Wisdom teeth sticker shock!

[disney1990]

And as of 2013 you are only allowed $2,500 in FSA now. UGH!!! That cut that back A LOT!! (Thank you O'bama) We used to put $3,300 aside and we could've put more but we felt like that was enough for us. Now our insurance won't pay a dime until we spend $2,000!! So that only gives us 500 for the remaining 20% copays....doesn't go very far...sigh. and insurance plans/coverages are only going to get worse in 2014 & 2015 when the next set of laws go into effect. Get ready for even higher healthcare costs everybody...

Beating the New $2,500 Limit. There are two ways you can get around the new $2,500 cap. If you hold two or more jobs (with unrelated employers), you can elect up to $2,500 under each employers FSA plan. The other way is if youre married and you both work for employers that provide FSAs. Each of two spouses can elect up to $2,500, for a total $5,000even if they work for the same employer.

If you work for an employer that offers flex creditstypically $500 of employer money you can use towards various benefitsthat employer money that goes into your FSA doesnt count against the $2,500 limit. Exception: if the employer gives the employee the option of receiving the flex credit as cash.

Also note: The new cap is indexed for inflation, which will provide some relief in future years.

 

[codycreek]

I " feel your pain"- DS 20 had to have his removed last month - cost us $1440 out of,pocket- health insurance wouldn't even credit to our deductible. Would like to get DS 17 wisdom teeth out before he has to report to USAFA next month, but since theynarenot bothering him, I think we will wait until he is home for Christmas leave.

If your son is going to the USAFA (which I'm reading as US Air Force Academy) why pay. If he needs them out the Air Force will take them out - at no cost to him.

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

Both my sons (16 and 18) need all 4 wisdom teeth removed. I took them to an oral surgeon today and the one who has 4 impacted teeth will cost $2,065 and the one with two erupted and two impacted will cost $1,465. ACKKK! If I'd known they were both going to need this, this year, I'd have put more in our FSA account (I only put in $1,800). My husband is a federal employee and our dental coverage is not very good. I called the insurance company and they said wisdom teeth extraction is not covered, some oral surgeons (including the one we saw) just offer a discount. I have one other oral surgeon my dentist gave me a referral to, who I plan to call and see what fees he charges, but I have a feeling it's not going to be much less. Any advice from people who've been through this kind of thing?
We are leaving for WDW on Wed. for a 6 day trip. I was really excited until today, now I feel sick. I probably wouldn't have planned the trip if I'd known we were going to have this expense .

Check with your regular medical insurance provider. Wife is also a federal employee and with our insurance, GEHA multi-plan, IMPACTED wisdom teeth are covered. We were charged $1,200 and recieved $1,000 dollars from our insurance company. Speak with your dentists office and get the billing codes for the procedures. Then call insurance company. Tell them the teeth in question are impacted and give them the billing codes. If your husband has GEHA you should get some money back. Call and ask, can't hurt. But make sure you have the billing codes, it is the only way the person you will speak to at the insurance company can tell if it is covered.

 

[ENSOCK]

When I had mine removed, my medical covered it since they were impacted. check with your medical.

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

Both my sons (16 and 18) need all 4 wisdom teeth removed. I took them to an oral surgeon today and the one who has 4 impacted teeth will cost $2,065 and the one with two erupted and two impacted will cost $1,465. ACKKK! If I'd known they were both going to need this, this year, I'd have put more in our FSA account (I only put in $1,800). My husband is a federal employee and our dental coverage is not very good. I called the insurance company and they said wisdom teeth extraction is not covered, some oral surgeons (including the one we saw) just offer a discount. I have one other oral surgeon my dentist gave me a referral to, who I plan to call and see what fees he charges, but I have a feeling it's not going to be much less. Any advice from people who've been through this kind of thing?
We are leaving for WDW on Wed. for a 6 day trip. I was really excited until today, now I feel sick. I probably wouldn't have planned the trip if I'd known we were going to have this expense .

We are federal employees and have GEHA health insurance. They covered almost all of my sons extractions because they were IMPACTED. Get the billing codes from your dentist. Call insurance company give them the billing codes and see if any part is covered. I think when the teeth are impacted it is more a medical issue than a dental issue.

 

[LauraR]

Called a different oral surgeon today and they called my insurance to see what was covered. Same answer---nothing! Their fees are even higher than the first oral surgeon: $178 for erupted wisdom teeth, up to $398 for impacted. I think this is a pretty expensive area as far as medical/dental. Anyway, I plan to call the medical side of our insurance next week when we get back from WDW and also look into providers the Dental Network that was recommended to me. It looks like family coverage would cost $360 a year, and if we could get more coverage for all our other dental needs as well, it will be more than worthwhile. It would be nice if we could get the wisdom teeth out of the way for both boys over the summer.

Several of you have mentioned dental schools, and we do have one fairly close ( U of MD in Baltimore). Unfortunately, they have very particular times and availability. My mom tried to get some periodontal work done there and was on a waiting list for a long time. Also I let my cousin who was in dental hygiene school use both boys as guinea pigs on many occasions, so I feel bad putting them through that again! Good suggestion, though. It is time consuming, but you get very good care.

Anyway, I am now going to go into Disney mode and forgetting about teeth for the next week. Thanks to everyone for your input!

 

[lisajl]

Our youngest son...read that...Hooray the last one...will be $2195 for wisdom teeth. Luckily we have dental insurance and it will cover 85% even though our oral surgeon is not in network. Well, they will pay 85% of reasonable costs.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow! This sounds awful. When I had mine pulled, all 4 were impacted so my dental & medical covered it. My oral surgeon was paid by both so the excess was refunded to me. It was done in Oct that year and right before Christmas I got a check in the mail for around $400!

Granted, this was around 20 yrs ago but I'm still at same employer (lg teaching hospital) with good medical & dental coverage.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Come to think of it my workplace doesn't cover any vision but when I had a health issues with my eye (corneal infiltrates at one point, then an allergic reaction to my contacts) I had some coverage on both. My insurance covered the first issue completely and then the drops I needed for the reaction but did not cover new contacts. Hopefully the medical side of your insurance is the same way.