Patients battle billing challenges at Florida PDS Health practices: 6 notes

Two senior patients say billing confusion at Florida dental practices supported by Henderson, Nev.-based PDS Health left them with unexpected costs, WINK Investigates reported July 21.

Six notes:

1. Both patients visited practices operating under PDS Health’s administrative support network — Daniels Modern Dentistry and Fort Myers Modern Dentistry. Both practices are owned by licensed dentists.
2. Justin Turton said he paid a $1,038 copay last August for periodontal treatment at Daniels Modern Dentistry after being told insurance would cover his care. He said the practice presented a $400 estimate when he returned for a follow-up visit in December. He declined and spent months seeking a refund, eventually receiving a check for $138 from a corporate account — nearly a year after his first visit. The practice said the $400 estimate reflected future maintenance care, which he was not charged for, and that the $138 was a delayed refund for a prepaid screening he never received.
3. A second patient, Janie McCarty, said she believed she had agreed to a $1,500 procedure at Fort Myers Modern Dentistry but later found a $5,032 financing account had been opened in her name. She also said funds were drained from her personal bank account. The practice disputed the claim and provided proof that Ms. McCarty independently authorized the financing through a multi-step text verification process and that no funds were withdrawn directly from her bank account.
4. After advocating on McCarty’s behalf for eight months, Fort Myers Modern Dentistry said her insurance claim was approved July 6 and she received a check eliminating her full out-of-pocket cost. 
5. The Florida Dental Association said state law requires licensed dentists to maintain full control of patient care and ethical standards regardless of DSO administrative arrangements.
6. PDS Health said dental benefit plans function as discounts off treatment and that final patient costs are determined by the payer after a claim is submitted, not at the time of treatment. It also said the corporation does not direct clinical care.

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