Many states are preparing, or have relaxed mandates on dental practices operating. You can view a nationwide map on the ADA’s website here.
The ADA has also provided a Return to Work Interim Guidance Toolkit we are encouraging all our practices to review and implement. That toolkit can be found here.
Through many discussions with practices over the last several weeks we understand the difficulties that you all have been facing. Our goal is to provide you with solutions and support to help you through this unprecedented time. Future projections look good for a strong come back for most dental practices who have used this time to evaluate their systems and processes and effectively work this time as an opportunity.
We here at e-DentalMarket have done the same. While continuing to work on your behalf we have been reviewing what will continue to work in the future and what needs to be upgraded. There are new services on the horizon but in the meantime, we would like to share the tried and true revenue enhancers every dental practice can use.
#1 – UCR Office Fee Analysis Review.
Even if you accept insurance, your UCR fees DO MATTER. Many times, we see practices billing their contracted fee. This is never a good idea. How do you get a fee increase if the insurance company is already paying you 100% of your what you are billing? It is just not going to happen. Also, many insurance companies review UCR fees by region to determine how to design their contracted rates and justify regular increases. If your practice has not made any fee increases in several years, you are contributing to low averages for your area low, thus inhibiting higher reimbursements. UCR fee analysis should also be completed with data specific to your area with information that applies to your practice. UCR fees are also extremely important for those practices who are operating In-Office Savings plans. Evaluations should be done a minimum of once a year to ensure that you are not over discounting your plans, thus losing money. We offer a simple, straightforward software that makes reviewing comparisons a breeze. Click here for more information on our FeePro platform.
#2 – In-Office Savings plans.
With unemployment at a national high since the great depression we believe we are going to see may patients lose their insurance, which in turn is going to drop the priority level of visiting the dentist. We are encouraging every practice to set up an In-Office Savings Plan to continue to service those patients who may be losing their benefits. For those practices that already have a plan in place, now is the time to evaluate your plan and make adjustments or add additional plans to keep patients coming back. We offer In-Office Savings plan solutions and evaluations of current plans. For more information about PlanPro click here.
#3 – PPO Optimization
This goes way beyond negotiations. The truth is negotiating PPO fees in the traditional sense has been next to impossible over the past several years and it is going to be even more difficult over the next several months, if not years. Advanced Negotiations and Optimization is proving to be the way to get the best increases and most profitable PPO structure. This is no easy task and we recommend that you work with a professional to get this done. The “negotiation game” is dead and it requires a much more complex process to see increases from your insurance carriers. The key is understanding the industry as a whole and utilizing structural optimization that works with your current contract. We are continuing to offer free consultations for those practices who would like a PPO review to determine what options they may have available to them. Click here to schedule your time today.
All of us here at e-DentalMarket are thinking of you and working hard to ensure your continued success in the aftermath of Covid-19.