Monday, Aug 25, 2014

“Do you accept my insurance?” this is a question that thousands of dental offices receive from prospective patients multiple times per day throughout the country. How your dental team responds to that question can set the tone in terms of patient expectations and determine the future of the doctor- patient relationship.

In recent months, the question of how dental practices should be answering that question has become a discussion point for CDA members. Why?

With as many as seven out of 10 patients with dental benefit coverage being enrolled in dental preferred provider organizations (PPOs), patients are encouraged to seek treatment from an in-network provider for their dental benefit plan. When patients do seek treatment from in-network providers, the patient’s out-of-pocket costs are generally lower since participating PPO providers usually agree to a reduced fee schedule with contracted plans. Patients are usually responsible for their deductible, applicable co-payments and any non-covered services.

There are many dental practices that, whether intentional or not, are providing the wrong information to their perspective patients when the patient asks “Do you accept my insurance?”, thus misleading the patient. This is a direct violation of the CDA Code of Ethics. Read more by clicking here - Source: www.cda.org