What can you expect? We’ve helped many Doctors through this process, and most are surprised at how smoothly it goes. Yes, there always is some loss of patients. If patients have zero out of network benefits, you will lose them. If they’re young and cash strapped with multiple family members, you’re more likely to lose them. Yet, I see practices that have never been in network with insurance companies like MetLife, Delta PPO, Aetna, Health Partners, etc., have plenty of patients on those plans. The same goes for offices that transition out of network with those plans.
There is probably nothing else that you can do to add more to your bottom line, not just this year but for years to come. Learn how to balance your insurance participation. The alternative is to sign-up with every plan, in which case, you’ll have to work faster and faster to outrun the discounts. Also, there is the matter of equability. What about the patients that don’t have insurance? They’re paying your full fee, and in effect subsidizing the insurance companies and their subsidiaries. Where is the fairness in that? Not just to you, but to the other patients? If Dentists keep signing up for the cheaper and cheaper plans out of fear of loosing patients, it’s a race to the bottom.
Remember, you have more power than you think you do. Make it your goal to peel back on a PPO or two in the coming year. You’ll be glad you did.