There is a problem with having, getting, and using medical insurance in this country. We all know it, it sucks, and for many of us is a constant headache. While I have waged my battles with medical insurance agencies, I find myself mostly enraged these days with dental insurance.
You see, I found myself married to a wonderful man, who because of living in severe poverty for most of his life, now has extreme dental issues. One could blame him for these issues, but you try paying for dental care when you have three other siblings and your mother only gets $470 every two weeks.
Now we find ourselves facing the need to get almost $10,000 worth of work done to his mouth. He needs many, many cavities filled, a few root canals, and braces. The insurance that we have is actually good compared to many other people. The majority of my friends (my husband and I are both in the 25-30 age bracket) don't have dental insurance at all, and make do with yearly cleanings, which they pay out of their own pocket. Goodness help them if they have an issue. My husband and I get 100% coverage on cleanings and an 80%/20% on all other procedures. The killer is that we only get a total of $1000 payout from the insurance company each year.
So, now we find ourselves in a quandry. Do we get all the work done upfront, with the insurance company only kicking in $1000? Do we wait, get things done little by little and run the risk of potentially permanent lasting damage (read: falling out, needing dentures) occuring to his teeth? His teeth healthcare habits have blossomed under my care, he now uses two swishes, floss, and perscription toothpaste. He is so good about doing his routines everyday. He is trying to better himself, and it pains me that we can't afford the fix. We aren't rich, I am in graduate school, and he is working 40hrs per week, but not getting paid nearly enough as he should. We don't have extra money to pay for large dental procedures.
No one ever speaks out about dental insurance, although I have heard horror stories about money spent. This website illustrates some of the stats regarding this issue http://drc.nidcr.nih.gov/...
Perhaps when we are thinking (and hopefully someday compiling) a national healthcare system, we also think about our teeth.