August 2007 Newsletter
What´s New at Savon
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In every newsletter you will find a secret word or phrase. When you locate the word or phrase, copy the entire paragraph and paste it into an email along with your Savon membership ID number and your name.
Send the email to customerservice@savondentalplan.com. The emails will be printed and the winning entry will be drawn on the 15th of the following month. All entries must be received by the 10th of the month (July 10th for Junes newsletter, etc.). The winning entry will receive a check from Savon for $25.00. Only one entry per family is allowed and you may only win once per 12 months. The secret phrase for August 2007 is "Savon Preferred"
Quote of the Month: “I'm always amazed to hear of air crash victims so badly mutilated that they have to be identified by their dental records. What I can't understand is, if they don't know who you are, how do they know who your dentist is?”. - Paul Merton (1957 - Present)
Cohen’s Corner – Straight talk from the Doctor:
A History of Dental Plans and Dental Insurance: It‘s Your Choice
Hello again from Cohen‘s Corner; one of the main place‘s in the newsletter that is, for the most part, member driven. I have been getting a lot of questions from our members and their friends and relatives asking about how dental plans and dental insurance came to be.
This month I have decided to give you a sabbatical from the scientific aspect of dentistry and attempt to get the question at hand answered. Although I now work with Savon Dental Plan, I have practiced dentistry for about 30 years in Arizona before becoming a part of Savon. I have dealt with many types of dental insurances and dental plans when I had my dental office. I will approach the question at hand from the knowledge I have gained from my perspective as by being a part of the dental field for over thirty years now.
Back in about the 1950‘s when I was just a little boy and went to the dentist the dentist would work on my teeth and I would try to say thank-you. My mom would either pay for the dental work at the front desk or would get a bill in the mail at the end of the month and pay it then.
In about the mid 1960‘s the insurance companies, always looking for another products to sell, realized that there was a lot of money to be made by selling dental insurance because it is an insurance that people really don‘t like to use (as are most insurance products). Coupled with the idea of little actual use, along with the ability to require (in most cases) a pre-estimate before any major dental work is done, the insurance companies realized the great potential in selling dental insurance. Dental insurance grew almost unchallenged by any other type of dental coverage for about twenty plus years until the advent of the HMO and Pre-Paid type Dental Plan which one usually only had access to through their employer.
Not employed? Self-employed? Small business with 3-5 employees?… too bad because there was very little between the mid 1960‘s and mid 1980‘s that you could do, even if you could afford the dental insurance premiums. Because of the fact that the 'little guy' was once again left to figure out how to pay for his family‘s dental care, a new cottage industry was formed: the dental plan.
By the early to mid 1990‘s to the present time the dental plan has; not only been accepted by the 'little guy' who had a very hard time getting dental insurance for his family, but has been so successful that now major insurance companies are in direct competition with the dental plan companies for the 'little guy'.
Most of us by the time we are in our 30s or 40s have had to at one time or another use our health care insurance and have tried to figure out what it really does cover. How many times have you had to call you insurance carrier to find out why they didn't pay for this or that; were you satisfied with the answer you received? Two of the main components that have made the dental plan type coverage the great success that it is today are:
- a fair and lower cost to the patient and
- the simplicity of the plan to be understood by the member.
Because I am limited in time and scope in this article, let me summarize by saying that in the early 1990‘s one of the big 'dental insurance companies' tried unsuccessfully to legally shut down dental plans nationwide. The 'dental insurance company' did succeed in their endeavor to shut down the dental plans in some state, however, in one state the dental plans got together and fought this attempt. By combining the power of the plans, the dental plans were able to stop this attempt by the 'dental insurance company'. If the 'dental insurance company' had succeeded, it is this writer‘s opinion that they would have shut down dental plans throughout the United States leaving many, many people from retirees to small business employees and most people in between without a viable option for dental health coverage.
One of the greatest things about the United States of America is every American‘s individual right to freedom of choice. My best advice is whether we are talking about your freedom of choice, or any other of our wonderful American freedoms, use them because that is the reason why everybody in the world wants to be an American.
