4 ways to help patients use dental benefits before the end of the year

The “End-of-Year Slump” is a common occurrence for many service businesses, especially dental offices. Production usually goes down as the winter holidays draw near. But if your team is proactive and your patients are responsive, this year can end with a revenue boost and thankful patients. Here’s how…

Even if your income stays steady year-round, you’d love to get a boost in revenue by the end of the year. Who wouldn’t? So, whether this year’s revenue was strong or a struggle, it’s a good plan to head into the end of the year with a fierce cash flow strategy.

And this one helps your patients make the most of their insurance plan, so it’s a win-win: The Use It So You Don’t Lose It Approach.  

The Use It So You Don’t Lose It Approach is where your team helps your patients use up all their dental insurance benefits before the end of the year, when most annual benefits expire. You’ll help your patients get their money’s worth, and you’ll cross the year-end finish line with a boosted bottom line.

In addition to tips for helping your patients use their dental insurance benefits by the end of the year, we’re sharing an additional resource: A Dentists’ Checklist for End of the Year Success.

This checklist is downloadable and printable—no sign-up needed. This is a gift from DCS to help set up your dental business for increased profitability and growth this year and the next.

3 key takeaways about using dental benefits and boosting dental revenue before December 31:

• Your team doesn’t have to be pushy or ‘salesy’ to get dental patients on your schedule
• Boosting your revenue by the end of the year will make Q1 less stressful
• Using their benefits before the end of the year will leave patients grateful
• You can have higher production and serve more patients without creating more paperwork for your team
  

Why expiring dental benefits matter for your practice—and your patients

Every year, millions of dollars in unused dental benefits go to waste because patients don’t schedule their treatment before their benefits expire on December 31. Most dental insurance plans operate on a “use it or lose it” model—if benefits aren’t used by the end of the year, they can’t be extended or recovered.

The only ones who benefit from that are the insurance companies.

For patients, that’s missed treatments and money left on the table. For your practice, it’s lost production and an earning opportunity missed—and opportunities to build patient relationships are missed, too.

But by proactively reaching out to patients and encouraging them to use their benefits before they lose them, you can increase production, improve patient satisfaction, and strengthen long-term relationships.

Free resource: Download A Dentist’s Checklist for End-of-Year Success to make sure you’re fully prepared to finish the year strong.

1. Remind patients they’ll lose “free” dental dollars

We know having dental care covered by insurance isn’t free, but it’s already paid for, and the vast majority of your patients will let coverage dollars go to waste if they’re not encouraged to schedule treatment.

It’s up to you and your team to remind patients to take care of their dental needs while the coverage is available. 

Because, unfortunately, insurance benefits don’t roll over to the new year. If patients don’t use them, they’ll lose them. For example, if a patient’s plan covers $1,500 per year, but they’ve only used $600, that’s $900 in unused benefits, which is essentially free dental care they’re losing.

We understand this is insurance money and not a cash card—it’s neither cash in hand nor fun to spend. Using it for a visit to the dentist isn’t enjoyable like a shopping trip or an Amazon haul. But even if your patient isn’t having a party while in your chair, they’ll appreciate knowing they’re making the most of their benefits and getting treatment they need. 

You help your patients and yourself when you contact them about unscheduled procedures you’ve both been waiting to put on the calendar.

2. Split treatments to maximize insurance coverage

Here’s how your team can earn your patients’ trust without coming across like they’re just pushing for the sale: show your patients how to be strategic about dividing up their benefits maximum in a way that saves them out-of-pocket money. 

It’s truly the most logical way to get patients in the chair toward the end of the year. So, how does one be strategic about insurance coverage when it comes to fillings, crowns, and root canals?

For example, if a patient needs an implant procedure costing $3,000 and their insurance covers a maximum of $1,500 annually, then scheduling the placement this December and the restoration in January can help them maximize both years’ benefits—cutting their out-of-pocket costs in half.

Related: Happy patients, happy practice: 3 ways to improve your dental patient experience

It sounds backward, but collaborating with your patients to spend less of their money will, in turn, help your dental business earn more money. Basically, approach dental insurance as if it’s you and your dental patients’ common foe—insurance is the gatekeeper for what they’ve spent and what you’re owed. 

