Payment FAQ
Payment FAQ
At Cove Dental Center, we are happy to help you and your family to maximize your dental insurance benefits. With this in mind, please read the information listed below that explains the insurance claims process.
We are always
Glad to help
Still can’t find your answer?
Call our office at (256) 880-7992
Do you accept my insurance? How much will they pay?
We accept most private insurance plans and currently work cooperatively with hundreds of companies. We try to maintain computerized records of payment given by each company. However, they do change periodically, making it difficult to give you a guaranteed quote at the time of your service. Our staff will estimate your co-pay based on the most current information we have, but please remember that this is an estimate.
I thought I paid my co-pay at my appointment, but I received a bill. Why?
As mentioned before, we will give you an estimate of your co-pay based on our current date. However, many different factors can alter this estimate. Examples include the following: there may be a deductible in your dental plan, you may have already received services at another office prior to coming to our office, or your plan might have changed since the date of your last visit. Private insurance companies do not inform us of any changes to your benefits. We do, however, work diligently to know your benefits and keep records of them.
My insurance did not pay anything towards my bill. Why?
We bill your insurance company as a courtesy to you as our patient. Usually, dental insurance is a contract between the employer of the patient and the patient himself/herself. Cove Dental Center is not a part of that contract. The extent of a patient’s coverage varies greatly from company to company. There are even times when coverage can vary within a company. It has absolutely nothing to do with the service that we provide or the fee charged for these services. The term “UCR” is one typically used by insurance companies and often misunderstood by policy holders. This term describes an arbitrary fee ceiling at which the insurance company will stop reimbursement for services provided. Many of these fee ceilings were set 10-15 years ago. After this fee ceiling has been reached, ceiling coverage for a particular procedure may cease. This means that the patient will have an extra portion of payment. Sometimes, despite our best efforts at giving our patients an accurate estimate, they will still occasionally owe a portion not covered by their insurance company. This has nothing to do with the fee charged, but it actually involves the level of coverage negotiated by the insurance company with your employer.
Financial Policy
At Cove Dental Center, we request payment for your portion at the time of the service. We accept many different payment methods because our goal is for you and your family to receive excellent care and service. Please feel free to contact our office at 256-880-7992 if you have any further questions regarding our financial policy.
