Insurance Question

O

osdad

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
740
We were advised to keep out Mids on our insurance in the event something happens during plebe summer or during AC that might impact them. So we did.

Now my Mid needs to get her wisdom teeth removed. She'd prefer to do it this summer during leave so as not to miss any school time. My understanding is limited but here goes:

She has to go to a navy dentist and get referred to a surgeon, assuming one is not available at our local base clinic. Hopefully we can "suggest" which surgeon we'd prefer.

Now my questions:

What do we do wrt our dental coverage? Do we need to coordinate benefits? Do we need to make sure the refered surgeon is in our plan? Do we just ignore it?
 
I am sure there are others with more specific information, but here's some context.

- One of our 3/C sponsor daughters just had her wisdom teeth out. Normally, it would have been done at Yard clinic, but the oral surgeon is retiring, so she was referred to NNMC Bethesda. Planned her appointment for this past intercessional leave period. Had the procedure Friday, got permission to start her weekend when she got back from the appointment that Friday, then took a weekend with us. Made delicious concoctions with the blender, slept a lot, was on motrin only by Saturday night, feeling pretty good on Sunday night, is pretty much back to normal, being careful about what she is eating as her 4 gum areas heal up. So, it can be done without missing school, with a bit of planning. She had a routine extraction.

- I have no experience with mids getting it done over summer leave or using non-Navy/military dental providers. Here is the link for the web page for the Naval Academy dental clinic. All should be quiet on the Yard after graduation this Friday, so next week, after the Monday holiday, would be a good time to call and get clear on the process.

- If it is allowed to be done over the summer, and a civilian provider is authorized, my GUESS is the referral would be to the military dental plan with United Concordia.

http://www.usna.edu/DentalClinic/insurance.htm
 
I'm not in the Dental Corps, but I can tell you that trying to do it at home is going to likely be a HUGE pain in the rear.

There are many reasons: one dental care for active duty is based on enrollment in the local dental clinic / military treatment facility (in your daughter's case: Annapolis Branch Clinic which is part of NNMC). To get care at another military facility she would need to "enroll" herself in that facility first, and then try to get an appointment. Dental appointments in normal Navy facilities can be quite difficult to get at times so she would wait to get seen. Then if they have the capability there they would do it, or refer her to a military oral surgeon first. If there is no military oral surgeon nearby (nearby can be up to a few hours away) OR availability is very poor then they can refer her to the local civilian sector.

If referred to the civilian sector it would be billed to the military (not United Concordia as that is only for family members, active duty don't carry it).

So then she gets it done and gets back to USNA....guess what, she now needs to re-enroll herself back at the clinic in order to be eligible for care there again.

If she does do all this and is referred to a civilian she needs to remember that her address is her USNA address. Not her home address or else bills may end up coming to your house, not fun. Also she should not get medical/dental care this is not coordinated through a military treatment facility (ie Just use the families insurance and get it done).

Anyway, bottom line, get it done in Annapolis. Much less of a headache and in reality the amount of school missed is minimal to none.
 
Naval Station Newport is not so bad an area although winter can be dismal. Every kid I ever met from NAPS was first rate. They know the drill and have a heads up for "Plebe Summer". My oldest just graduated USNA and some of her best friends were NAPS and she is now at Quantico for TBS. I have the youngest in school at Middletown starting September so PM me if your son needs some time in town and we can take him to some good places for real food.
 
Your child is now active duty military which means the military is responsible for her medical and dental care. Period. Being brutally honest, the fact that you (or she) prefer to use a civilian doctor/dentist for whatever reason is irrelevant and, as KP2001 wisely states, it's going to be extremely difficult to make it happen (absent a true emergency where there is no other alternative).

Your DD isn't the first mid to need her wisdom teeth removed. Have her consult with the dental clinic at USNA and I'm sure they will sort out timing, etc.

As an aside, it's sometimes difficult for mids (and, more often their parents) to "swtich" from the doctors and dentists they've known their entire lives. But, in my experience military doctors and dentists were -- and undoubtedly are today -- uniformly excellent.
 
100s of Mids a year have their wisdom teeth removed. Schedule it for late Thursday or early Friday, miss one day of class and she will be back at it on Monday. She is in the military now and having outside care without proper authorization could cause more problems than she wants, especially when they start looking at her Pre-Comm physical. Unless there is something sever about her case she will back to class on Monday without an issue. If she has sponsors or you are close enough I am sure her company officer would authorize a weekend for a little R&R while she recovers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top