Have your team explain that you’re all working together to maximize what insurance spends and minimize what your patient spends while ensuring your patient gets the treatment they need for good health.

Another result is maximizing what you earn. Do this consistently, and you’ve won yourself dozens of returning patients—and referring patients—who trust you to look out for their best interests.

3. Expand availability around the holidays to fit patient schedules

Once summer is over, people are already planning their fall and winter holidays—often around the days their children will be out of school. This means a lot of your patients are available for appointments scheduled in November and December. 

This makes it important to use the months from August to December to remind your patients that they will soon have time off work or school to take care of their oral health. To improve their scheduling options, consider taking appointments on a few additional days before or after Thanksgiving and Christmas or adding early morning and evening appointment slots.

This small adjustment can make scheduling easier for patients and fill your calendar with end-of-year production opportunities. We’re not suggesting you and your dental team work on holidays—you deserve time off, too! But the days before and after a holiday are when your patients are most likely to be available.

If you’re looking to get more patients on the schedule, offer them more appointment slots. Adjust your opening hours to get a last-minute revenue boost before the year ends.

4. Reconnect with patients about unscheduled treatment

It’s always a good time to re-engage patients who have incomplete or unscheduled treatment plans. The last months of the year are even better because, as we mentioned above, patients and their children are on holiday from school and work.

Encourage your team to make quick calls, send texts, or use automated scheduling tools to remind patients of unfinished care.

Unscheduled treatments are missed health care for your patients and missing revenue for your dental business. Mobile phones, text messages, email, websites, and apps make it easy—and even effortless—to reconnect with patients, fill your calendar, and strengthen patient relationships, all while boosting production during the busiest season of the year. 

Our strategic vendor partner, Quanta, has AI-driven tools for engaging patients about scheduling treatment, as well as handling patient collections from the moment the balance is known through the write-back to your practice management software (PMS).

How will your team manage the extra paperwork and patient balance billing from increased production?

Once your practice is seeing more patients, particularly within a short 2-month window, the added insurance paperwork and balance billing can overwhelm your team. You can count on DCS and its partners to take care of both.

Outsource insurance billing to DCS

DCS Insurance Billing experts manage your claims from filing to payment and posting, including following up on any appeals. Imagine how much more your in-house team could accomplish if they weren’t bogged down by the never-ending tasks of claims management.

Learn more about DCS Insurance Billing services here.

Enlist automation for patient collections

Automated billing processes make it easy for patients to pay on time while freeing up your team’s time and decreasing how much you spend on supplies—win-win-win. Digital payment links, consistent reminders to mobile devices and email, and easy-to-use payment portals ensure your collections stay steady, even when your team is busy with in-office patients or on their vacation.

QuantaPay is where you turn to fully automate patient collections to streamline patient payments. You can also automate your scheduling to get patients back on the books, filling your calendar for the rest of the year for a boost in production without overworking your team.

Learn more about QuantaPay for faster patient payments and effortless scheduling.

Bonus Resource: A Dentist’s Checklist for Year-End Success

As a dental business leader, you have many things to account for by the end of the year. That’s why we’re sharing our bonus resource, A Dentist’s Checklist for End of the Year Success.

It includes 5 things you can do this year to set yourself up for even greater success next year. You can download and print this checklist to use in your office when preparing for Q1 and beyond.

Get the checklist now!

You can turn your year-end slump into a revenue jump

To recap, here are 4 ways you and your team can help patients use their insurance benefits before they lose them at the end of the year, which is a win-win for them and your dental business: 

1. Remind patients they’ll lose “free” dental dollars
2. Split treatments to maximize insurance coverage
3. Expand availability around the holidays to fit patient schedules
4. Reconnect with patients about unscheduled treatment

Remember, every patient’s experience at your dental office is your practice’s top priority. If you can execute this mutually beneficial strategy that encourages them to ‘use it before they lose it,’ you’ll gain their trust and earn a patient for life. 

And don’t forget to download our free Dentists’ Checklist for End of the Year Success that will guide you in ending your Q4 flawlessly and starting the new year stronger.

Book a free 30-minute consultation to see how DCS can help your practice finish strong and start next year with momentum.