At the dentist today. Still cavity-free (thanks, dad!).Had the most-unusual habit glitch where I left my wallet at home. Can’t recall doing that in recent memory. That left me at the dentist with no ID, no money, no credit cards, and no checkbook. They file my insurance, but require $2 to do so. Or so I though (had always done that — worth it considering the percentage rate my insurance company screws up claims, IMHO).So I ‘fessed up that I didn’t have any money, and their comment was, “Don’t worry about it.” So I wondered (to myself), do they only collect that fee from the people that want to pay it, don’t bellyache, and just take it. Is that like a tax for honest people? I fully intended to pay it (having relatives in medicine helps me understand their costs and overhead for filing this type of thing), but now I am left wondering if it’s just a scam.The communications mystery is, if they really want that money (which likely adds up over a year, and is cash paid NOW), why say “don’t worry about it”? Why not say, “you can pay us next time” or “can you drop it by if you’re in the area later this week?“? Otherwise, someone might get the idea that the filing fee is optional, blog on the issue, and the whole world could know. Hypothetically.
Make sure your words match your meaning.
