How do you talk about dental insurance in your practice? Does everyone in your office understand how you handle insurance? Do your patients? A good description of the way your practice handles dental insurance should be covered in your practice's financial policy brochure. When new patients enter the practice someone should go over that policy with them and let them know what they can expect from the practice. All staff should be confident in discussing dental insurance plans with patients. The person who handles insurance in the practice must be well-versed in your state's insurance rules and regulations.
In these challenging economic times, patients want to know that they will be able to get as much help paying for their dental care as possible. Even fee for service practices would be wise to use their computer software capabilities to quickly generate forms for their patients and to go a step further and be willing to assist to some degree with complications that sometimes arise. Some practices extend 3 months grace period with no interest which allows patients to receive their payment and ask for an amount at the time of service with the remainder divided over the three months. Often the patient receives their payment and pays the balances well before the three months is up. Patients appreciate the consideration and seem to accept treatment more readily.
One of the most confusing things for patients is the PPO plan. Patients are starting to worry when they receive a notice from their insurer saying that their dentist is not in-network and that they will receive better coverage if they choose an in-network provider. The wording often implies that they must choose an in-network provider and that's often not the case. Be careful to assure them that they can still use their benefit with you and explain that while they may see less of a percentage per procedure, they will still have a reasonable coverage amount available to them.
Finally, patients often don't understand the difference between medical and dental insurance. Dental insurance is great for preventive care and general restorative care. For patients who are in good dental health and don't have the need for extensive restorative care, it should cover a good deal of their treatment. Medical insurance gives the most bang for the buck when things get big. Most medical insurance has a deductible that must be met before the patient receives any real help, but if they are facing surgery or an extensive illness, medical insurance should be a big help.
Like most things success depends on knowledge and preparation. If everyone knows how to interpret the patients plan, how to explain it so they can understand, and how your practice handles insurance, it can be a great benefit to the patient and the practice. The next time a patient asks, "Do you take my insurance?", how will you answer?
Ugh - I hate PPO's. It seems like we spend more time with patients going over how their insurance works than we do performing the actual procedure.
Posted by: Tooth Man | October 15, 2010 at 04:23 PM