Navigate the Trouble with Dental Reimbursements

In this article, we discuss the challenges dentists face with reimbursements and how implementing the best dental billing practices can improve reimbursements.

The dark side of dental reimbursements

According to the 2023 Dental Business Insights Report, dealing with insurance claims is the biggest hassle for 61% of dentists surveyed. This pain point is due to more dental practices reporting lower reimbursements from their insurance plans. In recent years, ADA Health Policy Institute (HPI) reported that reimbursement rates among dentists either had stayed the same or decreased.

We understand that insurance claims likely make up half of the dental clinics’ overall revenue. Every dollar earned helps run the business by paying salaries, bills, updates, and equipment repairs. However, every time payers deny a claim, income is also delayed.

Consider this: The intricacies of dental insurance policies, coupled with insurance companies’ profit-driven tactics, make it difficult for you to submit a clean claim. Dave Monahan explained in Dental Economics (2019), “It is apparent that reimbursement is a long-term problem that is only getting worse. The reimbursement model has been in a slow, downward spiral for years. Dental insurance has become very one-sided and designed around the needs of the insurance companies, not dentists or patients.”

How to navigate the reimbursement process with efficiency

The current landscape of dental insurance indicates the need to fix the financial relationship between dentists, patients, and insurance companies. The least you want is to be distracted by endless paperwork, back-and-forth communications, manual and administrative tasks.

Never chase down reimbursements again when you can implement these dental billing solutions:

• Better claims management through automation: Facilitate electronic submission of insurance claims, track their status, and manage rejections or appeals.
• Simplify the process of generating patient info: Implement a streamlined process for verifying insurance before the patient’s appointment.
• Offer patient financing options: Help reduce accounts receivable and lower the risk of bad debt. Other dentists offer their own dental membership plan for uninsured patients.

Dental professionals are outsourcing their billing departments to third-party experts to encourage timely payments and a more efficient and patient-friendly billing process. A dental billing company like Synapse can seamlessly implement these strategies and give you a pool of elite teams dedicated to enhancing the overall experience for both your dental practice and patients.

Ready to earn every dollar with Synapse’s dental billing?

In the face of insurance complexities, high-quality and efficient dental Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) services emerge as a crucial resource. Our dental RCM ensures that your claim denials are reduced significantly while collection rates are increased to the highest capacity, streamlining claim submissions and handling appeals effectively.

Catch us at the Southwest Dental Conference on August 16 and 17, 2024, at the Hilton Anatole, Dallas. We’d love to meet you at Booth #904 and discuss how we can navigate the troubles within the dentistry industry.

Schedule a FREE consultation with our experts today at Contacts or by calling us at (844) 384-7532.

Source:

American Dental Association. (2024). Economic Outlook and Emerging Issues in Dentistry. Retrieved from https://www.ada.org/resources/research/health-policy-institute/economic-outlook-and-emerging-issues

American Dental Association. (2020). 2020 Survey of Dental Fees. Retrieved from https://ebusiness.ada.org/Assets/docs/85994.pdf

The 2023 Dental Business Insights Report. (2023). Retrieved from https://content.getweave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-Dental-Insights-Report_v1.pdf

Monahan, D. (2019). The reimbursement crisis is real. What are you doing about it? Retrieved from https://www.dentaleconomics.com/macro-op-ed/article/16386229/the-reimbursement-crisis-is-real-what-are-you-doing-about-it