As dental healthcare providers, our number one goal is to treat all patients to the best of our ability following appropriate standards of care. As a result of current COVID-19 pandemic climate and recent regulations, dental providers are providing additional personal protection equipment than pre COVID-19 . Historically dentists have had the stigma of being an ‘intimidating persona behind the mask’. Dental providers are now being forced to up the ante to supply multiple masks, including N95, face shields, gowns, etc. This challenges the practice to create warm and inviting energy with patients, let alone breathe. Many offices are installing air purification systems at a cost in the multiple thousand dollar range. As dental professionals, we do what is necessary to protect our patient but also our team members who we spend countless hours with, their families, ourselves and our families at home.
Remote Workers Need Schedules Too!
Posting payments for patients that have multiple insurance plans can be complicated. There are really only two ways to effectively post when dual insurance comes into play. The most ideal method of the two (explained below) saves an office time in the long run and ensures providers are always paid correctly off accurate collections.
“We are working remotely and continuing to collect from insurance companies even if the office is ‘closed.’ We’re still able to post and process the money you’ve already earned effectively helping the practice’s cash flow even though patients aren’t actually being seen.” To say this is a strange time in our world history would be putting it lightly. COVID-19 has put a halt to our everyday lives- family and work- but the show must go on. We’re navigating uncharted waters in business and the dental industry, but we’re in this together and we have your back. It’s no secret that patients aren’t frequenting dental offices during this time, and many offices are making the decision to close their doors until further notice. This is the most proactive measure to stay safe, stay vigilant, and not spread this awful virus, BUT it will affect production and collections. There is good news for your business and dental practice though! Internet access is a beautiful thing. The web has afforded us the ability to work remotely and continue collecting from insurance companies even if the office is “closed”. We’re here working to post and process the money you’ve already earned, effectively helping the practice’s cash flow even though patients aren’t actually being seen. Outsourcing your billing with Dental ClaimSupport allows the following to occur even if your doors are not open for business: Your clearinghouse is fully worked through and cleared of validation errors and rejections. Aging reports and claims research. There are always claims outstanding that can be worked to continue cash flow, regardless of if you are in the office or not. As long as insurance websites are open through phone lines and web portals, those claims need to be worked. Dental billers working remotely can still work to get money into the practice while the practice is closed. Payment Posting. Offices are continuing to receive checks from insurance companies processing claims as some claims can take up to 30 days to process. Offices also receive Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs), which need to be retrieved from insurance web portals. These payments need to be posted in a timely manner so deposit can be made and work doesn’t pile up. Be prepared for the heavy influx of patients once this blows over. Having your dental billing team in place will be paramount during this time. The appointment pages WILL be full, and your staff will be busy! Because your claims continued to be worked while the office was closed, and payments continued to be posted, you WILL be prepared and in good shape.. You will have your billing team in place to handle the heavy amount of claim submissions and processed claims to get your office back to normal. We are working to ensure Dental ClaimSupport is an anchor for you in this turbulent time. Through the good and bad we live by our mission to ensure dentists get paid by eliminating insurance strain. Now, more than ever, the value we add to reduce strain in your business and life is not taken lightly, and know we’ll weather this storm together. #dentalbilling
It happens often that doctors and OMs believe their aging report is an accurate estimate of receivables owed to the practice. Because the report says a certain amount is outstanding, the belief is that this is exactly what they should be able to put in their pockets. Unfortunately this is not true. Understanding why is crucial to predicting your actual insurance payments based on the numbers in your insurance aging report.
