed to do by the insurer.

In my 30's, I had dental coverage through my work. At the time, I wasn't knowledgeable about dental coverage. The Cigna Plan dentist kept filling decay every few months that was too large for fillings & they'd constantly fall out, which allowed more decay. I decided to get other opinions & another dentist explained that my dentist was following orders & not doing crowns because fillings were more cost effective for them. That caused lots of constant decay around the fillings - & also meant I needed 30 root canals & 30 crowns; all out of pocket, which is better for my health. She explained that when she started her practice, she worked for a dentist who constantly told her which procedures & treatment options she was permitted to talk about & also her time limit explaining things to each patient.
 
C50 said:
must need a root canal,
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I looked online this year specifically to see into what other options people do to avoid that ....
it works but costs a lot - about or up to thirty dollars a month for a month or two, maybe longer sometimes to heal the gums/teeth and eliminate infection and especially totally stop the pain .
 
Last year dental care was included with Medicare until the ADA protested that their members wouldn't make as much money and didn't want the regulations; the taxpayers lost. Everyone must push to get past the ADA's involvement and insist that dental care be included with Traditional Medicare this year.
My husband purchased two "discount" plans from a local dentist at the end of October using one of those electronically sign first and if you insist, we'll give you a printed copy. They claimed I needed a deep cleaning and 3 caps for $4,000. Something stank as I was not having any problems so I didn't let them touch me. On a whim a few months later I checked Health Grades and found a post from another patient saying the dentist had been ordered to pay $4,000 restitution to the patient and take classes by our local dental board just two days after my husband paid them. The prices the "discount" plan quotes were only good for 90 days and it also included an automatic renewal. They refused to return our money so I went another dentist who found I only needed a routine cleaning. We lost a few hundred but saved thousands more.
Last Fall our regional hospital sent an email listing the Advantage plans they wanted patients to use and that those patients would have priority with their associate partners. I don't think this is legal but it demonstrates how hard they are pushing the plans that benefit the corporate bottom line - not to your benefit.
Conclusion; be your own best insurer and verify the dentist qualifications and complaint history with your local dental board, Yelp, and neighbors. Push back on politicians who are submissive to the ADA and demand Traditional Medicare cover and regulate dental care for all seniors. Advantage plans are for the benefit of corporations, not seniors.
 
I used to have dental through work but I don't have it now. I work part time and have Covered California for insurance. I didn't get dental. I pay out of pocket. Luckily I have not needed a crown. What I have had done I've paid out of pocket and have been able to cover it.
 
I have one of Kaiser's Advantage plans and it has the option of adding Delta Dental coverage for an additional premium which is lower than buying dental on the open market. It has paid off for me to have the coverage so far.
 


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