What's Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?
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So I just learned I’m going to need to spend $5K on dental care in 2018. I didn’t know that when I elected Flex Spending for 2018. My dental insurance will cover $1000.
I have an old HSA which I’ve been contributing to, after taxes. I’ve been using it as a sort of retirement acct so while it has 5K in it, I didn’t want to use it.
I was thinking of buying a bunch of prepaid Visa gift cards using Chase Ink (5% back) and paying the bill with those.
Anyone have any great ideas? Thanks!
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No idea if this would appeal to you at all, but I once used http://www.carecredit.com to pay for dental work, and it was a promotional rate, interest-free for 24 months.
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@ctcarl Would there be a financial advantage of doing that? I have the money to pay the bill. I’m just trying to make it cost less.
if eg Staples runs a prepaid Visa offer I could buy $400 in prepaid visas, get the activation fee back as rebate and earn $20 on cc. Repeat x 10 and get $200 on credit card for the $4k. Pay the bill using the prepaid visas. Effectively paying $3800 instead of $4k.
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Check out getting dental work in Mexico. I live in southern Arizona and see plenty of ads and also “Raves” on FB. No personal experience with it but the offices are modern. It’s not some back alley affair.
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@ed243 lol. I live about 2 hrs from Canada. I’m not going to Mexico.
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I hear in Canada it’s free; maybe across that border…
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@mommyofhandk Doubt national health insurance would pay for implants. My uncle was a consultant living in Toronto for a few years but he would cross back to the U.S. for medical care.
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@my4mainecoons said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
@ctcarl Would there be a financial advantage of doing that? I have the money to pay the bill. I’m just trying to make it cost less.
if eg Staples runs a prepaid Visa offer I could buy $400 in prepaid visas, get the activation fee back as rebate and earn $20 on cc. Repeat x 10 and get $200 on credit card for the $4k. Pay the bill using the prepaid visas. Effectively paying $3800 instead of $4k.
Other than getting a two-year interest-free loan? No, there’s no advantage other than that.
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maybe apply for a Chase credit card (slate I think) with free BTransfer. You can xfer to checking and pay it out w/o interest. I think up to 18 or 24 months.
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@barrytuneup What is the financial advantage to doing that? Does Slate give me higher % back for buying prepaid visas?
If I go with Ink I’d buy the prepaid visa cards, pay the dental bill with the prepaid visas and pay my Ink bill that month. I don’t carry a balance.
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@ctcarl said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
Other than getting a two-year interest-free loan? No, there’s no advantage other than that.
Embarrassed to say that I have too much cash sitting in non-interest bearing checking acct. So taking out the loan to invest the money would be smart if the $5k would otherwise be earning interest.
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@my4mainecoons said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
@mommyofhandk Doubt national health insurance would pay for implants. My uncle was a consultant living in Toronto for a few years but he would cross back to the U.S. for medical care.
My wife was going to get implants until she talked to a group of seniors that had implants. Of six seniors that had implants only one senior was satisfied with the implant. The other five had complications after a few years and four had to have the implants removed.
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@redmed said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
@my4mainecoons said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
@mommyofhandk Doubt national health insurance would pay for implants. My uncle was a consultant living in Toronto for a few years but he would cross back to the U.S. for medical care.
My wife was going to get implants until she talked to a group of seniors that had implants. Of six seniors that had implants only one senior was satisfied with the implant. The other five had complications after a few years and four had to have the implants removed.
My dentist strongly advises against implants because they progressively, permanently and irreversibly damage the jawbone (so you lose the implants anyway and have nothing to attach new implants to).
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@my4mainecoons basically you just drag out the payments back to the card for 18 or whatever months they give. No interest.
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i could give you the best answer. get a gov’t job and get the dental work for free, but probably not feasible for you. The main reason I don’t retire from the NYPD is the health benefits for wife and me. I will retire in July 18, but the benefits change. Over the years, wife and I have had numerous crowns/root canals etc and zero charge. Plus rx benefits and medical. Governments are the only ones that don’t charge a medical premium, at least till now.
