What are the chances my dentist will sue me for a bill of $200?

Question

I just asked this quesiton...but I add in some details.

It's not really my fault. I was covered by insurance and now they said I am not covered by the insurance.

And also, I think it should be damn dentist's responsibility to make sure if you are covered.

It's not like I ditched. Because I paid the portion was that supposedly uncovered by insurance. But now my dentist is calling me saying I ain't insured.

Answer 1

Tell your dentist that you really want to pay the bill and that you are lying awake in bed late at night worrying about it. Tell him you did not anticipate this and have been caught unawares. Let him know that you will do everything you can to send money as soon as you have some to send, and then send maybe $20-30 every so often. What a great place to get an interest-free loan, the First National Dentist Bank.

Sometimes dentists will let things slide. I had a friend who was a lawyer and he said about half of the work he did was pro bono for people who could not afford to pay.

Answer 2

Dental procedures are usually not covered by regular health insurance. A lot of people don't have dental insurance even though they have regular health insurance, so the dentist doesn't care whether you're insured or not.

If the dentist does not receive the full payment for services rendered, the office will contact you and it is up to you to contact your insurance company.

Your next move is to talk to the insurance company before the dentist submits your bill to a collection agency, which would help ruin your credit. They won't sue, because that would cost more for lawyer fees than the $200 you owe.

Answer 3

It would cost them way more to pay for court costs/attorney fees and $200.00 would not be worth it to them to sue you. However, this might reflect on your credit so you need to get the situation controlled.

Talk with your insurance company and find out what the problem is. If you recently had to get a new insurance card or something, sometimes they take 1-2 months to get everything settled right and in the meantime you can get mass amounts of mail and paperwork from your insurance co. as well as bills and threats from your doctors... Just make sure you were covered at the time of service and let your insurance company know they need to contact your dentist because they are not getting all of their information. Should not be a problem for too much longer, however if you were NOT insured at the time of service, you will have to pay.

Answer 4

Technically it's your responsibility to know if your insurance will cover your bill. The Doctor's office has every right to transfer any balance to your responsibility.I know it sucks, but if the insurance company tells the Dr's office that it's your responsibility, then you can't get out of it. Most offices will send you to a collections agency if you don't pay, which will hurt your credit rating/score.

Get a copy of the bill and call your insurance company to verify that the balance is your responsibility first, don't just ignore the bill.

The best thing to do if you can't afford to pay the bill in full, is to ask if you can go on a payment plan, and pay off a smaller amount each month (such as $25/month untill you pay off the balance). Every medical office I've ever worked with has had that option.

Answer 5

It is not your dentists responsibility to make sure you are covered. You fill out paperwork before being seen and if you don't read every document you signed, then it is your own fault. You need to hash it out with your insurance company. Dr's and Dentists send the paperwork into insurance as a courtesy to you. The Dentist is in no way responsible, you are. To answer your question, your denist won't sue you, they will however send it to a collection agency which is FAR worse than being sued. Pay up and then work it out with your insurance carrier. If you were indeed covered, then they will pay you back.

Answer 6

Probably not worth his time or cost to sue you, but a collection company will hassle the hell out of you. If it gets reported to a credit agency, you will have a problem later. Start sending the dentist office $10 or $20 whenever you can until it is paid off. You'll never notice it, and it'll save you problems later.
Good luck........

Answer 7

They would more than likely report it to the credit bureau's and damage your credit rating. i suggest you send them $5 a week or month. That is showing you have intent to pay your bill. Then If you think your insurance denied rightful benefits, sue them, but good luck they have great lawyers.

Answer 8

Pay it, it's really not worth "dinging" your credit, and if somebody did a good job pay the man/woman and take it up with your insurance carrier or get better insurance

Answer 9

this happens alot call your insurance company and see where you stand with them and if you have insurance cards make copies of them and keep on top of the insurance for some times they are back logged with new enrollements and yes your denisit can sue and refuse to see you.

Answer 10

yes they can sue you.
you in turn may also have a case against your insurance carrier

as far as the amount goes, a friend of mine had a collector come after him for 25 cents. so just to piss them off he paid it in monthly increments of 1 penny.