Care Credit -- Dental Credit Card

[BkinTX]

I need to have my wisdom teeth removed. I have been referred to an oral surgeon. My insurance will cover 60%, up to $800, which will not really do much to cover the expense of removing bony impacted wisdom teeth.

We have had a rocky start with building savings post bk as we have still not completely adjusted to preparing for "unexpected expenses." Because of this we have essentially no savings at this time.

I must have this surgery before I turn 31 (in January) or my insurance will not cover it at all.

The oral surgeon's office suggested I apply for Care Credit (credit card) to pay for my portion of the surgery as they do not allow their services to be paid out. I told the receptionist I spoke with that we had recently been discharged from a bankruptcy so it was unlikely we would qualify for the credit program.

I am really stuck on what to do and panicking a little.

First, what should I expect as far as expense? I will find out at my appointment tomorrow but from online reading it looks like I will be paying around $300+ per tooth and then the expense of anesthesia, minus the insurance portion.

I think this will amount to around $1200 out of pocket. The receptionist did say on the phone that it wouldn't be "thousands."

Second, does anyone have experience with Care Credit? How likely is it that I will be approved? And further, is it a dangerous slippery slope for someone just out of bk? I don't want to be in debt again.

I just don't know how to handle this expense. I can save up but I don't know how much I can save in the time frame I'm looking at.

Advice, words of wisdom? (Be kind, please.)

[HakunaMatata]

I have pre-BK experience with Care Credit. Like you, I needed costly dental work and the 0% interest was enticing. Upon receiving my first billing statement, I submitted payment electronically. My second statement showed that my payment was late. I was charged a late fee despite the fact my payment was made more than three weeks in advance. I did some research and discovered this has happened to others. Thankfully, I was able to rectify this billing "error" and paid off this card before interest became an issue.

In your situation, I would explore alternative oral surgeons (compare out-the-door costs and billing policies) if possible. If you start a "wisdom" savings fund now and even if you need to temporarily rely on credit in the future, you won't have to borrow as much and you will put more time between your BK and credit application (I'd also explore alternative creditors). Understandably, you don't want to be in debt again. Maintaining this attitude shouldn't create a "dangerous slippery slope". You have the knowledge and wisdom...even if you won't have your wisdom teeth!

[BkinTX]

Wow, that is awful! I came across a "rip off report" about Care Credit as well.

I am not sure what options I have with using a different surgeon due to insurance but if this surgeon is very expensive I may even have to just go out of pocket and use someone else.

I had considered putting off the surgery until just before the cut off to give me more time to save. Alternately, we receive a substantial tax return in the spring and that would cover the surgery and I could do out of pocket at that time.

I looked at my insurance info more thoroughly and discovered I *can* get insurance to cover it if the dentist submits x-rays to the insurance company and says it's necessary.

So I think it might be possible to put it off and just deal with the discomfort until I can better afford it.

My husband will be going back to Iraq next year and I definitely want to get it done before he leaves.

I guess maybe my best answer is "wait." Although I have $75 out of pocket preliminary appt with the surgeon tomorrow that I don't think I can cancel now. D'oh!

Thanks so much for your reply. It was really helpful and I am glad to know that I should steer clear of Care Credit.

[HakunaMatata]

Yep, I'd steer clear of Care Credit. They appear to employ some shady practices. I wonder if they get away with this more frequently than other creditors due to the nature of their lending (people desperate for medical treatment, pet care, or cosmetic services). Ugh, who knows. I wish I would have included them in my BK!

I recently read a series of articles on Slate about the dental industry. Dental insurance is definitely waning.

Talk to your dentist and ask him/her if you can delay the procedure. If so, it appears you have a master plan...a few x-rays and a tax return...sounds good to me!

[PatinCA]

Hi, I'm in the dental field and we have care credit in our office. I doubt you would qualify, and if you were to not finish paying in the interest free period, the rate is 23.9%! In reading your replies, I am wondering if you are covered under the military dependants plan, United Concordia? If so, are you going to a contracted oral surgeon? The reason I ask is UC has pretty low contracted fees, so the oral surgeon may be cheaper than you think. If you are out of network, then $300 per tooth plus anesthesia sounds about right. The anesthesia is not covered as far as I know. I had my sons teeth out when my husband was active duty and we paid for the anesthesia. If you had the work done with local anesthesia only, you could save a lot of money. (but who wants to do that?) I work for an endodontist (root canal specialist) and we don't take payments either...but we will divide payments up for 3-4 months with a debit or credit card and just charge their card every month. It doesn't hurt to ask if this would work. I know our business is very slow right now, and a lot of dental offices in our area are more flexible than a couple years ago.
Also, if you have bony impactions, I cannot see why they would deny your extractions and the xrays would show this. Ask your oral surgeon to do a pre-authorization before scheduling treatment, that way you would know exactly how much money you would be expected to pay..and you wouldn't have to worry that the ins. might deny the work.

[tkharvey]

We used Care Credit last year when my daughter needed all four of her wisdom teeth out. Unfortunately, her dental insurance would only cover the extraction if the wisdom teeth were "decayed or infected, NOT impacted". Needless to say, there was only one out of the four that was covered. Our out of pocket expense was over 2,500, which we used care credit. Yes, the interest rate was high, but we had not choice. Ironically, they are one of the creditors we are including in our BK.

[NoMoreCards]

I had a Care Credit card and used it for some major dental work for my daughter a few years back. As long as it was paid off in the time frame allowed, it was interest free. If I recall, I charged 4400 and had 1 year to pay off. I did not have any problems with them.

Fast forward to now. I filed Ch. 7 on 8/7/09, and had a zero balance with CareCredit, so they were not included in the matrix. Within a week of filing, I found I needed a emergency root canal and my attorney told me it was OK if I used the carecredit card. But he did advise it would not be included in the BK and I would be liable for the debt. Ok, fair enough. So 990 was charged within a week of filing. Now, I have not received a bill from them and on my credit report they marked the card as "IIB". So I am wondering....will I get a bill from them??

But I wanted to chime in and say I had no problems with them in the past, as long as it was paid in the time allowed, it was interest free.

[BkinTX]

Thanks for the info, everyone.

Pat: Yes, I have United Concordia. That is good to know about the contracted rates. I had an appt yesterday and they would have gone over the price then but the appt was $75 and I know I can't afford the surgery right now so I canceled and they are calling me back in a month.

Maybe it won't be as much as I feared it would be.

According to the benefits literature, general anesthesia is covered at 60% if I am having 4 teeth removed (which is what they want to do). I have heard that doing local is really traumatic.

I will have to ask when I finally go in about have autodrafts or even setting up an allotment. I am willing to do either so they know they will be paid.

Otherwise I will just wait until I have the money saved up.

I just don't want my family to do without just so I can have this done. I could save aggressively for it and get it done a lot sooner but I don't want to do that to my family.

tkharvey, thanks for sharing your experience.

I really, really don't want to go into debt again. And I definitely understand being in that spot where the only way to pay is credit.

[readytofile]

I would shop around for another dentist. There are some that will accept payments. I would call around and see.

[PatinCA]

BkinTX: That's good to know that they are now paying for general anesthesia! My son's were done when he was 16 (13 yrs ago). They didn't pay then. I would still ask for the preauthorization to be sure. Ins companies have a way of finding ways not to pay for stuff. I agree, I would not do it with local alone either.


Yes, CareCredit is good as long as you can pay off within the interest free period...we have a lot of patients who use it. Another hint...they will let you use a co-signer if your credit is too damaged to get it on your own.