Have a wonderful August and remember to drink plenty of water and stay out of the sun for extended periods of time. Until next month, Dr. Cohen
Congratulations to K. Craft of Surprise, Az. Winner of our July T. V. Drawing
Ms. Craft was the winner of July's T. V. drawing. A new 20" television was delivered to her a couple of weeks ago. Again, thank you to everyone that entered the drawing.
Congratulations to G. Palmer of Orlando, Fl. Winner of our July Secret Word Contest
Ms. Palmer's correct answer was drawn and a check for $25.00 was sent to her. Make sure that you look for the secret word this month, it could be worth $25.00 to you!!
Players, Sponsors and Volunteers needed for our Inaugural Charity Golf Classic
Enjoy a day of golf and help us help United Cerebral Palsy
- Open to All Level of Players - No Handicap Required
- Check In Time Is 7 a.m. - First Tee Time Is 8 a.m.
Saturday, November 10, 2007 - Coyote Lakes Golf Club - 18800 N. Coyote Lakes Parkway - Surprise, Arizona
Tournament Format: 4 Person Scramble • Shotgun Start: Beginning from an assigned hole, each player will hit their tee shot and then the team will select the best drive. All players will play their next shot from the selected position and continue this process until the ball is holed. Each team will record one score on the scorecard.
Come by yourself and we will match you with new friends OR put together your own foursome!
- Register Early and Save: Register by September 30, 2007 only $80.00 per person.
- Register between October 1, 2007 and October 25, 2007 only $95.00 per person.
- Registration fee includes: Greens Fee, Cart, Golfer Goodie Bag and Buffet.
- Check-in time is 7 a.m. - Putting Contest Starts at 7:20 am - Tee time is at 8:00 am
All Proceeds Benefit United Cerebral Palsy
If you have some free time and would like to volunteer to work on this event please contact Meri Osborne via email
or give her a call at 602-841-3494 or 800-809-3494.
Does Savon work with dental insurance?:
A question from a member
This is a verbatim copy of a member's email:
"I have been a member of Savon for several years. My husband recently got dental coverage with Met Life at work. Is there any way that Savon can be used with dental insurance?"
Savon's Reply
In most cases the answer is Yes! When you visit the dentist, DO NOT tell them that you have dental insurance. Give them your Savon ID card and pay the Savon fee for that visit. Make sure that you get an itemized receipt from the dentist and with that receipt, file a claim with your dental insurance company for reimbursement. Most insurance companies will reimburse within a couple of weeks. By using Savon first and getting reimbursed from your insurance company you have actually doubled the amount of yearly coverage that your dental insurance company provides.
Please visit our Business Partners Guide
I know that everyone that visits websites is used to seeing pages and pages of links. Our Business Partners Guide IS NOT just a page of links. This is a listing of companies that are members of Savon Dental Plan. Almost all of them will give Savon members some type of a
discount and the ones that have Savon Preferred! next to them have special offers or promotions just for Savon members. You may be able to save some time and money by utilizing this directory.
To Your Health:
For the past couple of months I have told you what a juice by the name of Tahitian Noni has done for me, my family and friends. In the July newsletter I went into depth about this product and I made an offer to anyone that was interested in having lunch and maybe learning more about Tahitian Noni. Since I only offered a few gift certificates, many of you thought that they would be gone before you had a chance to read the newsletter. Well I only had 1 person respond, so I am making the same offer this month.
If you are sincere about your health, have tried other products that don't seem to work or have not produced the results that you wanted, I invite you to try Tahitian Noni. Call me at 602-841-3494 for more information.
Once Again - I am not trying to sell anyone anything - My goal is simple. I just want to introduce you to Tahitian Noni! Please take a few minutes and visit the Tahitian Noni International website and read about this fine product.
Just a reminder! Don't forget to tell your friends:
In the June newsletter I explained how easy it is to make money telling your friends, family and co-workers about Savon. I want to thank those of you that have already referred people to us and I want to encourage the rest of you to make sure that you mention Savon whenever you have the opportunity.
Remember: Word of mouth is always the best source of advertising!
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