I took my son to get a filling. Now I haven't lived in Quebec very long, so I'm not really used to how they do things here. All I know is that when I signed up for a health card (provincial health insurance), they told me that children under the age of 10 were entitled to free dental care. GREAT! My kids are 6 and 8. So we had an extraction done (baby tooth that was being stubborn and in turn, was causing the other teeth to grow in crooked around it). No charge for that. A month later, I took my son in for a cleaning and was charged $60. I questioned the charge and they said that because it was preventative, I had to pay.
This lead me to believe that preventative maintenance wasn't covered, but that repair WAS. So today I took him in to get a filling. $212!!!!! That was WAYYYY more than I had available (I just got paid, but I paid some bills, repaid my ex-husband some money I had borrowed, and paid part of my rent, so I was left with just enough for a few groceries). I said "why isn't this covered under the provincial insurance?" This is where the kicker comes in. On my THIRD visit to this dentist's office, the receptionist FINALLY reveals to me,
"Oh, we don't accept provincial health insurance. We take cash, debit, credit, or you can submit to your private insurance." WHAT???? How can you not TAKE the provincial health insurance????? Apparently, medical and dental professionals in the province of Quebec are entitled to opt OUT of the provincial health coverage scheme. But they DON'T have to tell you up-front about it! I do NOT make that kind of money, lady, and I can't afford $212 a shot for fillings, nor can I afford to take my daughter to have her teeth cleaned now. I had two other appointments to have fillings done (he needed 3), and had to cancel them.
So I said to her, "Do you think, maybe, that's something you should mention to your patients the FIRST time they come in? I don't have that kind of money, and I have no idea how I'm going to pay you." So as she's telling me that they can arrange for me to come in tomorrow or later this week, I'm totally tearing up and freaking out. I paid about half, and got out of there as quickly as I could.
But am I wrong? Should they not be entirely up-front about that sort of thing? I'm so frigging steamed and embarassed right now that I just want to hide. I need to go back tomorrow to pay the remainder too. My dilemma is that this is a fantastic dentist who is very gentle and good with kids. This subterfuge about the insurance worries me though. I mean, it's not a huge problem... my ex-husband has private insurance that covers the children, but it worries me that they hide this stuff. Was I sucky?
This lead me to believe that preventative maintenance wasn't covered, but that repair WAS. So today I took him in to get a filling. $212!!!!! That was WAYYYY more than I had available (I just got paid, but I paid some bills, repaid my ex-husband some money I had borrowed, and paid part of my rent, so I was left with just enough for a few groceries). I said "why isn't this covered under the provincial insurance?" This is where the kicker comes in. On my THIRD visit to this dentist's office, the receptionist FINALLY reveals to me,
"Oh, we don't accept provincial health insurance. We take cash, debit, credit, or you can submit to your private insurance." WHAT???? How can you not TAKE the provincial health insurance????? Apparently, medical and dental professionals in the province of Quebec are entitled to opt OUT of the provincial health coverage scheme. But they DON'T have to tell you up-front about it! I do NOT make that kind of money, lady, and I can't afford $212 a shot for fillings, nor can I afford to take my daughter to have her teeth cleaned now. I had two other appointments to have fillings done (he needed 3), and had to cancel them.
So I said to her, "Do you think, maybe, that's something you should mention to your patients the FIRST time they come in? I don't have that kind of money, and I have no idea how I'm going to pay you." So as she's telling me that they can arrange for me to come in tomorrow or later this week, I'm totally tearing up and freaking out. I paid about half, and got out of there as quickly as I could.
But am I wrong? Should they not be entirely up-front about that sort of thing? I'm so frigging steamed and embarassed right now that I just want to hide. I need to go back tomorrow to pay the remainder too. My dilemma is that this is a fantastic dentist who is very gentle and good with kids. This subterfuge about the insurance worries me though. I mean, it's not a huge problem... my ex-husband has private insurance that covers the children, but it worries me that they hide this stuff. Was I sucky?
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