Why isn't dental work considered to be medical care

[spinbaby]

Our local TV station (Pittsburgh) just had a story about a man who needs a kidney transplant, but can't get one because he has gum disease and needs $10,000 worth of treatment, which he can't afford, before he's eligible to get the kidney transplant. His insurance (they didn't say which insurance) won't pay for the dental work even though the dental problems were caused by the anti-rejection drugs from his last kidney transplant. Someone's going to have a fundraiser for him.

Years ago, my insurance stopped paying for my sinus trouble the moment it was established that the problem was a wisdom tooth growing into my sinus.

Dammit, teeth are part of the body!

On edit, I found the story at the station's Web site:

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/24188946/detail.html

[Poll_Blind]

1. Oh yeah and a bad tooth left untended can kill ya dead dead dead.

PB

[spanone]

2. so insurance companies can sell you supplemental insurance

[NotThisTime]

40. That supplemental ins. sucks, ours covers 25% maybe with a 1500.00 cap yearly

[jp11]

3. No they aren't, they are cosmetic.

Just ask anyone who judges people based on their teeth and the dental care they had available growing up or through their life. OF course you will hear the argument, if you took care of your teeth they'd be perfect, so anyone with bad teeth only has themselves to blame, of course. :silly:

[The Midway Rebel]

4. Yes. Bad teeth can make you ill and even kill you. n/t

[Lasher]

5. Because poor folks are not supposed to look good.

Helps when trying to identify just who is a member of the unwashed masses.

[trof]

6. My dentist asks the same question.

I have periodontal disease.
According to some statistics, that could kill me.
"Why" indeed.
:-(

[blondeatlast]

12. Me too, on top of insulin dependent diabetes. The medical I can manage, the periodental--

I'm about halfway to being able to pay for it. :scared:

[CTyankee]

56. But medical docs don't always agree. I wanted an affirmation that my husband needed

periodontal care since he is a cardiac patient. His cardiologist said it wasn't "proven."

Back to square one. Hubby is resistent to going to a dentist in the first place. I lost this battle...but I tried...

[nonconformist]

7. It should be. I have a lot of dental problems that need attention.

But I'm between insurances right now, so I suffer.

Dental problems can be phenomenally painful and affect your life in every way. Not to mention, visible problems bring shame and embarrassment to people (such as myself).

:(

[Mimosa]

8. K&R n/t

[LostinVA]

9. Some of it is covered by your medical insurance, but all of it should be

[coffeenap]

10. Ihave been told it is due to the AMA.

Last time I looked my head was indeed connected to my body. Dental and mental health should be part of medical coverage. Grrr....

[BrklynLiberal]

15. The AMA's involvement would not surprise me at all.

They have lobbied for decades against chiropractic coverage or coverage for just about any alternative medical coverage....and in some cases, even preventative/wellness care.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. I have no idea why not. Oral health is directly linked to ones health

There's how an infected tooth will make you very sick and can even kill you. Also, gum disease can be caused by diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Several different drugs can also cause gum disease.

I really have no idea why medical and dental insurances are separate. I could see having to an extra cosmetic rider, perhaps, but not including dental care as a heath care is simply baffling to me.

[Oregone]

13. It is in BC

I wrote if off my taxes last year...but its not necessary work so its not covered by my socialized insurance (unless its teeth pulling)

[arikara]

45. Dental is not covered in BC unless you have extended health

and writing it off is only good if you earn enough for it to make a difference. If you don't make enough then dental care is probably too expensive anyhow. I have a friend on disability and she said she gets $500 every 2 years which doesn't even cover a cleaning every 6 months like they suggest you have. If she has any major problems she's out of luck, she only scrapes by as it is. The Mr has extended health at his job but when he retires in 3 years we'll be SOL too and he has bad teeth along with diabetes and heart condition.

[Oregone]

50. As I said (except for teeth extractions in hospital, which is free)

Though being able to write it off as a medical expense does help.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Excellent question In my workplace experience they have always been very separate concepts.

I have worked places where the usual "health" coverage was excellent and there was NO dental coverage at all. Other places where the health coverage was good, and not too expensive, the dental coverage was extra..a lot extra. I personally never worked in a place that had both medical and dental coverage...both for a reasonable price. The dental deductibles were always a huge..or the amount they would pay to a dentist for anything was an incredibly small % of what he charged.

