Insurances

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Just was wondering if this seems to be the norm for co pays.
I used to work for a company that had around 100 employees since August 2001. I got the job immediately after graduating from college. I was with them till Oct 2011. The CEO was Korean too. Anyways the co pays were great I thought!

$15 to see any doctor whether primary, dermatologist, urologist, but in network only

no charge generics. Regular medications can range from $30-$45.

Dental was good too.
100% coverage for regular cleaning and those bite wing x rays.
Fillings, crowns, root canals, were 80% coverage



Now I work for a company that has thousands of employees and it's world wide. I won't say the name since I may make people on here upset if they do work for them. But I'm not fond of this company at all!

Co pays

$30 to see a primary care ??! That is expensive! I have a friend who is same age as me, is on disability since she has a mental illness, and she too pays $30 to see a primary doctor! But she's unemployed! She has Kaiser.

I pay $50 to see a specialist! WHAT??

Ok generics are $10, but regular meds are like $35. I also have the option to do mail order. So I'm on Nexium for the acid reflux, so I get a 3 month supply for $60.

Dental. Now I picked the basic plan.
100% coverage for regular cleaning and those bite wing x rays.

Now here is the part that I am scared of.
Fillings, crowns, root canals, ONLY 50% coverage.

Now if I picked the standard plan, that coverage goes up to 70%
Enhanced is 90%

Did any of you had fillings or root canal? Is it painful??? I remember having fillings done in the 1990s but it was way different back then.

I just wonder for those of you overseas like UK, or Canada, I'm sure your insurance is way better than ours. Or maybe the co pays and costs depends on the state? I'm in Northern VA and I know the county I live in is the 2nd wealthiest county in the US. Not sure if that matters? Cost of living here is so high! I don't make much money at this job, but compared from small company to now, the new company gave me a higher salary. I'm a Fed Gov contractor working in DC.


Also I understand that with some medical plans, if you are over the age of 25 you can be covered under your parents plan.

Here is what I found in my current company's handbook

If your covered child becomes disabled before he or she turns age 26,
is unable to be self-supporting, and relies primarily on you for
financial support, you may continue to cover your child as long as
you verify his or her disability when required.

For instance I know someone who is 34 but is unemployed, but has borderline personality disorder. She couldn't be alone due to her actually doing physically harm to herself. Now if only her dad's company can cover for her, then she would be ok. She has no dental coverage! She is on disability but doesn't get much per month. She does have a college degree and we went to same college and have same degrees.

I just wonder if autism would cover. Some can live alone, some can't.

I can't really say. I put a similar post on here because I've heard stories before of autistic people having to pay a lot more for insurance itself. I have one friend who says his payments are about 5 times as much as they would've been if he hadn't been diagnosed. It disgusts me that, especially considering he doesn't need meds or use therapy or anything else health companies might have to pay more for, it's pretty much an acceptable form of discrimination. Hearing that stopped me from going to get an official diagnosis- I can't afford to pay that much.

It really makes me wish I lived in Europe. Free health care, schools that actually teach kids, science being accepted rather than fought against, open-minded people... it sounds like freedom!

As to fillings and root canals, I got several fillings and a root canal done just a few months ago (right after I obtained said-health coverage, after years of not having any.) They numbed my face up pretty well, so I didn't feel anything. I'd had fillings as a kid and I remember I always hated the sound of the machine they use. It sounds like a whiny, whirring drill... but that was the worst part. The sound still irritates me today, but there isn't any actual pain that lingers after I leave the office. As to the root canal, I was worried it would be a lot worse than it was. Either they were nightmares back in the 60's and 70's, or my mother played up how bad they were in order to scare me into brushing my teeth as a kid. Regardless, they numbed my face up again and I actually think I preferred it to my fillings! (Because it didn't have the whirring machine sound, haha.) Again, no lingering pain. The only times I had lingering pain were the times I got wisdom teeth pulled... but even that wasn't so bad.

Oh, by the way, since you mentioned where you live, I live in south Florida. The friend in question lives in Broward county, which compared to the region, is a relatively wealthy area (though the county just north of it is even wealthier.)

