How many times do you hear patients say, “Why am I even paying for this insurance?” It’s a fair question, and one you need to be ready to answer. Every day I talk to dentists all around the country. I can confidently tell you there is a huge desire to get patients to move away from dental insurance.
The average practice has roughly 70% insured patients. The large majority of these patients are getting their dental insurance through an employer or purchasing a Medicare supplement plan. Open Enrollment, which starts October 15th, is the only time patients have the option to either opt in or out of their dental insurance plan for the following year.
For the practice, dealing with these insurance plans is a huge headache. And it’s one that rarely results in a positive outcome for the patients or the practice. Help your patients do the math! When they know what they are spending on insurance AND out-of-pocket expenses, the better decision they can make. Many patients are stunned at what they’re not getting out of their insurance plan. They will happily elect to opt out, which is one less insurance plan you have to deal with!
Use these tips to talk through options with your patients and reduce the number of insurance hoops you have to jump through next year.
Create a price comparison sheet
Have a template of a price comparison sheet to fill out that easily shows patients their out-of-pocket spend.
Run a report to find all your patients who’s insurance plans do NOT cover preventive care at 100%.
Patient’s paying a premium for dental insurance (even part of a one) and 20% for preventive care, will save money dropping the insurance plan. Proactively reach out to these patients through your communication platform, like Legwork, reminding them to reevaluate their dental plan. Let them know preventive care is not 100% covered. Encourage them to double check their out-of-pocket spend before opting in for another year.
Run a report to find all your patients who have less than $1,000 maximum and/or $100 deductible.
If a dental insurance plan has less than $1,000 max, it also likely has a lot of exclusions and limitations. You should proactively market to these patients and let them know what the average cost for preventive care is in your practice. Help them spend their money more wisely.
Have an alternative plan in place ready to offer them.
Identifying which patients are UNder-insured and letting them know is only half the battle. You want to be sure you also bring them a solution. The best solution is having a subscription plan in place. Sometimes referred to as an in-house membership plan, a subscription plan allows your patients to choose a monthly payment option, similar to an insurance premium. This adds complete price transparency with a list of included services. No guesswork. You become the hero and the patient advocate. When they feel like you are proactively looking out for their best interests, they are loyal to you.
Don’t have a subscription plan in place? We are here to help customize a plan unique to your practice and roll it out before Open Enrollment. Schedule a call today!