[ixion]

16. Three words: Insurance Industry Lobbyists

is why.

[Autonomy]

17. The Delaware Dental Plan = extraction, which are $75 at the clinic :P

Root canal = $1000. No wonder half the people in this state are walking around toothless.

[WinkyDink]

18. Because of enmity between MD's and DDS's.

[SoCalDem]

19. because you can eat cornmeal mush without teeth

:(

[abelenkpe]

54. Wow

Where did you find that picture?

[SoCalDem]

57. It was in an article from a paper from Norther CA.. It's a bit old

Maybe from Sacramento? can't recall, but we have "developments" around here that look pretty much the same:(

[KurtNYC]

20. bc it is so f-ing expensive eom

[Poboy]

21. How topical for me. Just got back from the dentist.

Its even worse that the shitty dental insurance (AFLAC) that I personally pay for doesn't even cover but half the once every 6 month preventive care/cleaning bill,
and if I need a filling (as I had today), they cover $60 of a $150 bill.

So even if you have insurance, you aren't really covered. Its more like you get a discount.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

37. I considered getting dental insurance but it

barely covered anything and had a $1200 a year maximum.

[Art_from_Ark]

41. Sounds like the insurance company just wants some free money

There's a Monty Python skit in there somewhere, I just can't think of it right now :dunce:

[gateley]

22. I'm guessing the same reason for everything -- lobbyists? It's always the money. nt

[Mimosa]

23. Dentists must not spend much on lobbyists, n/t

[cutlassmama]

24. That HAS to be the reason. The only businesses that get special

treatment in the country have lobbyists.

[NNN0LHI]

27. No, corporations spend a lot on lobbyists to fight unions

Unions are the only reason people ever get dental insurance.

And a lot of stupid people buy into the anti-union rhetoric.

That is the problem.

I have dental insurance. I belonged to a union since I was in High School.

I wasn't the smartest kid in school but I was never dumb enough to fall for the anti-union propaganda. Lot of supposedly "educated" people did though.

Don

[DBoon]

25. because if everyone had good teeth

the USA would lose one of its great distinguishing characteristics of social class.

If everyone had perfect teeth, then the cosmetically perfected teeth of the upper class would not be worth much - and we can't have that.

[Maine-ah]

26. my Mom is on Medicare

and she just had to have all of her front teeth out, and dentures put in. Her first teeth pulling at age 66. All out of pocket. I had her save all receipts to deduct from her taxes. It's pushing 10k at this point.

[Beringia]

28. They should be together

Hospital ERs will just give medicine and a referral to a dentist, instead of having dentists in the ER rooms.

[Vattel]

29. It's ridiculous that it is not

One recommendation I have for people like me who can't afford dental work: get a high-quality electric toothbrush and use it correctly. They do a great job preventing gum disease.

[Hello_Kitty]

30. Because the people who make major decisions in this country have had it their whole lives

People who have good teeth due to regular dental care tend to think of it as cosmetic because they've never experienced a rotting, untreated tooth.

[1776Forever]

31. Yes, Yes, Yes! It makes no sense not to be able to have bad teeth fixed! It is essential for good

health! My son has a boat load of bad teeth, just like his Dad did at his age, but has no money or dental insurance. He is trying to get into a dental clinic that helps out people like him but it takes months and then he might not get in. I think it is terrible that this country give no help to people who need dental care.

[suffragette]

32. I've always thought it odd that dental and vision

are separated out.

As you wrote, they are part of the body and are both affected by and affect total health.

It's absurd to me.




Here's an article I've posted more than a few times that is about the health insurance system here and actually notes the dental aspect:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/08/29/050829fa_fact

[Manifestor_of_Light]

36. I literally can't function without my glasses.

I can get to the bathroom and back without running into a wall, but that's about it.

I literally can't see what time it is on the clock beside my bed without my glasses. I've worn them since I was six years old and my focusing distance in my good eye is about 5 inches. And I am not unusual. Lots of people have much worse corrections than I do.

:grr: :banghead: :wtf:


And I have normal, healthy eyes!! I have stereo vision and see in full color. I am thankful!
I consider myself fortunate that I have that, because a lot of people can't see at all from birth, or have diseases like macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts that prevent them from seeing.


