Before my career switched to online marketing, I was laid off from my job at a new internet company and found myself without health insurance or dental coverage. The irony of this is that I had neglected a tooth that had been bothering me for quite some time when in fact I had dental coverage. So while I had insurance, I just didn’t use it because… well, I absolutely hate going to the dentist! I wasn’t going to get my regular cleanings and checkups either.
Luckily, once I was without dental insurance for the first time in years, the intensity and frequency of my toothaches increased. I often found myself awake at night, sometimes to the point of crying. I was even fighting with my wife from planned date nights and socializing normally made me agitated and moody due to pain. Not to mention the frustration I felt at not having health care or dental coverage to help my situation.
Unable to take it any longer, I made an appointment with my dentist and arranged to use a high interest credit card to pay for any dental exams, treatment and care needed to stop the pain. A routine exam confirmed that he needed around $3000 worth of dental work.
As I was walking out of the dentist’s office, I noticed a bundle of AmeriPlan brochures sitting on the office’s magazine rack. The clerk didn’t know much about AmeriPlan when I asked about the brochures. She knew it was a discount health, prescription and dental plan that was accepted at the office. She advised me to research the specifics of the program on the web, as she was not allowed to advocate or promote the discount program.
Some say AmeriPlan dental savings is a scam, is it?
A Google search turned up several online forums where posters claimed that AmeriPlan is a scam. This alarmed me at first, but I had read the brochure carefully and understood that the company was not promoting itself as a health care provider or a substitute for health insurance. I fully understood that I wasn’t just paying a small copay with each dental visit, like I was with health coverage; however, I would still benefit from savings at the dentist for each individual procedure and treatment.
It seemed that those who applied the scam label to AmeriPlan did not accept that the program is a supplement or an alternative to health and dental coverage in the form of a discount program. Others who posted about the AmeriPlan scam seemed to take offense to the fact that there are brokers selling the program online and in their neighborhood. I, on the other hand, was intrigued by the business model and wondering if I should ask my broker about joining the business since I didn’t have a job and we were struggling. Obviously, that eventually happened, since I’m here today marketing AmeriPlan.
There were also some comments suggesting that the dentists who accepted AmeriPlan were the worst in the world of dentistry and not very good. Pay no attention to this nonsense as my dentist accepts the AmeriPlan dental savings card and has been voted the best dentist in Pittsburgh, PA countless times in various polls by local newspapers and magazines. My advice is to scan the list of dentists in your area that accept the program before you sign in. That way, you’ll know for sure that there are participating providers within a reasonable distance of your home, and you’ll be able to research their online reputation before seeing someone you’re not familiar with.
AmeriPlan Dental Plus is not comprehensive health care coverage, but it is a beneficial alternative to dental and health care coverage that may be your best chance to save at the dentist, vision and chiropractor, in addition to savings at the pharmacy . I ended up saving nearly $1,000 off the original quoted price for nothing more than a $20/month AmeriPlan package that covered not only me, but my wife as well.
I was able to spread that $1000 savings elsewhere on things arguably better than a root canal and I didn’t have to take on any more debt and maxed out my credit card. I felt comfortable signing up because there were no hidden fees and I could cancel at any time. I wasn’t signing any kind of term of contract. The pharmacy savings I got with my AmeriPlan pharmacy discount card on my antibiotics and pain relievers and my wife’s acid reflux medication impressed me even more. We later expanded our plan to the AmeriPlan Healthcare package, which offers medical discounts in addition to Dental Plus pharmacy and dentist savings.
Visit http://www.altcareonline.com and click FIND PROVIDERS on the left navigation bar under My Benefits Plus to locate doctors, dentists and pharmacies in your area that currently accept Ameriplan.