Re: how much did you pay for insurance

[Guest guest]

First and major thing: Do not lie to your surgeon, nor to your

insurance company. To do so is fraud, and is illegal.

What my surgeon told me was not to lie about any of it, but to think

carefully about what my experiences had been and tell him truthfully.

Did I have headaches, well, yes, I did. Did I have really damaging

tooth wear and periodontal disease that threatened my teeth? Yes Had

I had pain from those? Yes. Was I grinding? (I didn't know about that

one, wasn't aware of it. But he took a look into my mouth and

said, " Either you've been grinding or you've been chewing betel nuts,

from the look of those teeth! " ) Had my jaws been aching? Yes.

So, I filled in his form carefully.

If you have a surgeon already, he may be able to offer you some

suggestions. Most of these companies have policies and programs that

are specific to the region in which they are issued. Blue Cross of

Alabama, which I had, gave me most excellent coverage. He later told

me that Blue Cross of Florida (we are near the Florida panhandle)

wanted to cover it only to an extent that was so miserly that he

couldn't do the surgery for the price they wanted to pay. Go figure.

Mine was regular group coverage, and nowhere near that expensive.

Call the surgeon's office and ask if they have a person who deals

with insurance companies. You may get some good suggestions there, if

your surgeon can't (or won't) tell you himself.

If your surgeon is unhelpful, honestly, I would at least ask for a

consult (for which you may have to pay) with another who had been

highly recommended.

Good wishes. Insurance wrangles can be tough.

What my guy eventually told them, which was quite true, was that I

had a skeletal, congenital deformity he was repairing, that my lower

jaw was never long enough to go with my upper. He added about 5 mm.,

and moved things sideways, and after a bit of tweaking by my ortho --

presto! They worked!

Cammie