Dentists are all too familiar with the hassle of dealing with insurance companies. With increasing incidents of claim denials, long wait times, and some companies even sharing misinformation with patients, it’s no wonder why the industry has seen a rise in dentists ending their insurance contracts in favor of a fee-for-service model.
It may seem like the best option to drop insurance contracts altogether, but that isn’t the most feasible option for every dental clinic. After all, research shows that less than half of the U.S. population visits the dentist, and a vast majority of patients are those with insurance. For those who don’t visit the dentist, the most popular reason is due to cost of services, which becomes an even bigger factor for patients at clinics that shift to fee-for-service. As this conflict seemingly forces dentists between a rock and a hard place, it begs the question: Can dentists somehow have more control in their relationships with insurance carriers?
The answer is yes, but not without a team effort. That’s why the American Dental Association (ADA) has been leading the journey into putting power back into the hands of dentists and their patients. Over the last five years, dentists have come together through ADA to push for new dental insurance reform laws across the U.S. Reform laws have included virtual credit card laws, retroactive denial laws, and prior authorization laws, with the latter having been enacted in 13 states total. With these laws in place, dentists will face less hurdles in receiving necessary funds, and they can provide straightforward and accurate information to patients with less opportunities of misinformation to strain relationships.
Dentists have more power in numbers. By staying informed and working together to take active roles in advocating for dental insurance reform, dentists can not only find a more balanced footing when working with insurance companies, but they will have more power to strengthen relationships with their patients.