Don't get me started on yuppies who are SOOOO horrified when they hit forty and have to wear bifocals that they think that wearing glasses is the end of the world.

They should cover dental and vision, definitely.

[suffragette]

43. I'm with you there

The 1st time I saw the Impressionists' paintings in a museum, I felt such kinship to them. Someone had painted my world, with its softened colors and muted edges.

I was prescribed glasses at 12, though my vision was poor long before that. I couldn't wear them though. They gave me double vision and terrible headaches, but the Optometrist wouldn't prescribe me the contacts I needed to see because we were on welfare and to his mind that made me and my family automatically irresponsible and ineligible.

One eye had better vision than the other, so I developed strategies and managed.

I was in my twenties when I finally started wearing contacts.

And in the last decade, I lucked into an Optometrist who had actually done research on my specific issues and prescribed me glasses that I can use and don't make me suffer. And since I do have a decent insurance plan, there's coverage though I still need to pay a good amount since my glasses aren't a basic prescription. And it's a separate plan and system from medical.

That's another issue with being so separated. There's no communication between the medical professionals about patient issues ad those records are on separate charts in separate offices. I wonder how much has been missed that could have been helpful in identifying or treating conditions properly if that were different?

[Swede]

33. Optical and dental are not covered in Canada.

I think because healthcare was started to prevent financial ruin.

[slipslidingaway]

34. knr - what a lost opportunity with the "historic" HC reform bill...

that was just passed.

Just add those expenses to the annual out of pocket expenses for HC.

:(

[hedgehog]

35. I think everyone should take off their tin hats - it's probably an artifact

of our entire Rube Goldberg health care system. Employer based health insurance came in after World War II as a way around wage and price controls. That was the first mistake. At the time, people could afford to pay a family doctor, it was hospital bills and surgical bills that were scary. My guess is that dental care was within the means of the average union worker. So the original health insurance was aimed at paying for a hospital stay. For comparison, if you're an elderly person with diabetes, Medicare still provides excellent payment if you go in to have a foot amputated, not so much for the doctor to spend time teaching you how to control your diabetes to help you keep from getting gangrene so you can keep your feet. Your hospital costs are covered, but not the prescriptions to keep you out of the hospital? Not so much.

[glowing]

38. Too many still don't have insurance or medical access. It's disgusting.

I think the great experiment of democracy is a failure. Too many apathetic.

[lonestarnot]

39. Since teeth affect all parts of health through nutrition, beats the fuck out of me. Follow the dough

[Cleita]

42. Because dental care is needed through life and

insurance companies have refused to cover it for that reason. It's high risk. So it seems the culture that evolved through the insurance companies is that dental care isn't a health care need. This is why we need to get insurance out of health care from top to toe and forever.

[TBF]

44. The insurance companies make money by denying claims and exclusions.

Dental work is excluded from many policies now. We have it with our CIGNA policy, but we also pay roughly $1,000 month in premiums for our family of four (that is before the copays and deducts).

This is why health care needs to be nationalized (ie Medicare for all).

[raouldukelives]

46. Maybe someone could builld a big clinic

And staff it with H1-B dentists.

[librechik]

47. Because idiots with the purse strings don't know you can die from an infected tooth

and they don't want to know.

[alfredo]

48. I went to the local university and got the work done at

the dental school for half of what it costs in the corporate world. They did a better job than my past dentists.

[femrap]

49. Damn it....

This is amurika and teeth just aren't necessary....:sarcasm: It's TPTB's way of putting those who can't afford dental care on a liquid diet...so they die sooner.

[DailyGrind51]

51. Cyto-megalovirus, resulting from tooth decay, has been found to lead to heart disease.

[uberblonde]

52. This is why I like Hillary Clinton.

I read a story years ago about the health care debate, where insurance companies were very angry that she insisted that dental coverage had to be part of any health care package.

[Dave From Canada]

53. Dental isn't part of healthcare in Canada either.

[sce56]

55. Dental Health should be connected to medical health period! Care 4 Profit is a sick Idea!

I joined the Army and was told do twenty and you will get benefits for life! Now they say you have to pay to get the coverage that is to get a managed appointment if I don't pay the Tricare premium I would have to be on a space A system I could sit at the clinic for days before being seen. And Dental is an expensive Delta Dental plan that is woefully inadequate!


The system is rigged!