Does having an HMO affect my crown?

 If you are on an HMO and need a crown, one of two things will be proposed:

1. a base metal crown (see above about sub $500 crowns) from the cheapest dental lab in the neighborhood.
2. an upgraded crown that is conveniently not covered by your HMO.  Names like Captek, Empress and Procera will be thrown around.  Also conveniently, the upgraded crown is full price and 3x more expensive than the base crown

I certainly don't recommend skimping on dental care, but I truly hate the bate-and-switch games of the HMO clinics.  That's why I turned down $50,000 a year for two days a week to work for one of them.  After two days of working for one, I would rather give up dentistry than to sell my soul for a few dollars.