DELTA DENTAL

If you are on this page, you probably have Delta Dental through your employer. Please talk to your employer or insurance agent about your options to Delta. Kern River Dental, and many other dentist nationwide DO NOT ACCEPT DELTA DENTAL INSURANCE.

Your employer selected Delta because it is cheap to them. You get what you pay for. Your policy likely covers much less than your expectation. Of all dental insurance we have accepted over the years, Delta stands out as the one that denies service and forces us or you to call again and again for any reimbursement. If we accepted Delta, over 70% of your dental bill would go to just attempting to recover the benefits that you paid for an are due. Despite that, we rarely recover all of your benefits. If you desire insurance, try Aetna or Liberty. These are good options with better outcomes for you..

Kern River Dental wants to be the provider for your dental care. If you choose to have insurance, we want you to feel like there is value and security in that purchase. We want this to be a healthy doctor/ patient relationship. The best way we can do this is to provide excellent care at rates that are driven by the cost of real business, not the extra cost of fighting with a poor insurance partner.

WHY NOT DELTA?

A dental procedure that costs $100 in 1950 now costs over $2800 due to inflation. This is a 2700% increase. This is realized in your dental insurance premiums which have increased 95% since 1950. Delta is the only PPO insurance that is operating at reimbursements below 1986 rates, in fact, in 2021, Delta unilaterally reduced their reimbursements to our patients by another 35%. You expect your dental insurance to cover cost of care, but it does not. When you consent to services, you are agreeing to pay any amounts that your insurance carrier refuses to pay. You expect aa benefit for your insurance premium, we feel that Delta does not live up to that expectation. As a result, we are put in the position of being caught between you and your insurance carrier. We have no desire to be put in this position. We are your dentist. We are charged with providing the best dental care at reasonable rates. We will not allow an insurance company dictate the quality of care you receive based on the judgement of a customer service rep in a foreign country dictating your care from a desk.

HOW CAN WE HELP DELTA PATIENTS?
Kern River Dental is not an in-network provider for Delta Dental, however, we will accept your Delta Dental PPO Insurance on a cash for service basis. You pay for all services at time they are provided. We prepare a bill for you that is structured and coded in a way that Delta will accept. We even send it to Delta electronically as an out of network provider so that it expedites your claim. Delta will reimburse you directly for any coverage they determine your policy covers. If you know your policy, you can insure that you get proper reimbursement. Prepare for denials and plan to call back often to push your claim through. Prepare for them to tell you that your dentist made an error. If that happens, ask if the claim was personally inspected by a licensed dentist, not by a minimum wage customer phone rep in India, Pakistan or some other foreign country. Never accept any denial that is not authorized by a licensed Dentist. Be prepared to wait on hold for an hour or more each call, and for multiple calls. If you are tenacious, you might actually get the benefits you paid for.

We understand that you or your employer is paying into this system and you expect to have a good dentist provide care for you. Unfortunately, more and more dentists are opting out of Delta Dental plans. If you want good insurance, at a good rate, YOU MUST CHALLENGE YOUR EMPLOYER TO OFFER AN OPTION TO DELTA, one that provides the benefits you believe are due. We recommend that you look to local insurance agent SHARON ROONEY (760) 379-5641) for a dental insurance that covers 100% of claims and gives you the benefits you deserve. We are also tremendous fans of Fred Clark Insurance in Lake Isabella. He is working on medical and dental plans now and you should give him a call.