Micah: as someone who has spent immense sums fixing my teeth even with dental insurance, anything we can do to move them out of the luxury bones category is a welcome development

as someone who has spent immense sums fixing my teeth even with dental insurance, anything we can do to move them out of the luxury bones category is a welcome development

Our dental insurance has a $1k/per year max which is oh so very helpful when something actually goes wrong, supposedly the entire point of insurance.

dental insurance is just completely backwards bree tbh

So much!!! And since Mr. Bree is a teacher we have somewhat reasonable health insurance, but man I guess teachers don't need teeth??

yeah when i looked at the cost of getting dental insurance via ACA marketplace, the cost per year was more than just paying for 2x dentist appointments/year, and the maxes they'll pay are so low that it felt like buying it was a scam

Yep, just had a root canal on Monday & my max is now blown 😫

I've spent months fighting our dental insurance over paying for sedation for my son's dental surgery. I won! Only to be told he had reached his $1600 per year max. $1k per year in this house would be laughably useless. We all have terrible teeth.

absolutely agree. Why is dental insurance separate anyway?? Our teeth aren’t part of our bodies? still laughing at ~ l u x u r y b o n e s ~

i stfg lexa why isnt dental and vision care all part of the deal

it makes me so angry! our bodies are not like tv services, thank you

Especially since bad teeth are bad for you generally!

Add "mental" to make it a whole package for actual people, right?

darth I haven't seen a dentist in over a decade and it makes me so mad and concerned

ADA opposed its inclusion during negotiation of the 1965 Social Security Amendments. They have stymied efforts since to include it legislatively under such bills as the the ACA and the 2021 Medicaid expansion. Vision coverage was not deemed essential in 1965 so has historically been excluded.

Private insurance follows this model. I hate that I have to submit two claims for Vision/Dental under the federal employee plan: primary medical pays very little or denies it so the secondary insurance can then handle the claim. Many providers in our area won't even handle the two-insurance format.

The ADA and the AMA are different lobbying organizations, with different clout.

unfortunately. it’s just ridiculous the whole structure is set up the way it is. we should just help take care of people so our communities are healthy not bc who holds more political weight or capital

Well, yeah, that’s a moral and ethical argument. Practically political practical is different

Why are teeth and eyes luxury items?

Because workers can work without teeth or glasses.

Adding on, because there is a historical reason. Doctors and surgeons in Europe used to be separate, doctors were much more prestigious. With autopsies destigmatized in the 19th cent, doctors took over most surgeries, but tooth disease were so common and the solution so quick (just yank the tooth)….

that educated doctors didn’t want to deal with them. If you needed a tooth out a burly guy just pulled. Over time dentistry got more sophisticated but the distinction stayed. Eye care is a similar split—the first eye specialists were lensmakers, who specialized in grinding glass, not medicine.

☝🏻

Why the health of our biggest hole isn't more important than the rest of our health is beyond me. We all got one, they all need attention.

The American Dental Association successfully lobbied to make dental care separate from healthcare.

> our biggest hole Speak for yourself!

I’m pretty sure my dentist’s yacht is named after me, but yeah, getting teeth (and eyes!) to stop being in the Optional Bonus Health category would be great

C’mon, who really uses their teeth and eyes?

I have a broken tooth and I toughed my way through the pain because it's AT LEAST $500 out of pocket WITH INSURANCE to fix.

My cleanings cost me at least $100 after insurance.

As others have pointed out we need like five kinds of head insurance -- basic physical stuff -- mental stuff -- ear stuff -- eye stuff -- death stuff Obamacare grouped some basic levels of the first two together.

* teeth stuff. not sure where death stuff came from!

But also that! Currently nursing home coverage, palliative care, memory care and hospice are “first go completely broke and THEN we’ll see about finding a hole to stuff you in.” Enough to make you want to … die.

hearing is so important too, to both physical and mental health

and there's some research pointing out how bad dental health harms other parts of health. Here's some physical health stuff, but if your teeth hurt you're neither focusing nor comfortable www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-life...

What about mouth stuff

not falling for your trap!!

* teeth stuff. not sure where death stuff came from!

I feel like death stuff is still important insurance

A large number of people die without the means to pay for basic funeral services. Probably averages out to about $2 a week, not counting interest.

it wasn’t that long ago that tooth decay was the leading cause of death for people who survived childhood

I recently got a letter that due to my insurance changing, I won't be able go to the Dentist I've seen for 10 years any more, at least not as the same discount level. So uh, yeah. F insurance companies. Get'em out of here.

Yep, my husband is going to lose the dentist we've been seeing for almost 20 years because they're not going to take our insurance anymore.

As someone presented with the choice of fixing his teeth or paying for IVF, it would be nice to not have to deal with things actively rotting in my skull.

I filmed a talk with a dentist who talked about all the tricks you can use to bill to medical insurance instead of useless dental insurance.

No kidding. I have a medical issue that causes dental problems. I have spent a small fortune on my teeth even with dental insurance and my medical refuses to cover the issues despite it being a systemic problem.

same. Had to spend $1400 out of pocket on my fourth root canal last year.

That would be wonderful. Dental insurance is largely purchased by people who need it or as a corporate benefit, which means it's expensive and limited. A mandate would be really helpful.

two years ago i spent like $9k on wisdom teeth extraction that had bad complications and i got quoted $20k last year to correct the issue which i couldn’t afford to do. dental insurance said they could knock off $2k from negotiated price and cover $1k which i couldn’t/can’t afford still

Do you *really* need 32? Seems excessive.

me: [group plan since 2009, goes to aca dental for 2024] mr p: [needs a crown] delta: oh, we don’t cover those until you’ve had continuous coverage for 12+ months me: how ‘bout 14y w seamless coverage? dd: well, how would we know that. prove it. me: how? dd: get a letter from us saying you had it.

they covered it after i called the same number, they emailed me the letter, & i forwarded it back to them. comparing the cost of premiums + coverage maximums w our expected usage plus 1 big dental event per year, i’m not sure if i’ll continue with dental coverage.

Post