Hi Amy,
My insurance company is Anthem Healthkeepers. The only thing they have fought me on are the implants. They will approve for the surgery for removal of teeth but will not pay for the implants to replace. This is the only time they have denied me anything. I called my Ombudsmen and they sent me paperwork to take it up the chain of command a bit. I will be starting my implants soon but we have saved (and saved, and saved, lol) to pay for them as I simply cannot wait any longer. But, I'm hoping that, with the help of my doctors, that we can create legislation to mandate payment for implants for oral cancer survivors. This same process had to take place for breast cancer survivors also. Now insurance companies are required to pay for rebuilding the affected breast AND if the unaffected breast doesn't "match up", then it will cover for the woman to have THAT breast worked on so that she has a matched set!
My insurance company would pay for my implants if I had gone to a bar, gotten shit faced drunk, drove home and wrapped my car around a tree, knocking all my teeth out. THEN they would pay for it. But, they will not pay if the cause is disease. Go figure that one out!