For those who cannot afford high-cost dental treatment, there are a number of avenues open for them in New York. Various dental plans and community services are in operation so that the poor are not deprived of necessary treatment. Take for instance the NYU College of Dentistry. The college provides nearly 230,000 visits annually to the most multiethnic, multicultural and desperately poor patient population in the United States. They include a large numbers of Medicaid recipients who account for approximately 60,000 patient visits annually. Many other patients are treated free of charge because they are unable to pay for care, uninsured, or ineligible for Medicaid. The College provides more than $30 million annually in free care. There are a few thousand network dentists participating in different dental plans in New York. There are also clinics that provide free or cheap treatment to those who cannot afford expensive treatment. Lutheran Medical Center Dental, New York City Technical College, New York University David B. Kriser Dental Center, and Sunset Pediatric Dentistry are some of the places where dental treatment can be received at a low cost. Moreover, there are a number of dental plans that offer poor patients an opportunity to receive treatment at a low price. Some of them are Aetna Dental Access, GE Wellness Plan, Patriot Plan, and UNI-CARE 200. Some of these plans are not dental insurance policies and they do not pay directly to the providers of dental services. The plan member is obligated to pay the dentist for all dental care services that he or she receives. But the member will receive a pre-negotiated discount from the dentists listed as providers in the network, in accordance with the specific pre-negotiated discounted fee schedule. |
