Trying to get reimbursed for dental care, failing

Post date: 2018-12-18 04:19:25

I had a dental procedure a few months ago and paid out of pocket, hoping I'd be reimbursed. The dentist's office says they submitted the claim several times. The insurance company says they have never received any claims from them. Now what?

For starters, I am bad at dealing with insurance companies and such so I'm the jerk who is more likely to just pay for stuff so I don't have to deal with it. But this is annoying and was expensive so here we are.

In July, I had an in-office surgical procedure at the periodontist's office (gum graft). A few weeks earlier, I had visited the periodontist for the consult and they said, your dental insurance covers X for the year, minus today's visit which cost Y, minus the cost of the surgery which will be Z. I knew that the surgery and my regular dentist appointments would mean I would end up paying more than usual out of pocket for the year but okay, game on. Since my dental insurance sucked, I always paid out of pocket and got reimbursed so that's what I did for surgery.

Well, that was in July. I've been to the periodontist for follow up so I've asked them in person and on the phone if they've submitted the claim. They said they've submitted it multiple times. However, dental insurance says they've never received a claim. I asked the periodontist if I could have a copy of the claim to submit myself. They said that everything is done electronically so they can't print it out and hand it to me. Meanwhile, I've changed insurance so I'm concerned it is going to be harder to take care of this if we don't deal with it in the near future.

I'm sorry for asking a lame question but this is one of those adulting things I am not great at. So what do I do next? Years ago, my husband mailed a claim himself and then when insurance said they didn't receive it, he was like, I sent it certified mail, J. Buzz Killington signed for it at 2:19 p.m., maybe ask him. Should I fill out the form and submit it myself? Why is everything hard? I don't even know whether I should be annoyed at the dentist or the insurance company or Society. Thanks for your help!

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