A Few Biting Comments About Dentists & Dental Insurance

I'm living a pretty good life right about now. Yet even a good life is not without its annoyances and inconveniences. Some might call them "first world problems".

At present, the most persistent annoyance and inconvenience is the dentist and dental insurance. So, with that let me offer a few biting remarks.

I've had problems with my gums and have been going to a periodontal dental practice which provides both regular dental and periodontal services. Or so I thought. Recently, this practice told me I had to go see another dentist for my regular dental work. Mind you, they told me this while I was on my way to see them for my dental appointment. 

I am not happy with this arrangement. Frankly, I felt like I was a burden to them rather than their purpose. So, I've been looking for a new dentist, preferably a one stop shop which provides both regular and periodontal services.

The problem is this dental insurer does not issue cards and the membership ID is my Social Security number. I do not want to give out my SSN. Remember that I used work as contractor for HHS and much of my work involved monitoring HIPAA data breaches. I cannot think of anything more stupid an insurance company could do than to use SSN as membership IDs. The exposure to liability is off the chart. You're practically begging for a ransomware attack resulting in fines in the millions of dollars. You would think this would deter the use of SSN. But evidently this particular insurer does not care. Until it bites them.

As it stands now, if I do not provide my SSN, then the dentist cannot verify coverage. The dental insurance provider did email me a statement of benefits as a way around giving out my SSN. But dentists won't accept that information. In order to put in a claim with this insurance company, they need my SSN. I am stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. 

I don't believe I am being unreasonable here. After all, money is coming out of my paycheck to pay premiums for dental insurance. Yet I cannot use this dental insurance without divulging my SSN. Which means I must forego dental care. All of this is utter madness and I'm afraid I don't know how to make the madness stop. 

I'm open to ideas which don't involve me giving out my SSN.