Cirrus Dental

In the fall of 2019, Delta Dental announced that they were going to reduce benefits for all of the patients in my practice with Delta coverage. I decided to make a change. I became a non-restricted provider.  It was a very scary decision. I had prepped my team that I was considering this change for months. But when the time came, I wasn't sure what the result would be. Would I lose 35% of my patients, would my practice be able to survive? Would I be able to retain my staff? I have great patients and a great staff and want to be able to provide the best dental care with the best staff. I sent a letter to all of my patients letting them know about my decision, that we still welcomed them in our practice, and letting them know that we were offering an alternative, an in-office membership. I had calculated that the membership was a great value that would cost the patient significantly less and allow us to earn more. To my surprise, very few patients left, many subscribed to our members

As we move forward with continual changes in the dental office, creating new efficiencies is necessary to improve costs for patients and increase profits for dental teams.    Dental insurance has played a critical roll in allowing individuals to seek preventive care over the years for a fixed monthly cost. However, over the years the insurance executives have become “fat cats” often retaining more than half of the premiums patients pay while decreasing the reimbursements to dental offices. The insurance executives advise dental offices to find more efficient ways of operating.   Dental memberships allow a more efficient way to operate, transforming the dental office into a lean machine and eliminating the high overhead associated with traditional insurance. The patient subscribes directly with the dentist, allowing for lower monthly costs while boosting the office income.   A membership program can also help you to escape the PPO trap, by offering your patients an alternative. 

If a 30 minute prophy now takes you 45 minutes have your fees been adjusted accordingly? If you have 50 percent less time in your schedule, how will you fill your schedule? If you are participating with insurance companies with unrealistic reimbursement rates what will happen to your income. Many practices have maintained the salaries of their staff which should equate to 25-30% of revenue. If you now have an effective 50% increase in staffing costs due to increased appointment times, are you able to absorb the difference? Do you want to consider a change? It may sound counter intuitive, in a time with so much that is unknown, do you want to drop an insurance company now? With an in-office subscription service you can begin to take control of your economic future by setting fees that reflect the current economic reality.  Many dentists are now dropping big dental insurance carriers. They still accept payment from these insurance companies, they have just changed their stat

In-Office subscriptions can have a variety of service charges imposed by the administrators. Here we will outline some of the more common pricing strategies of management companies to help you make an educated determination of what is best for your office. Some companies have one price and some use a combination of costs. ·        Per Patient Fee – This is a fixed amount you will pay monthly or annually for every patient subscribed ·        Percentage Fee – This fee is a percentage of the funds you earn from your subscription ·        Processing Fee – Some plans require you to run all of your credit card transactions through their service and charge a fee based on these transactions ·        Monthly or Annual Fee – A set amount, regardless of the number of patients you have enrolled in the service ·        Sign-up Cost – A fee required to setup your account. Many times, this fee is waived. It is used as a hook to make you think you are getting a good deal if you signup i