1. You have more power than you think.
2. Practices with little or no PPO participation generally do get fewer new patients. However, practices deep into PPO participation do not get proportionally more new patients as they take on more and more programs and more discounts.
3. Each practice has to find the “right balance” of PPO participation. When Dentists have complete control over their fees, most of them try to balance the fees so they aren’t too low or too high. In effect, moderating your PPO participation is like setting your fees.
4. Chances are that you are already seeing some patients out-of-network. That is proof that you can be liked for more than you “in-network status.”
5. If you drop a PPO and your staff is properly trained, you will retain the majority of the PPO’s patients – unless the patients have no out-of-network benefits or very little out-of-network benefits.
6. Whenever dealing with insurance either as in-network or out-of-network providers, it’s important to accentuate the positive,
“The good news is that with your Delta policy you can go to the Dentist of your choice…”
“We have many patients on this plan and in general things work out quite well.”
7. You can’t just leave PPOs, you need to be working toward something. A PPO transition can help create a practice “Renaissance.”
8. If you are collecting less than 75% of your Gross Production, take a serious look at reducing PPO participation. Too often Dentists sign up for a plan too quickly and drop too rashly. There are thousands of dollars and many patients at stake. Make your decisions logically.