I can’t claim credit for this analogy, but it’s a pretty good one, so I thought I’d follow up my last post on dental insurance, what it covers and what it doesn’t, with this example of how crazy it can be.
Imagine you are the manager of a Target Store. And in that Target, you have 600 items you sell. Everyone who comes into your Target on any given day has a different price they are supposed to pay for these 600 items. For many of these items, neither you nor the customer know the exact price, and the company with whom you have contracted these reduced fees for the customer won’t divulge the information, so you have to guess. Not that this isn’t already tough enough, but each of these customers has an Uncle who is going to pick up a portion of the elusive price, and it is your job as the manager to know exactly what portion the uncle is paying — assuming he will not deny it saying that they didn’t really need it!! Furthermore, you are supposed to know exactly where that uncle lives, and bill the uncle for the share he is going to pay. On top of this, the customer expects you to get it exactly right, every time, or they get upset.
And THAT, folks, is what it’s like dealing with dental insurance from the dental office side. 😉
