If the thought of managing in-house dental plans is a barrier to entry for your practice, read on to learn more about what they entail and get valuable insights, tips, and best practices for implementation and management.
Understanding in-house dental plans
In simple terms, in-house dental plans are membership-based programs that dental practices offer patients directly. They differ from traditional dental insurance because they typically involve patients paying an annual or monthly fee in exchange for certain preventive services like cleanings and x-rays, along with discounts on further treatments.
What are the benefits of offering in-house dental plans?
In-house dental plans offer practices a much more predictable stream of income by increasing patient loyalty. They also eliminate the headaches that often go hand-in-hand with dealing with third-party insurance companies.
For patients, they provide clear, affordable, and accessible dental care without the fine print and unexpected expenses that can come with conventional insurance.
Crafting and implementing your in-house dental plan
Practices can completely transform their service model by designing an effective and efficient in-house dental plan.
This starts with assessing the needs of your clinic’s specific patient demographic. Ask yourself questions like: What services do your patients use most frequently? From there, you can start to define the plan’s scope clearly and decide which services will be covered and which will come at a discounted rate.
Once crafted, you must take a structured approach to implementation. Begin with brainstorming and setting objectives to help you develop a financial model that covers both expected patient uptake and the potential impacts on your practice’s cash flow. Consider the cost structure of providing your services and ensure that the plan’s price adequately covers these costs, while leaving some profit margin. Finally, thoroughly educating the entire practice team about all aspects of the plan will ensure that they can communicate the plan clearly and concisely with patients – and follow it moving forward.
Managing and administering your in-house dental plan
Once you have your plan in place, you need to prioritize effective management. This involves tracking enrollments, renewals, and payment processing. Consistent and detailed communication with members regarding plan changes or renewals is vital if you want to ensure that they always experience the greatest service excellence. It doesn’t stop there; you must continuously collect and analyze all feedback so that you can quickly change your strategy and improve your offering.
Managing these types of administrative tasks manually can become resource and time-intensive, using up valuable resources that could be better spent caring for patients. This is where leveraging dedicated platforms like Plan Forward becomes beneficial, with the tools and support needed to streamline plan administration and ensure accuracy, efficiency, and compliance at every stage.
Promoting and marketing to your patients
Successfully marketing your in-house dental plan will also play a part in successfully attracting customer loyalty and retention. Be sure to use tactics like clear, engaging communication to highlight the advantages of your plan to existing and potential patients. Promote the affordability aspect, along with the added convenience and tailored dental health benefits. Remember to use all the marketing channels you have access to— from your website to social media, email campaigns, and in-office brochures — to ensure your message reaches a broad audience.
What makes a successful in-house dental plan?
The market is filled with inspiring examples of successful in-house dental plans. For instance, clinics can offer different types of membership plans, like Adult, Child and Perio to attract and retain different types of patients.
You can read more about successful implementations here: https://www.planforward.io/success-stories/
Simplifying complexity with Plan Forward
Managing in-house dental plans involves a series of detailed and complex processes that require attention to a range of logistical and operational issues. That’s where Plan Forward comes into play – our platform offers tailored solutions to automate many of the tasks and to manage these complexities, freeing up your time and resources so you can focus on what truly matters: providing exceptional patient care. Let us handle the intricacies of administration so your practice can thrive.
By embracing effective management solutions, your practice not only offers patients a pathway to better oral health but also positions itself as an innovative leader in the dental care industry.
Contact Plan Forward today to learn more about how we can support your practice’s journey.
Frequently asked questions
What if my patients already have insurance?
In-house plans cannot be used in addition to insurance. These are plans for uninsured patients only.
How do I price my in-house plan?
That’s where we come in – we do detailed and thorough analyses of each clinic’s cost structure to determine a plan bundle and pricing that is still profitable for the practice.
What happens if my fees increase and I want to increase the plan pricing?
Transparency and communication are key. Inform members well in advance and use Plan Forward to manage and implement the price increase seamlessly and easily.
