PATIENT FINANCIAL SERVICES:
Insurance Interpreters Serving a broad patient population means the Dental School needs to navigate a variety of insurance scenarios. Some patients have private insurance, many have government-sponsored plans, and others have no insurance. But most MUSoD patients share a common concern when a student outlines their treatment plan: How much will it cost me? This is where Patient Financial Services (PFS) — manager Clare Scharpf and her two staffers, Penny Hammen and Sara Webb — comes in.
Left to right: Clare Scharpf, Sara Webb and Penny Hammen.
“Their role is dual, in that it’s educating the students about how dental insurance works, and we also want the patient to fully understand their costs and co-pays,” says David Dray, associate dean for Finance and Administration.
PFS staff look up the treatment plan and coverage and give patients a good faith estimate of out-of-pocket costs. They also handle claim submission including supporting documentation, required prior authorizations, follow-up communications and problem solving on the patient’s behalf.
“Our students, being novice providers, don’t know that much about what’s covered and what’s not, so we have to help them understand how a patient’s dental insurance coverage interacts with the proposed treatment plan,” Dray explains. “Even if they aren’t presenting the information once they are in a professional setting, a good dental provider should still understand how insurance coverage impacts the patient’s perspective. The more you know, the better.”
“Dental insurance is actually more complicated than medical insurance. There are more unique aspects to it that make it harder to explain to students and patients why something is or is not covered,” Dray explains. “We need to make sure everyone is well informed. It is nuts-and-bolts healthcare operation work, but just like the quality of care being delivered, it’s important to everyone involved that it gets done efficiently and effectively.”
DENTAL EQUIPMENT:
Master of Maintenance As a young war veteran with a freshly minted associate’s degree, Ed Palmer made his way from Mississippi to Milwaukee, seeking a better career opportunity than what the segregated South had to offer. He was hired to repair equipment at the Marquette School of Dentistry beginning June 27, 1974. Now, at 66, Palmer has seen quite an evolution in equipment technology — but he can still fix whatever is broken. “I basically had to teach myself how to repair the equipment,” which includes chairs, lights, stools, hand pieces, articulators, lab equipment and more, for the on-campus and satellite clinics, says Palmer. He went to school at night to study electrical maintenance, welding, pneumatics, hydraulics, mechanics and even business. “That training helped me a lot.” Today, Palmer has assistance from Ed Palmer
David Snodgrass, a newer dental equipment repair technician. “Our facilities and equipment have gone though some dramatic changes in recent years, but one constant has been the excellent service Ed Palmer has provided,” says David Dray, associate dean for Finance and Administration. “Ed truly understands the importance of making sure the clinic and sim lab equipment is ready to meet the needs of our students and faculty each and every day.” Palmer has prepared clinic equipment in anticipation of final exams for 40 graduating classes, typically working over the weekends to prepare everything for the students. The longtime MUSoD employee hints that he may be near retirement and wouldn’t mind having more time to spend on his two main passions: billiards and black history. When he does sign off, he will leave some very big shoes to fill. D E N TA L I M A G E S
5