About 164.2 million Americans have private dental insurance, which means that a sizeable portion of the patient base for most dental clinics is enrolled in a PPO. With such a big patient base, it makes sense that you don’t want to stop accepting PPO patients who’ve been with you for years or discourage new patients from visiting your office because you don’t take their insurance. But with the right preparation and execution, it’s possible to do it effectively. Therefore, our dental practice coaches at Bryant Consultants share on the blog why you shouldn’t be afraid to drop PPOs and what you can do to better serve your practice and your patients.
Dental Insurance is Obsolete
Dental insurance has been inefficient for a long time. All aspects of dental care, including patient access, practice compensation, treatment price, and prescription of procedures, are under the jurisdiction of insurers. They developed costly, overly-complicated dental plans that serve their interests alone and aren’t interested in your patients or you. Because of this, only 60% of insurance company funds go toward dental treatment. The remaining amount is misplaced in the insurance system.
Insurance difficulties and restrictions intervene with you and your team providing the best treatments for your patients. Low reimbursement rates, yearly caps, claim denials, and extensive documentation have a negative influence on output and profitability. Patients who have dental insurance face additional difficulties because of expensive premiums, deductibles, co-pays, pre-approvals, and yearly maximums.
As a result of COVID-19, dental insurance is now essentially useless. Because of patient distance, your clinic had fewer patients and produced less, and the cost of PPE and infection control substantially misaligned practice expenses and PPO reimbursement. The American Dental Association (ADA) estimates that patient distance is causing maximum dental office productivity to decline by 20–25 percent from pre–COVID levels, while personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control are increasing expenditures by 5–10 percent. With a 20–25 percent drop in output and a 10–15 percent rise in expenses, can your practice still profit on its current PPO fee schedules? What happens if PPOs reduce prices the following year and the years after that?
Face the Fear
It’s simple to comprehend why dentists express their unhappiness with insurance and wish to phase out PPOs, yet most of them do nothing about it. You could be concerned that discontinuing PPOs will significantly harm your patients, output, and profitability. It might be that most of the practitioners in your region accept the plans. Another reason you might feel obligated is if a significant local company provides it. Or perhaps some of the patients you like best are on a certain plan. Will many patients abandon my practice? Won’t my output decrease? Will my profitability suffer as a result? Despite the validity of your concerns, there’s no way to know the answers, and nothing changes unless you confront your worries by taking a risk.
When you remove a PPO, this offers a 40% margin of error. In other words, dropping an insurance plan and having 40% of your patients quit your clinic will be good since it results in the same amount of revenue while requiring 40% less labor from you. The additional time can then be used to provide patients with better care, attract new clients, or take a break. It gives you back control and allows you to choose the routine you want.
What You Can Do for Your Practice and Patients
Share the truth with patients about their PPO plan and offer them a valuable membership plan that features low monthly payments. Our dental office consultants explain that members have access to preventative care and discounts on restorative and aesthetic dental procedures in exchange for a one-time enrollment fee and a small monthly charge. Adult, juvenile, and periodontal membership plans are the three plans available.
Bryant Consultants
Because of economic concerns or lack of dental insurance, millions of Americans don’t get dental treatment. They may have insurance but are concerned about the out-of-pocket costs connected to treatments. Establishing a dental membership plan can help patients get the care they need, make it affordable, and provide your practice with a residual monthly income that doesn’t depend on an insurance agency. If you have questions about dental membership plans and how to start one for your practice, feel free to contact our dental practice consultants at Bryant consultants by calling (877) 768-4799 or contacting us online to schedule an appointment.
