February 1, 2021
How to Diversify Your Dental Practice Insurance
As the dental insurance landscape continues to evolve, now is the time to improve your profitability and patient relationships by latching onto the emerging trends. But what consequences are there for the dental industry? We break down the latest need-to-know information.
The facts
According to a 2020 survey by DentistryIQ, it all points “away from costly fee-for-service models and toward coordinated care, value-based reimbursement, and more streamlined, affordable, and prevention-based experiences.” In fact, the number of health plans offering adult dental benefits has more than doubled since 2018, according to West Monroe Partners, adding to the convergence.
What this means
Standalone insurers have historically dominated the market, but now they will be forced to evolve, partner with health plans or lose out to the new competition. Additionally, individual plans could shift toward employer-sponsored plans. In turn, dental practices will have to adapt to the growing demand for value-based care with lower costs in terms of reimbursement terms.
The results
Dental insurance plans will continue to converge to offer a unified product for oral and overall health. The health integration is supported by value-based dentistry, health plan partnerships and available dental insurance driving patients to routine care, resulting in more dental visits and even more billable opportunities for your practice.
When to strategize
Designate someone on your team to track insurance trends and explore the options that work best for your patient base. When necessary, outsource for efficiency and cost-efficiency. Staff members can continue communication with patients related to insurance education and benefits.
Continuing trends
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, manage your practice workflows with cloud-based practice management software for the benefit of both the patients and staff. And though not a long-term solution, teledentistry can be used to communicate any changes to patients without the need for an office visit.
What’s next?
Contact the experts at Professional Transition Strategies to get more guidance on how dental insurance trends may affect your practice.