hmo's

Dear valued patient, or prospective new patient:

In an attempt to control health care costs, more companies are opting for dental HMO's or PPOs. This is regrettable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that dental care accounts for only five percent of the health care dollar. Additionally, dentistry has been exemplary in controlling fee increases. With the exception of costs for new federally-mandated infection controls, dental fees have increased at a rate no greater than general inflation.

A number of you will be advised (or coerced) to accept dental HMO/PPO plans at your work. Please understand that these programs have only one goal—cost containment without regard to quality. Dental office overhead is generally in the 60-65% range. It is, therefore, not possible for a dentist to truly reduce fees by 25% to 30% and still maintain quality. (If the dentist is not quality-oriented, there are numerous cost containment policies that can be instituted that result in a compromised result.) My personal philosophy is that I cannot, in good conscience, practice two levels of dentistry, one of quality care for the conventional patient and the other a sub-par service for the HMO/PPO patient. It is for this reason that I can neither endorse nor join a dental HMO/PPO.

Still, we understand that some of you will have no choice but to change dentists. We will help with your transition in every way. We will also, at no charge to you, assist you in evaluating the appropriateness and quality of any service you receive, or are advised to receive. It has been our experience that patients who are forced to leave our practice for an HMO/PPO office will return to us if at all possible. In fact, you will always be welcome to return to us.

Even the conventional dental insurance programs are becoming more deficient. In fact, the benefits which a patient enjoyed a decade or so ago are often no longer available. It seems that paying for quality oral health care is going to be increasingly the dental patient’s responsibility. Our way to help you achieve quality care in the absence of quality insurance is to provide our credit-worthy patients with no interest monthly payments which can be extended over a period of time. In closing, I would like to thank you for the confidence you express in us when you refer your family and friends to us. We greatly appreciate these referrals and we will always strive to give them the best care possible.