Adventures in American Healthcare

So the day started with a call from my dentist's office saying that my insurance had been turned down and did I still want the appointment. Good times. My coverage does not include any "preventative" care, so I'm not covered for the dentist to examine me, but I am covered for some of the treatment that they might deem necessary from an examination. There is a lot of logic here so try to keep up. The receptionist told me that I had to tell the insurance company what type of injury it was, so I called them directly. I asked what type of injury was covered, explaining that nothing dramatic had happened, no car accident or anything. I was told that my health care provider would determine whether it was an injury or not. And so the circle of healthcare in the US is complete.

Of course I went to the appointment anyway regardless of what if anything was going to be covered. The chip was easy to fill and so about 15 minutes and $160 later (after what my insurance did cover and a 15% discount - yes, discounted healthcare! Have no idea why they gave it to me but hey, I took it) I was out the door again. I actually think it likely would have cost roughly the same in Canada but I've not had to pay for full dental in awhile. And new dentist guy was very pleasant and likes to attend classical music at the KC and the Bolshoi Ballet (coming in two weeks I told him!). He also really wanted to talk to me in French, so I let him. It's not like I was doing much talking anyway and he had a lovely accent...