Dental Insurance SUCKS!

Up to this point, all of my dental work has been paid out of pocket, whether that pocket be mine or Mike's (I got stuck with the $900 onlay bill a few short hours after going shopping for my birthday dress). As far as oral surgery goes, I knew I would have to go through my insurance because if not, it would tack a good $10,000 to the overall bill (that's a general estimate, I never really got a quote). When I was in the ortho's office for my conference, they sent out films to the surgeon they recommended and handed me with a note and films for the surgeon the handsome dentist recommended. Ideally, I wanted to make an appointment with the guy the handsome dentist offered since he's in town and the ortho's guy is in Wellsley (a good 20 or so minutes away). 

That all being said, neither surgeon is covered by my insurance. In the state of Massachusetts, it is required by law that all residents of the state have health insurance. I've been freelancing basically my entire adult life thus have nowhere to turn to since Mike changed his insurance when he quit his job to open the store (I was his domestic partner on his plan - luckily MA is a progressive state when it comes to such relationships). I applied for the insurance offered by the state way before this insurance law went into effect (I wonder how they keep track of who doesn't have insurance and what the consequences are). My tax return for the prior year boasted a pathetic income (I only earned less than 6 months of taxable income) and I qualified for health insurance that is a step above welfare insurance. 

With the Commonwealth Connector plan, my premium is $0 and I pay $5 for doctors visits within the network. Of the 4 health plans to choose from, I took Network Health because it had dental within the plan when the other plans did not. I also ironically assisted with styling and production for a promotional ad campaign for them last year. Up until now, my only effort to deal with the dental portion of the plan was a frustrating call that was computerized, asked me what my zip is and responded with 3 listings at a practice on the other side of the neighborhood. Needless to say, they never answered or returned my phone call. I deemed them - Durrell - useless.

Now armed with the names of 2 oral surgeons, I refer to the network book mailed to me in spring 2007 (which is terribly off, btw). One surgeon (the ortho's guy) was listed with a practice at Beth Israel. I called his Wellsley office that I was referred to, asked if they accepted my insurance (no), and inquired about the doctor's status at BIDMC. Apparently, he hasn't practiced there in a while. All I could think is I'm screwed. 

Here begins many calls to Durrell, which must operate it's call center from an old age home, because I did not speak to anyone who sounded remotely young. The information that I got, like the automated system that turned me off in the first place, were doctors names and phone numbers. Two were listed for Boston and the third mentioned was in Somerville, at which point I told the guy to just stop. I hung up. Then I called back, realizing that it would be nice to know exactly where in Boston these people practiced, seeing that this can be a big town. No first names, just addresses - one out of BU, the other in the South End. Whatevs, guess I'll have to do more leg work.