Many dental teams are so busy with patient care that time-draining billing tasks have to take a back seat. You want to put patients first without sacrificing revenue. So to collect more at the lowest cost, you’re thinking of outsourcing your dental RCM allowing your team members to stay focused on patient care.
The founders of DCS noticed dentists losing millions of dollars in the billing process, and took action to ensure they collect what they’ve earned instead. We’re celebrating 10 years of dental billing service by sharing 10 benefits you will experience when outsourcing your dental RCM services in 2023.
Our 10 years of experience have shown us the many benefits including time to focus on patients while making revenue collection the best it can be.
We’re sharing 10 benefits of expert dental RCM services because your team deserves to take back control of your income from insurance companies. With confidence in your cash flow, your team can stay focused on patient care, and you’ll see your dental practice thrive financially and professionally.
Let’s dive into the top 10 reasons to outsource dental RCM services in 2023.
1. Increased insurance collections percentage
First things first, when you outsource your RCM you’re going to specifically see your insurance collections percentage begin to increase.
This is because you will finally have a designated expert (or experts, depending on the size of your practice) dedicated to making sure your insurance claims are submitted accurately. The billing expert will also work to get your older claims appealed and paid. With an expert focusing this closely on your insurance billing, you will begin to see your insurance collections increase.
In other words, your dental practice will make more money.
2. A cleaned-up insurance aging report
With this billing expert dedicating their time to your insurance claims, this means they will be working on your insurance aging report.
Your insurance aging report will be the biller’s first priority when you outsource RCM services.
They will start with your oldest unpaid insurance claims, and do the work and research, and contact insurance companies in order to get these claims paid. With this, you’ll begin to see your insurance aging report percentage decrease, and feel less overwhelmed when you think of all of your unpaid claims.
This will also contribute to your increasing insurance collections percentage!
3. A streamlined dental billing process
With billing experts handling your insurance and patient billing, your overall dental billing process will be streamlined. This means your billing process will run more smoothly, be more organized and get your practice paid efficiently. Your accounts receivable will start to decrease as your revenues increase.
Before working with RCM services, it’s common for teams to divide up billing work between one another, tasks being done whenever each team member can make the time. This can lead to tasks falling through the cracks. But by outsourcing this process, your team can rest assured knowing the experts who work on your billing are clear on their roles and responsibilities.
And when there is less confusion about who is doing what, productivity increases.
4. Fewer claim denials due to expert billing
With experts submitting your insurance claims and monitoring them closely, they are sure to be paid. You will notice that there are fewer denials or delays in insurance payments.
Related: 10 reasons your dental insurance claims are being denied
Of course, there are reasons insurance claims can be denied that are out of anyone’s control. However you will have extra eyes on your claims before they are submitted, and these eyes are trained and experienced in dental insurance. They know what kind of mistakes to look out for to avoid claim denials that will lead to payment delays.
This means quicker turnaround time for your insurance claims being paid.
5. Lower overhead costs
It’s common for dental teams to be stuck between hiring an in-house, full-time, experienced insurance coordinator versus outsourcing dental RCM services.
But the truth is, outsourcing dental RCM services is typically far less expensive than hiring an insurance coordinator in-house. If you hire an experienced insurance coordinator, their salary can cost you roughly $50,000 - $65,000 per year. And staff salaries typically count for most of your overhead costs.
A dental billing company’s typical pricing starts at around $1,300 per month for those with low total monthly claims ($40,000 or less).
If you’re a mid-sized dental practice, let’s say your total insurance collections are a little less than $100k per month. Your service fee will range between $1,400 and $3,500 per month.
That’s about $30,000 per year.
That’s a $20,000 to $30,000 difference between hiring an experienced insurance coordinator versus outsourcing RCM services. So, the huge benefit here is lower overhead costs.
6. Access to a pool of billing experts
Another huge reason to outsource dental RCM services is the access your team will have to a pool of billing experts.
Dental insurance is a hyper-specific, niche topic. Because of this, dental teams often don’t know where to turn when they have questions or concerns about their patients’ insurance coverage. When you outsource your dental RCM services, the billers you work with are like an extension of your in-house team and are happy to answer any billing questions you might have.
Not to mention, their fellow billing expert colleagues are also available to help out, especially if your biller is also stumped on an insurance problem. So you know your insurance claims are always in expert hands.
7. A less stressed-out in-house dental team
When your in-house team has too much on their plate - scheduling, answering the phone, checking in patients, etc. in addition to billing tasks - they’re likely stressed, overwhelmed, and possibly burned out.
Related: How to create better work-life balance by outsourcing your dental insurance billing
When your billing is handled, you’re fully equipped to lead your practice and team. Your billers have the billing tasks taken care of. Your in-house team is free to focus on the parts of their job that bring more fulfillment, such as taking care of patients and building relationships with them.
8. A better patient experience
This reason is a result of our previous reason to outsource RCM services. When your team is less stressed out by billing tasks, they can focus on building relationships with patients, and ensuring patients have a pleasant dental experience.
With your team free to focus on patients, your patients will see how much care you put into making each step seamless. They will see how pleasant the work environment is, and how well your team works together.
Your team will even have more time in their day to educate patients on their insurance benefits, leaving no stone unturned regarding their coverage. This will result in fewer surprises with their bill, fewer awkward conversations about the cost of their treatment, and a lower patient AR for your practice.
And this will collectively result in positive online reviews of your dental practice, and great word-of-mouth referrals.
9. Less contact with insurance companies for your team
Many dental teams say this is the biggest benefit to outsourcing their dental RCM: they no longer have to contact insurance companies.
Dental insurance companies have made it increasingly more difficult to submit claims for reimbursement upon the first submission. Because of this, teams are forced to contact insurance companies to complete the appeal process. And contacting insurance companies entails long hold times, unhelpful insurance representatives, and sometimes even dropped calls.
When you outsource your dental RCM, the biller will be the one calling the insurance companies regarding your unpaid claims. No more wasted time or long wait times!
10. More time for your in-house team to get new patients
With more time in your day, you and your dental team will be able to be more strategic on how you obtain new dental patients.
This could look like improving your dental practice’s social media presence, implementing a referral program, or redesigning your website.
Related: 5 tips on how to get more dental patients
All of these strategies take time and planning. When your team is bogged down with billing tasks, they don’t have time to be creative and implement their ideas. This is an exciting way for your team to collaborate and bond, while also benefiting your dental practice.
Ready to outsource dental revenue cycle management in 2023?
Your income depends on your revenue cycle being properly managed. And with so many other important responsibilities on their plate, your team doesn’t always have the time to dedicate to your revenue cycle.
When you outsource dental RCM services, you can make more money, streamline your billing process, relieve your team of stress, and create an amazing dental patient experience.
DCS is a profitable tool for dental teams looking to outsource dental RCM services. To learn more about how our experts can help your practice thrive, schedule a call with us.
Related Posts
Dental billing resources