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@barrytuneup I don’t like debt except big things like house & car. Don’t carry a balance on my cc’s. Even “no interest” isn’t my thing. Root canals & crowns are covered by my dental insurance. Implants to max of $1k. I think I have pretty good insurance. e.g. I can get a new complete set of eye glasses for $30/year after insurance.
First procedure was yesterday. Supposed to have 2 teeth done. Decided to start with one and see how it goes. Dipping my toe in as it were. The option is a bridge. If the implant fails I end up with a bridge anyway. Its a major molar so will have to have something.
I might be able to make the 2nd tooth last another year (wishful thinking) and if so then I’ll elect higher amount in Flex Savings and chose a higher benefit dental plan. I’ve just been getting enough for basic care.
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Earlier this year I started treatment for a dental implant. I had to have a lower tooth pulled for an uncommon condition called internal resorbtion. After what my puny Aetna benefit pays, my out of pocket for this is about $3,000. I don’t contribute anywhere near that to a HSA. I just charged it to my airlines miles card. I might as well get some points from this. Just put your co-pay on the best points or cash back card you have and move on. Pay in full ASAP to avoid finance charges. You won’t be making money from dental work.
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@fivetalents said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
@redmed said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
@my4mainecoons said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
@mommyofhandk Doubt national health insurance would pay for implants. My uncle was a consultant living in Toronto for a few years but he would cross back to the U.S. for medical care.
My wife was going to get implants until she talked to a group of seniors that had implants. Of six seniors that had implants only one senior was satisfied with the implant. The other five had complications after a few years and four had to have the implants removed.
My dentist strongly advises against implants because they progressively, permanently and irreversibly damage the jawbone (so you lose the implants anyway and have nothing to attach new implants to).
Hmm this is the first time I’m hearing about this and I’m planning to get at least one implant next year.
I do know that you will lose the bone without the implant, so you will need a bone graft again (I have another tooth that I’ve held off on getting an implant on, and the bone is almost gone, even though it was almost implant ready 5 years ago).
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@burgerwars said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
Earlier this year I started treatment for a dental implant. I had to have a lower tooth pulled for an uncommon condition called internal resorbtion. After what my puny Aetna benefit pays, my out of pocket for this is about $3,000. I don’t contribute anywhere near that to a HSA. I just charged it to my airlines miles card. I might as well get some points from this. Just put your co-pay on the best points or cash back card you have and move on. Pay in full ASAP to avoid finance charges. You won’t be making money from dental work.
My cc only gives me 1% which is why I was going to buy prepaid Visa cards using Chase Ink. 5% back but after fees maybe 2-3% unless Staples runs a rebate on the activation fees. Sounds like no one has a better idea.
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Try to negotiate a cash discount. It would have been nice if you could have gone in this week to get started and then finished after the first of the year. They could have billed you separately and used 2 copays.
https://www.themoneymine.com/you-dont-get-what-you-deserve-you-get-what-you-negotiate/
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Hubby had emergency Appy surgery just before our insurance kicked in. Surgeon, Anesthesiologist, lab costs were all able to be lowered for CASH patients. We paid almost half of the billed amounts verses the insurance billed amount they first sent out.
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@vegasvegan said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
Try to negotiate a cash discount. It would have been nice if you could have gone in this week to get started and then finished after the first of the year. They could have billed you separately and used 2 copays.
https://www.themoneymine.com/you-dont-get-what-you-deserve-you-get-what-you-negotiate/
Great link, thanks for sharing it!
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@my4mainecoons said in What’s Best Option for Paying Dental Bill?:
Sounds like no one has a better idea
Depending on how spread out your dental payment will be, you could apply for a credit card or two to easily make ~$500-$1000 in promotional bonuses. For example, Chase Sapphire, BOA premium rewards card etc.
