So you’ve heard about this service that you’re noticing more and more of your fellow dentists utilize: outsourced insurance billing. And from what you’ve heard, this service is helping dentists all over the country increase their collections percentage while also relieving their admin team of dealing with insurance companies.
But there are many dental billing companies, all competing for your business. Even if you’re ready to make a decision, stepping into the fray can feel overwhelming. Of course, you want to choose wisely.
So where do you start when hiring a dental billing company?
There are a few questions you’ll want to prepare before you talk with dental billing companies about handling your insurance claims. As a dental billing company ourselves, we always encourage dentists to do their own research and learn everything they can about outsourcing their insurance billing before signing on with anyone, whether or not you choose Dental ClaimSupport.
That way everyone can be on the same page about the value you get, and what you should expect from a dental billing service.
In this article, you will learn 3 questions about hiring a dental billing company that will help you make this decision confidently. Not only do you need to do research on which billing company is right for you, but you also need to figure out the right questions to ask.
What goals do you have? What are you hoping the billing company can help you with? You’re also going to need to have a transparent conversation with your dental team to get everyone on board with this change.
Let’s dive into the 3 questions to consider that will help you feel ready and prepared when hiring a dental billing company.
1. What are the goals the dental billing company will help you achieve?
You’re hiring the dental billing company for a reason: You want to make more money! And give your team more time in their day to focus on other things in the dental office. But let’s get specific.
Figure out your goals and ask the dental billing company about what processes to expect. Good questions to ask or consider include:
- What is an ideal insurance A/R goal?
- What do your current processes look like and what should they look like?
- What will the roles and responsibilities for everyone on the administrative team be?
If you’re unsure about any of these, the dental billing company should have clear answers. These are good questions that will help clarify your vision about what life will be like to work with the company.
To get meaningful answers, you’ll want some of your own numbers handy when you first begin speaking with a dental billing company.
Run reports to see the performance of your practice
A good way to get ready to work with a dental billing company is to know your most important practice numbers. This includes your collections (patient and insurance), your account and insurance aging reports, your adjustments and insurance write-off reports, net production, accounts receivable, and daily deposit report (or reconciliation).
Here is a list to keep in your back pocket of reports you should continuously run:
- Production report
- Write-offs report (insurance write-offs and adjustments/courtesies)
- Collections report
- A/R report (insurance and patient)
- Daily Deposit report
You should be regularly checking these reports anyways, but having them ready for hiring a dental billing company can set the groundwork for what the billing company is expected to improve. It gives a specific starting point that will be measurable as you achieve your practice revenue growth.
You will be able to monitor and evaluate the biller’s progress daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
2. What kind of dental billing company are you looking for? (services, communication style)
Now that you know what your numbers look like, you need to find a billing company that is the right fit for your dental practice. You need to figure out what kind of budget you’re looking at to pay for one, and what kind of services you need.
Most dental billing companies have all of this information listed on their website. You can also always call and ask the billing company to clarify what they do.
Some aspects of a billing company that you might want to ask about during the sales process could be:
- How often do they communicate with your team?
- How often do they post insurance payments?
- How often will they work on your aging report?
- Do they work to overturn denials and downgrades as part of the service?
- Are you able to easily monitor their performance?
These are the kinds of questions you should be asking in the initial phone calls with their sales representatives in order to get an idea of how this working relationship is going to look. It will help you figure out if the biller(s) will fit in with your team.
There are also a few red flags to watch out for while researching dental billing companies.
Beware of the following red flags
Have you ever sat on hold for customer service after going through endless automated prompts, and you desperately just want to speak to a real human?
Unfortunately, some dental billing companies choose to maximize automation at the expense of connecting with you as a person, and poor communication is the result of that choice.
Make sure the vetting process for the billers provides the degree of human interaction you’d want for someone handling so much of your income. Ask:
- What’s the training process for your remote biller? You need to make sure you’re hiring an expert. You need to choose a company that vets all of their billers and puts them through a rigorous training process before letting them touch your practice’s insurance billing.
- What’s the process for reaching a real person when you have a question? Is there too much automation involved in communicating? Talking to a real human when hiring a dental billing company is important (isn’t it crazy that this is something we have to mention?). The best way to avoid too much automation is to take note of how they communicate with you when you’re just inquiring about their services.
- How do they handle claims that are denied or downgraded? One reason dental practices lose money comes from a common practice of posting claims as denied without fully appealing or researching the claims. Ask how the dental billing company will handle problems with claims.
Denials sometimes point to the need for change during other points in working with the patient, such as verifying insurance eligibility, or learning to get additional narratives, photos, or other documents that you might not be used to providing. Do their answers reassure you that you’ll be building a better billing process together? If not, you may need to keep looking.
You know your dental practice better than anyone. Make sure going into the research process that you figure out what your priorities are for your dental practice, and what you need personally as well.
3. How are you going to tell your dental team about this upcoming change?
Unfortunately, a lot of dentists only tell the dental team about this decision after it’s made, and it comes as a surprise. This can make accepting and adjusting to a new way of working more difficult. If the admin team seems upset by the news you’re bringing in a dental billing team, it’s helpful if you know ahead of time how to reassure them.
Outsourcing doesn’t mean you failed at cultivating a good dental billing process. It just means you are taking steps to make it more profitable, and maybe even make the lives of your administrative team better. This allows your team to build relationships of trust and confidence with your patients.
The way you communicate this decision to your dental team sets the stage for how this relationship is going to work.
It’s important that everyone understands that no one is being replaced or losing their job (unless they’ve given you good reason). It’s also crucial for them to understand why you’re hiring a dental billing company.
Make sure your team understands the purpose of the billing company
If your team hasn’t been fully informed on what the billing company’s purpose is, what it does and how it may affect their job, they might be resistant to the change.
Effectively delivering the purpose of the billing company to your administrative team will offset any confusion or nerves they might have about taking on this new service.
We have seen team members become territorial around the billing process when an outsourced billing company comes into play, because they believe they’re losing control. As the dentist or business owner, and the person with the highest stake in the revenue of your practice, you need to explain that this service is an extension of your team, not a replacement.
Get your team in the right mindset to be all-in on the change that comes with outsourcing your insurance billing.
- Encourage them to have a positive attitude about this change.
- Tell them to be ready to make communication their top priority.
- Remind them that the more successful the new process, the more income for your practice, and more freedom to focus on growth and patient care.
Explain all of this, and the transition for your team will feel much smoother.
Ready to choose a dental billing company with confidence?
Now that you know 3 questions to consider when successfully hiring a dental billing company, you should be able to set your goals, do your research, and communicate this decision to your team confidently.
Following medical billing’s lead, outsourcing dental billing is becoming an increasingly popular tool used by dentists to maximize their revenue.
Dental ClaimSupport is a dental billing company that wants to give dentists back control of their revenue from insurance companies. Our experts can help your practice bring in more money while relieving your team of the stress that comes with fighting insurance companies on denied claims.
To begin the process of choosing an insurance billing company, read our article “The top dental billing companies of 2022.”
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