Payment & Dental Insurance Information

Payment Information

Credit cards accepted: MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express

For questions about billing or payments, please contact our office.

 

Accepted Dental Insurance

Dr. Rashmi Shankar D.D.S. is an In-Network Provider for the following Dental Insurance Plans:

• Aetna
• Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO 200/PPO 300
• Assurant
• Cigna
• Delta Dental Premiere & DPO/PPO
• Guardian
• Humana
• Metlife/ Safeguard
• Principal
• United Concordia

For specific questions about your dental insurance plan coverages, exclusions, limits, or effective dates, please contact your dental insurance provider or your dental plan administrator.

 

Schedule a Dental Appointment

To schedule a dental appointment, or to learn more about general and cosmetic dentistry services & procedures offered by Amethyst Dental, please contact us.

 

Facts About Dental Insurance

As an optimal-care dental practice, we strongly believe our patients deserve the best possible dental services we can provide. In an effort to maintain a high quality of care, we would like to share some facts about dental insurance with you.

Fact #1: Your dental insurance is based upon a contract between your employer and the insurance company. Should questions arise regarding your dental insurance benefits, it is best for you to contact your employer or the insurance provider.

Fact #2: Dental insurance benefits differ greatly from traditional medical health insurance benefits and can vary quite a bit from plan to plan. When dental insurance plans first appeared in the early 1970's most plans had a yearly maximum of $1000. Today, some 30+ years later, most plans still have an annual maximum of $1000. That the premiums remained the same, allowing for a conservative yearly rate of inflation, your yearly plan maximums should be in excess of $4500 today. Your premiums have increased, but your benefits have not. Therefore, dental insurance was never set up to cover 100%.

Fact #3: You may receive a notification from your insurance company stating that dental fees are “higher than usual and customary”. Insurance companies never reveal how they determine “usual, customary and, reasonable” (UCR) fees, A recent survey in the state of Washington found That at least 8 different UCR fee schedules for one zip code in the Seattle area. The fees are somehow determined by taking a percentage of an average fee for a particular procedure in a geographic area.

Fact #4: Many plans tell their participants that they will be covered up to “80%” or up to 100% , but do not clearly specify plan fee schedule allowance, annual maximums or limitations. It is more realistic to expect dental insurance to cover 35 to 50% of major services. Remember, the amount a plan pays is determined by how much the employer paid for the plan. You get back only what your employer puts in, less the profits of the insurance company.

Fact #5: Many routine dental services are not covered by insurance companies. This does not mean they aren’t necessary or appropriate, just not covered.