I Brought a Calculator to the Kitchen Table
My paperwork said covered. I decided to find out what that actually meant before I got to the desk.
The envelope
I found the calculator under a takeaway menu. One button was sticky. Excellent: I was about to sort out my dental budget with equipment last used to split a pizza.
I'd been approved for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. I'd also decided, without reading much further, that "covered" probably meant "nothing left for me to pay." Very convenient reading on my part.
Nell texted: "Have you opened the envelope?" I sent a photo of the table. Paperwork, calculator, toast. Proof of effort.
Wait. Covered how?
Canada.ca explained the bit I'd missed. A co-payment is my income-based share of the CDCP fee. The dental office's fee can also be higher than the plan's fee, leaving a difference to pay. Even no co-payment doesn't necessarily mean a zero bill.[1]
I put down the toast. There were two separate things to ask about, and I'd been asking neither.
Some services also need approval before treatment. I wasn't going to guess what my plan would pay from the word "covered" again. I wanted the office to walk me through an estimate.[1]
Four questions
I wrote four questions: Is my coverage active for this appointment? What services are planned? Does anything need preauthorization? What would I pay myself, including any fee difference?
That fitted on half a page. I tucked it into my bag before I could lose it under another menu.
"Ready?" Nell asked. "Yes," I typed. Then I checked the appointment time one more time, put my shoes by the door, and ate the cold toast.
Mara