Free Dental Clinic in my State

I was just listening to the news this morning. A free dental clinic was held here in my state. And the response was from what I saw overwhelming. They had to turn away over a thousand people. That is sad. Dental health is important to our overall health as poor dental health can cause problems or indicate there is a problem in other areas. For one heart problems. Another is poor nutrition, the inability to eat properly because of ill fitting dentures, or tooth loss.

I pay for my health care insurance. In fact I'm sure that come this July it will probably reach $500 a month for a single person, and since I live on a fixed income that is going to be an added struggle for me. Unless of course I sell more of my stories which will help defray the cost.

And I don't dare let the insurance lapse and try my darndest to get that monthly check into the mail and pay that monthly premium.

I recently had a root canal procedure which cost $1025 of which the insurance paid for $900. But actually what it comes down to is my handing over the monies to the insurance company who in turn hand over the monies to my dentist. The Explanation of Benefits was confusing at best. Dentist Submitted Fee was $1025. Allowable Contracted Fee $900. Amount not covered $125. Amount My Plan Pays $720. And the bottom line is I now owe $180. Maybe I should have this done at the ER because then I only have to pay a co-pay of $25. My last visit to the ER was close to $3,000. You can see how this can be confusing to anyone dealing with health insurance finance issues.

On the other hand, I know someone whose healthcare is through "socialized" healthcare. When she goes to her doctor, which can take weeks to set up an appointment, she feels she does not get as good a care as she would like. They will never schedule tests they feel are unnecessary. They will pooh pooh her aching ailments and write them off as either anxiety attacks, or just plain stress.

I feel when I go have a dental procedure done I do get very good care. This last root canal was made quite comfortable for me, and basically although I dread going to the dentist at every visit, I will continue to go to my dentist because of his professional manner and quality care.

Basically you get what you pay for and I feel since I'm the one paying, that I am getting good quality care. So far two of my doctors I've been with close to thirty years.

I do feel though everyone should have access to quality healthcare in this country. There really is no excuse not to. Considering the number of people who are in need of this, I don't see any reason why it can't be more affordable for them.

Healthy people make a healthy nation.