On Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:17:49 -0400, Tim Cook wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> (Yes, I believe I've correctly recognised your sarcasm. ;-) )
> 
> *Spock-like* Indeed.
> 
> I don't have insurance, the only doctor bills I've paid since moving to
> Florida have been dentist, and those were out-of-pocket
> (metaphorically).  ^_^
> 
> Side-note, it's really impressive how much dental medicine has advanced
> over the years, even since when I was a wee lad ('course, the first
> dentist I had growing up used equipment from the '60s, and when he
> retired the new dentist had significantly more modern gear, but when I
> moved to FL, the dentist I ended up going to has pretty much the latest
> and greatest, so I was impressed)

It's funny you mention that, because the situation I sorta described in 
my reply two above is one I've run into - my main dentist referred me to 
a periodontist for cleaning because my gums were in really bad shape.  
I've been to the periodontist 4 times and had to pay it all out of 
pocket.  Why?  Because my plan doesn't cover periodontal care unless I've 
had periodontal *surgery* first.  In other words, I have to have let my 
gums get *so* bad that it required surgery (which they would cover), and 
then they'd also let the periodontist do my cleanings.

Of course my regular dentist didn't know that Aetna had this precondition 
on getting periodontal care.  I've spent the better part of a year 
fighting with them about whether or not it should be covered, and it's 
like talking to a brick wall.  The specialists at Aetna seem to think 
that it'd be better for me to have things deteriorate further before they 
should have to pay out for coverage.  Never mind the fact that the 
cleanings are $114 each visit and surgery would cost a LOT more than 
that, so they'd end up paying out more if I did have surgery.

And some people think this is the best system in the world.

Jim

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