{"id":1039,"date":"2019-09-30T12:49:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T12:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2019-09-30T12:49:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T12:49:12","slug":"the-final-quarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/the-final-quarter\/","title":{"rendered":"THE FINAL QUARTER"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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October is\nhere!!  It\u2019s crunch time to get\neverything done that we haven\u2019t gotten done during the rest of the year. For\nthose with remaining dental benefits, it\u2019s also the time of year to consider\nutilizing those so you don\u2019t lose them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unused dental\nbenefits go directly back to the insurance company, which generates hundreds\nand hundreds of thousands of dollars for the insurance companies each year.\nDental insurance companies count on the fact that many people will not claim\ntheir $1000 or so in benefits by the end of the calendar year. Those with\ndental benefits should look for legitimate means to use these benefits before\nthey are lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, perhaps\na crown has been recommended by your dentist, but you have procrastinated about\nit. It would make sense to consider using those dental benefits before the end\nof the calendar year. This allows a whole new round of dental benefits to be\nused for unexpected dental needs the following year, and maximizes the value of\nthe premiums paid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember,\ninsurance companies are in the business to make money. They don\u2019t want you to\nuse your dental benefits. If the balance (co-payment) you will owe for the\ndental work that needs to be done is too much for you, consider financing\noptions through your dental office. Most dental offices offer interest-free\nfinancing to patients for up to 12 months. Financing your balance in this way\nmay make more financial sense than throwing money away to fund the insurance\ncompany\u2019s pocketbooks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing\nto consider as the end of the year approaches is the use of flex spending\naccounts. Many employers now offer pre-tax flex spending accounts for\nhealthcare expenses. Often underutilized, these are excellent mechanisms for saving\nabout 20 percent on needed dental care. If you are paying for your dental\ninsurance premiums, it may even make sense to fund an available flex spending\naccount with that premium money instead of, or in conjunction with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance,\nif you are anticipating the need for $3000 in dental care, opting to place the\n$3000 in a flex spending account can save the income tax on those monies and\ncan usually be used as soon as January 1st<\/sup>. If you have money left\nin a flex spending account, remember to check with your employer to determine\nif that money needs to be used by the end of the year. You don\u2019t want to lose\nthat money either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you begin\nto make financial decisions for the end of this year and for the upcoming year,\nconsider a discussion with your dental office\u2019s financial person. They are\noften an untapped wealth of information and can usually thoroughly and\nknowledgeably discuss your dental financial options with you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, don\u2019t\nwait too long. Dental office schedules get full quickly this time of year with\npatients trying to use dental insurance benefits and unused flex account money.\nMaximize your hard earned dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair maintains\na private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to health-centered\nfamily dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to see written about\nor questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October is here!!  It\u2019s crunch time to get everything done that we haven\u2019t gotten done during the rest of the year. For those with remaining dental benefits, it\u2019s also the time of year to consider utilizing those so you don\u2019t lose them. Unused dental benefits go directly back to the insurance company, which generates hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars for the insurance companies each year. Dental insurance companies count on the fact that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1039"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1046,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039\/revisions\/1046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}