In any case, I don’t think Delta was at fault. Your dentist is supposed to know what Delta does and doesn’t cover, and he’s supposed to let you know when there is a coverage issue. If there are multiple possible treatments with different coverage levels, he’s supposed to discuss them with you before proceeding with treatment.

This has happened to us on multiple occasions with our kids’ dental treatments, i.e., the dentist has let us know that something he thought was the right thing to do would be covered at a lower rate by Delta. In each case, he discussed the alternatives with us and explained why he felt the treatment he was recommending was appropriate, and we had him proceed with the treatment he was suggesting despite the reduced coverage from Delta.

If your dentist didn’t do that with you, then I certainly hope you complained to him about it. If you did, and you didn’t get the impression that he was receptive to your complaint, you might want to find another dentist, because it’s bound to happen again.

Note that what you’re describing is different from what happened to my wife with Simon. Your dentist didn’t over-bill you for a service that he had previously agreed with Delta to charge less for. He performed a different service than the one Delta felt was necessary for the condition being treated. In that context, Delta only pays for what they feel was the necessary service.

Note that Delta Dental has a specific policy about resin fillings which is probably what caused your problem. Your dentist certainly should have told you in advance if that was going to happen.

If that’s not what happened, then you might consider appealing Delta’s coverage decision, if you can get your dentist’s cooperation in making a case to Delta that the treatment he chose was necessary and appropriate.

How the hell are we supposed to know what dental procedures are covered by our insurance? Or even what dental procedures need to be done in any particular situation? It’s ridiculous…. I’m mad at both Tufts for refusing to pay for what seemed like a routine procedure, and the dentist for not letting us know that Delta might not cover it (and there’s NO WAY they don’t know… Delta is far and away the most common dental insurance around here, and the dentist is the one that sends the bills letting patients know their insurance didn’t cover something).

As a reader of other sites, I have a responsibility to research what I read on your site on my own. There are cases where someone has some weird motive (it could be totally unrelated to the product).

Anyways… People will agree and disagree. Some will believe things that are not true, and some will never believe something that is true. Some will try to prove things just like you are doing. However, actually having a controlled test is very meaningful and I applaud your efforts.

I think you are making more a difference to the environment than the magnets ever will. I actually think I will use less laundry detergent next time I do my laundry. I appreciate that advice a lot. I also enjoy your blog. It was good reading.

Apparently, magnets also cure headaches, they improve gas mileage, I am trying to think of some others. They probably clean or water. I have heard stuff like you can get power from them (to charge stuff, maybe actually be true). Anyways… I love magnets… but without doing real tests that have real results… it is all a bunch of … as George Bush would say… fuzzy Math (I never voted for him, by the way).

= )

I had 6 recruiters call me, all saying the same thing about finding my resume, all telling me to explain to them what I do, all wasting my time since I never heard from them after the initial call. That’s about 4-5 hours of my life wasted.

On the 7th, before they even began their speel, I told them never to call me again. Which was fine until today, when they decided to “proactively” call me because they opened a new office.

Sheesh, fuck off already. Go away, Oxford.

I had never heard of Madhatter Magic Shop before today. But now, thanks to the power of the internet, I have. And because the whole setup is so funny, I’ll probably pass this link on to some of my friends, too…