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 al...

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 ...

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 f...

Dental PPO’s Will Drive You Out of Business Significant changes are underway in the dental marketplace as a result of the novel coronavirus. The ADA Health Policy Institute is forecasting a 2/3 decline in dental spending in the next year. This is coupled with increased costs for PPE and decreased capacity to see patients due to social distancing and new infection control procedures. The economics associated with PPO’s likely mean many of the procedures you perform will cost you more than you will receive in payments. Do you have the ability to set fair rates of reimbursement when you participate with a PPO? How long will you be able to continue practicing when you are losing money on procedures? With many traditional dental insurance companies retaining 40 percent or more of patient premiums, now is the time to consider a new economic model, an in-office subscription. A subscription service allows you to capitalize on the inefficiencies of traditional insurance by increas...

If your dental team is faced with downtime, you might consider having them learn about a new product or service that results in more patients and more income for the office. A dental subscription is a way to create recurring revenue for your office and create loyalty with your patients.  But what type of subscription is right for your office and what should you consider when setting up your subscription program? Who will administer the subscription?              Option 1 : Dental office does everything from designing the plan, crafting legal documents, contacting patients monthly for collections and renewals, maintaining financial records of transactions, maintaining renewal dates. Administering this plan is possible but requires significant startup costs, time and labor to administer.              Option 2 : Contract with a dental membership ad...

The Nest Egg is a savings vehicle that allows patients with a subscription using the Cirrus Dental platform to afford the care they need or want when they want it.  Let’s face it, when patients need to come up with the money to pay for a surprise dental bill, many will try to avoid or delay the needed treatment. Studies have shown that patients with available funding sources receive more dental care in any given year. With that knowledge, Cirrus created the Nest Egg to be a part of the subscriptions dental offices offer to their patients. The Nest Egg is set aside from the monthly subscription the patient pays every month. Unlike traditional insurance, if the patient doesn’t use the Nest Egg, the funds never expire and if the patient moves away and no longer has a subscription using the Cirrus platform, the money is refunded.  There are no restrictions on using the Nest Egg for dental care. Unlike traditional dental insurance, there are no deductibles or percentag...

How will you manage the increased costs associated with new PPE, more expensive PPE or a changed workflow if you can only see one patient at a time? Many dental offices are finding that the cost of face masks that used to be 10-15 cents each are now $2-3 dollars a piece, a 10-20 fold increase. In addition, many offices are considering adding new types of PPE that will need to be changed after each patient and that dentists may not be able to see multiple patients simulataneously, but rather one at a time and sequentially without overlap.  If you cannot see as many patients and each patient has higher costs from PPE and other supplies what is your plan for managing office income? Have insurance companies who have been collecting premiums while dental offices are closed offered to compensate you for increased costs? Some dental insurance companies have advised dentists that they should be ready for decreased reimbursements. Going forward dental offices are faced with...

Dental offices have different pricing and marketing strategies just like other businesses. Consider Amazon and Bed Bath and Beyond. When shoppers visit Bed Bath and Beyond, they typically have their 20% off coupon. Amazon does not offer coupons. If you compare the cost of products at Amazon and Bed Bath and Beyond with a coupon they are often the same. Similarly, dental offices create different marketing strategies. In its simplest form, a dental subscription is a way to smooth out the cost of dental care into a manageable monthly amount. A discount plan is an incentive to encourage people to join a practice or to join a subscription. Some offices include a discount as part of the subscription. For example, an office may offer to provide hygiene care for $30/month and as an incentive to join this month, offer members of the subscription 15% off any other treatment they receive in the office.  Is a straight subscription or a subscription with a discount better? It d...

Like many dental offices, you may be concerned with the state of the economy after having closed your office and how this will affect your income. During the 2008 recession, unemployment, at its peak, was less than half of what it already is. In addition to being laid off, many other patients will likely have their dental benefits cut or eliminated. Major deterrents to patients seeking dental care include fear of the cost and the lack of transparency with many dental insurance deductibles, co-pays, limitations and other terms that patients do not understand. Patients value a healthy beautiful smile and want great dental care. However, many are concerned about cost and if it fits in their budget. When you create a subscription membership program through Cirrus Dental, you are able to offer patients a simple, clear, and transparent way to afford the dental care that they already want. A $140 bill for an exam and cleaning can be a challenge for someone trying to stretch every dol...

Efficiency, transparency, simplicity. Cirrus was created by a dentist who was faced with the challenge of a major dental insurer demanding an immediate 10 percent reduction in reimbursements and three additional reductions over the next four years.  Rather than complaining, he started investigating, obtained the tax returns of the non-profit dental insurer who was demanding cuts in compensation and learned that they were retaining almost 40% of what patients paid in premiums to fatten the wallets of the company and its executives. To him, this showed that there was an opportunity for a more efficient system. Cirrus created a system that needs only 3.5% of revenues to support itself. With Cirrus you get what you see. We are not an insurance company with actuaries and floors of lawyers. We think we have the best product on the market for both you and your patients. We are so confident that we don’t try to hide our 3.5% service charge. We don’t have sign up fees. We don’t hav...

As Cirrus Dental grows in popularity, we were looking for a way to keep our users - and dentists in general - up to speed with features of Cirrus Dental and the benefits of dental membership programs in general.  We know not everyone is on Facebook or Twitter, and decided a blog would be the best way to reach everyone. We hope you enjoy what you read.  To learn more about Cirrus Dental, visit mycirrusdental.com .