I thought root canals are usually done in people much older, but that's not the case. I can understand that drilling sound when they clean teeth and do other procedures. It is kinda annoying. When they numb you with whatever did it hurt? Will I be walking around the office looking like a chipmunk? I had 2 of my wisdom teeth removed 10 or so years ago. They were impacted so I was put to sleep. It was somewhat painful for few days, but the Oxycodone helped the pain. It also itched for a while too. I did look like a chipmunk for a while after wisdom teeth were out. I never worn braces. I do have sensitive teeth too. Maybe I can bring my IPOD nano to the office to drain out the sound? Or maybe they can give me laughing gas? I never had that laughing gas, but can we drive? Or is it that strong that it will sedate us after the procedure? When you had your root canals done, were you able to go to school or work?

I have Delta Dental through my work. I have always had some type of insurance either under dad (military) or through my job. I have United Healthcare as medical. VSP for vision, and Medco for pharmacy.

[quote="luvsterriers"]I thought root canals are usually done in people much older, but that's not the case. I can understand that drilling sound when they clean teeth and do other procedures. It is kinda annoying. When they numb you with whatever did it hurt? Will I be walking around the office looking like a chipmunk? I had 2 of my wisdom teeth removed 10 or so years ago. They were impacted so I was put to sleep. It was somewhat painful for few days, but the Oxycodone helped the pain. It also itched for a while too. I did look like a chipmunk for a while after wisdom teeth were out. I never worn braces. I do have sensitive teeth too. Maybe I can bring my IPOD nano to the office to drain out the sound? Or maybe they can give me laughing gas? I never had that laughing gas, but can we drive? Or is it that strong that it will sedate us after the procedure? When you had your root canals done, were you able to go to school or work?

I have Delta Dental through my work. I have always had some type of insurance either under dad (military) or through my job. I have United Healthcare as medical.

I had a cousin that got root canals when he was two! (He had very poor dental hygiene, as you can guess.) It's not related to your age, but to how bad your tooth has decayed. When it's just a cavity, they can fill it. If the cavity extends to the soft inside of your tooth, however, it can't just be filled and then requires a root canal. A root canal is when they have to remove the soft inside that has nerve endings and fill the whole tooth. It's usually followed up at a later date with a crown placement (a crown being the bumpy top that makes it look like a natural tooth.)

They first numbed it with a topical anesthetic that tasted kinda like banana (but also really medicine-y, blech.) They then used a needle to inject a local anesthetic. They did it in steps since if they did it all at once, my face would've felt like burning (it didn't happen. They just explained the reasons for everything to me. It was great.) So I felt a slight prick with the first needle (not painful, just the pressure.) I didn't feel anything for the others, nor for the procedure itself. No need for laughing gas, no need for putting me under, etc. No meds after it was done, either.

I looked normal afterwards, too. Extractions may make your face puffy because your gums are healing a wound, so (like with most injuries) they swell up. But fillings and root canals aren't wounds healing. They're used when your teeth get BEYOND the point that they can heal by themselves, which is why they're needed. So your body doesn't react as though it's healing, and thus no swelling. I went back to work just fine the next day, and was actually so happy that I could eat using both sides of my mouth again!

I also have sensitive teeth and United Healthcare (although I get my dental through Principal.) I let my dentist know before hand about my sensitivities, since that way he knew just what to do.

I had a root canal when I was 7, broke a tooth in half, not from having bad dental hygiene or anything like that. Someone fell on my after I had slipped. Half a year after it was broken the root had died, course I had broken a permanent tooth in half. The tooth got numbed but I still felt it. I think it took 2 different days of them working on it, about an hour each time I think. I thought it felt like the were pulling 3 or 5 hairs were being pulled out at a time (obviously where my tooth is though)

I know dentistry has changed. A co worker was telling me how 25 years ago when he was in Australia he had root canals, but it was painful back then. But now the medications are better. The dentist said he can give me laughing gas IF i need root canal. I have to see if this refilling will be ok. It's so deep though. I told him how my fillings from the 1990s are ok, how come the one that was filled in Jan 2004 needed to be refilled. It's because the 2004 filling was so deep and the deeper the filling the more it doesn't last. Oh that means $$$$ for the dentist then. Is 50% coverage the norm? He said don't have anything cold since it will be more sensitive. It does feel tingly. Does anyone use Act rinse? Any particular toothpaste you use if you have sensitive teeth? The dentist gave me sample of Colgate Pro Sensitive something. It's new. I use Crest Pro Health Clinical Gum Protection at home. I do floss too.