What value are you getting from your dental plan provider?

Simon Reynolds from Patient Plan Direct takes a look at how the dental plan market has evolved and how this has affected dentistry

If your dental practice offers its patients a dental plan then there’s a good chance you’ll administer it through one of the ‘well known’ plan providers in the market. When you made the decision to start a dental plan or indeed if you are thinking of starting a dental plan, what is your main objective? Our guess; It is a means of reliably debiting patients month on month to generate regular income whilst offering your patients an excellent vehicle to budget for and access quality preventative dentistry.

Essentially the administration of a dental plan involves collecting a fee from a patient month on month and in many cases incorporating an A&E dental insurance policy. Therefore, the role of a plan provider should be straightforward and involves administering a financial transaction and facilitating insurance cover. Despite the simplicity of this model many plan providers seem to have evolved in to tying in additional services and support in other practice functions, offering access to events, entertaining ‘key clients’, employing business coaches and much more. This has resulted in a trend of inflating fees year on year. The question is whether or not this evolution is of benefit?

Good or bad evolution?

Paying for services that are useful and utilised is justifiable. But many practices don’t access the range of services offered by their plan provider, and many will never need to, despite paying for the privilege. It’s rather like buying a Christmas Hamper and only cooking the Turkey!

It’s also alarming how many practices don’t actually know how much they pay to administer their dental plan or take the time to assess just what they get from the fees they pay. For many practices there is a worthwhile opportunity to significantly cut costs by administering their dental plan more efficiently. For some, plan provision with access to all the add-on’s may be the right choice, but for many a simple and reliable solution delivered at lower cost makes sense.

The alternative which makes sense

Four years ago Patient Plan Direct came to market with a unique approach to dental plans. A reliable, low cost, practice branded and administratively friendly means of offering patients a dental plan.

This ensures practice’s that administer their plan with Patient Plan Direct know exactly what they pay for and choose to spend the money they save in areas they see fit. It’s an approach which makes sense and is being discovered by more and more practices throughout the UK.

-          We charge a flat transparent fee structure of just £1.00 per patient per month, which can prove to be more than three times less expensive than other providers. 

-          Our fee includes worldwide A&E insurance underwritten by Hiscox insurance.

-          We’ve never increased our fees since we launched our service.

-          Our parent company is First Capital Cashflow, one the UK’s leading payments bureaux. We’re experts in delivering managed payment solutions which is why we’re able to offer our service at such great value.

-          On average we save practices around £9,000 every year, but have saved some practices significantly more.

-          Our client retention rate is 100%. Our client testimonials highlight our focus on quality client service. We’re not just a cheap option, but rather a great value alternative.

Is it time you assessed how you administer your dental plan or if it’s time to start a plan? Switching provider or starting a plan is simpler than you might think. At the very least we promise it’s worth understanding more about Patient Plan Direct. Take action, contact us today and kick start 2014 with a bang.

FIND OUT MORE about Patient Plan Direct’s unique approach to dental plans, charged at just £1 per patient per month.

Visit. www.patientplandirect.co.uk plus more info on www.patientplandirect.com/fees/the-big-fee-freeze/

Call. 0844 848 6888

Email. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Twitter @PatientPlan