Are insurance companies killing your profits and scaring away your potential patients? I recently spoke with a doctor who told me about a patient who came into his office and needed a lot of treatment. The doctor made a diagnosis and created a treatment plan that was submitted to the insurance company.
Then, the insurance company rejected the claim and had the audacity to tell his patient and his dental practice that her condition was not bad enough for treatment, as if it knew better than an experienced doctor. Insurance companies can be unethical in their business decisions.
Insurance companies dictate your prices, cut profits, and reject your patients’ claims, giving them a bad experience and low-quality dental care. I have heard many dentists say that dental insurance is like a gift card. Patients can use it, but someone else dictates what they can and cannot get from it. It is a bad deal for your patients and for your practice.
Dental insurance is a barrier to entry for most dental practices because patients lose their dental benefits, especially those who are retiring, and are afraid to go see the dentist because they think they can’t afford it. This is a great opportunity for your office because you can create an in-house membership program that allows your patients to pay you a monthly or yearly membership, and they get structured benefits at your practice. You cut out the middle man, build loyalty with your patients, accurately diagnose issues, provide quality dental care, and generate recurring revenue.
Untapped Market
United States Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, says that 108 million Americans don’t have dental insurance. I have never had dental insurance, and he hasn’t contacted me or any other person I know who doesn’t have dental insurance. That probably is an inaccurate number and falls short of the real total. I believe that close to 55% of Americans don’t have dental insurance. Retirement also forces people to lose dental insurance. By offering an in-house membership program, your office will be able to attract more patients and build a solid stream of recurring revenue.
How to Manage an In-House Membership Program
Managing an in-house membership program or a savings plan can be very simple with the right tools and tricks. I recommend selling this type of program on an automated monthly or yearly schedule. This will allow patients to subscribe to your practice to get the benefits without all the hassle of periodic selling. This automatic renewal system will help things run smoothly. It will allow you to grow your patient base and recurring revenue for your practice, which increases financial stability. Using in-house membership software will automate payments and renewals for your program and allows your staff to easily manage it for your office.
How to Grow Your Membership Program
There are many strategies to grow your membership program. According to Dr. Christopher Phelps, the best way to grow your membership program is to target retirement communities and schedule presentations there. Offer some sort of incentive to attend such as food and beverages, and educate your potential patients about your membership program. If you want to learn more about this strategy, read How to Create and Grow Your In-House Membership Program.
Another great strategy is to contact local businesses and have them offer it to their employees as a benefit for working for their company. This will enable your practice to leverage local businesses and gain a lot of memberships with one sales pitch. There are so many strategies and so many opportunities for your office to build an in-house membership program. This is truly the best way to reduce insurance headaches and increase your profits.
Conclusion
Creating and growing an in-house membership program for your office can be the best way to reduce your need to accept dental insurance, grow your patient base, and build sustainable revenue for your dental practice. If you want to learn more about in-house membership programs, you can schedule a demo to learn how to create, organize, and automate one for your dental practice.
Jordon Comstock is the founder of BoomCloud Apps, a software company that allows dental offices to accept payments via their websites and create in-house membership programs. He also owns RocketFire, which provides dental offices with a small team of Web designers for an affordable subscription. He can be reached at 801-753-8586 or jordon@boomcloudapps.com.
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