End-of-the-Year Dental Billing Headaches and How to Avoid Them

            The end of the year presents dentists and patients with many difficulties in navigating the confusing world of dental billing. From employers switching dental insurance companies to patients exhausting their dental benefits, the unique insurance hiccups that happen this time of year often result in unhappy patients, denied claims, and overextended staff. Thankfully, some of the most common year-end dental billing headaches can be mitigated by pay attention to a few specifics:     

          1. Open Enrollment and Updated Benefits Many companies hold open enrollment in November and December, so this time of year often leads to surprise plan terminations and dental claim denials. Meanwhile, many existing plans modify the coming year’s benefits. Dentists can streamline the dental billing process by alerting their patients to open enrollment season and collecting next year’s dental insurance information ahead of time.    By maintaining updated information, we keep the billing process working smoothly through the open enrollment season and the New Year. Similarly, getting ahead of the game helps us accurately verify coverage, which further prevents denials and unpaid patient portions.  

          2. Tracking Insurance Maximums Patients generally don’t know the annual max on their insurance plan, but dental insurance companies track this number like a bloodhound. Unfortunately, that often results in denied dental claims, especially on work completed toward the end of the year, when patients begin to reach their annual max.   However, our clients have an advantage because our dental billing service helps track insurance payouts. Once practices know that their patient has met their max, they can schedule future appointments after January 1st, allowing the max to reset and fully reimburse the dentist for their work.  

          3. Informed Patients Stay Satisfied. Satisfied Patients Pay Fairly. The complexity of dental insurance baffles most people. When patients feel blindsided by unexpected out-of-pocket costs, they sometimes stop trusting their dentist, avoid payment, or even seek a different provider. At no time is this more apparent than at the turn of a new year when maximums and deductibles reset, plan benefits change, and new dental insurance companies come into play.  
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          Providing comprehensive treatment plans can help bridge the provider-patient information gap, but treatment planning alone is not enough. Patients may need help understanding concepts like copays, deductibles, maximums, and coverage levels. Offer simple, jargon-free information to prevent delayed payment and keep patients satisfied.  

        Dental Billing Solutions Made Easy As dental practices educate their patients, we at SB Dental Billing Solutions support them with current insurance fee schedules and on-demand consultation. Together with our clients, we tackle the beast of year-end dental insurance issues effortlessly.