To Our Valued Patients at Lund Dental with Delta Dental
Insurance:
We work in a special office here at Lund Dental. I truly
believe that. First and foremost, we put our patients first. At every morning
business meeting we discuss how we can do things better for our patients. We
know that we are nothing without our patients, and we work very hard to earn
and maintain their respect and trust. Dr. William Lund built this practice 41
years ago, and I am proud to say I have been here over 13 years.
We have made a conscious effort to be an exceptional dental
practice that does not cut corners with time, workmanship, or care. Just a few
of the ways we do this include: a dentist personally spending over an hour with
each new patient; reserving a full hour for each adult continuing care
cleaning; investing in state-of-the-art dental technology; using the best
dental materials and laboratories; encouraging and paying our team to attend
continuing education classes; paying to retain our first class staff.
A long time ago, we decided that we were not going to allow
dental insurances to dictate our dentistry, and through the years we have opted
out of several plans that would have put such financial stress on us that we
could not do the kind of dentistry that our patients deserve. We do not want to
be a dental factory, churning out subpar fillings and rushing through 30 minute
cleanings. Neither Dr. William Lund nor I could sleep at night if that were the
kind of care we provided.
I cannot fully express the anger and frustration I felt
today when we received a letter from Delta Dental of Massachusetts stating that
unless we play ball with them, we will be dropped from their plan. What do they
want us to do?…Accept an approximately 25% fee reduction across the board. If
we refuse to sign their paperwork, they will inform all our Delta Dental of
Massachusetts patients that we are no longer a provider, and they will
recommend that they seek dental care elsewhere with a Delta Dental provider. We
will no longer be able to submit insurance for our patients and receive
payment; instead, patients who choose to remain with us will pay for services
and then seek reimbursement from Delta themselves. The letter stated we have 14
days to decide what to do. It seems very convenient that the letter was sent
around Christmas time when everyone is busy and distracted.
This is Delta Dental of Massachusetts taking advantage of
you the patient. They want to pay less money for your dental care, and they do
not care if it means you the patient receive compromised care. For years, we
have accepted a write-off of approximately 10% from Delta Dental of
Massachusetts. We did this because we knew a large portion of our patients have
Delta, and financially it was feasible to take the write-off. As the write-off
climbs to over 30%, it is no longer the case. Something has to give, and we do
not want it to be your dental care.
Does this mean that if we remain in the plan we would do
“bad” dentistry? Of course not! But that 60 minute cleaning will need to be cut
down to 40 minutes. There will be less time with the actual dentist and more
time with assistants. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It is what has
happened with medicine, and I cannot think of one person who is genuinely happy
with their medical care or medical insurance.
Just as we are upset and frustrated, you should be too.
Contact your employer and tell them to find alternatives to Delta Dental of
Massachusetts. Delta Dental is only looking out for themselves and puts no real
value on the quality of your dental care. We plan on doing everything we can to
oppose this. We love and value you our patients and love dentistry too much to
go down without a fight.
Yours Truly,
