Insurance verification can seem like a hassle, but it’s a critical part of any successful dental practice. It ensures that patients’ insurance coverage is accurate and helps minimize billing errors and disputes while maximizing practice revenue. Despite its importance, many dental practices struggle with the insurance verification process. What are some of the most common mistakes practices make?
Not Verifying Insurance Before Appointments
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Completing insurance verification before a patient arrives for their appointment is much better than waiting to do so until they arrive. This oversight can result in surprises for both the patient and the practice, like discovering the insurance does not cover a specific procedure or that the patient is no longer insured. These problems can delay treatment and create a negative patient experience. To avoid this issue, every dental practice should have a robust pre-appointment insurance verification process. This gives you plenty of time to confirm coverage, assess patient benefits, and identify any potential issues.
Using Outdated Patient Information
Insurance details can change frequently, and relying on outdated information is another common error. Practices often assume that a patient’s basic information remains the same from one visit to the next, but this can lead to billing discrepancies and denied claims. To combat this, practices should routinely confirm patient insurance details before each visit. Ask your patients to confirm their details during check-in, including their insurance policy information and basic information like their address and phone number.
Not Communicating with Patients About Their Coverage
Patients often have a limited understanding of their dental insurance coverage, and a lack of communication from your dental practice can make things even worse. When patients are not informed about what their insurance covers or their financial responsibilities, it can lead to delayed payment and a poor patient experience. Practices should prioritize clear communication with patients about their insurance coverage and payment obligations as part of the insurance verification process. Providing detailed treatment plans that include a breakdown of costs, insurance contributions, and estimated out-of-pocket expenses helps patients make informed decisions about their care and builds trust.
Neglecting to Use Technology for Insurance Verification
Manually verifying insurance can be time-consuming. Additionally, humans are naturally prone to errors that can lead to inaccurate results. Failing to leverage technology for insurance verification not only wastes valuable staff time but also increases the risk of mistakes. Investing in new software with integrated insurance verification tools can streamline the process. These systems can automatically verify coverage, calculate patient benefits, and generate accurate cost estimates. Our team can help you find the right insurance verification software for your needs.
Optimize Your Billing with APEX Reimbursement Specialists
Whether you’re looking for a way to make revenue cycle management at your dental practice easier or hoping to improve your overall patient communication plan, APEX Reimbursement Specialists is here to help. Contact our team today by calling (410) 710-6005. We look forward to working with you to make your practice a more profitable place.