Since the end of November 2016 we’ve heard rumors about Delta reducing compensation to doctors by up to 25%. Well, it is now January 2017 and it’s been confirmed! Delta has indeed reduced fees in many states across the country. In a conversation with Delta Dental’s headquarters in Georgia, Delta stated that they do intend to eliminate the Premier only options for doctors in every state. They claim that less than 1 percent of employers are purchasing Premier plans. Because of this they do not have the budget to compensate claims for patients who have a PPO plan under the higher Premier fee schedule. Whether they have the budget or not is a question many of us have. Check out this video about how Delta of Missouri treats its budget:
According to Delta they plan on eliminating the Premier only option in multiple ways. The most common way that has already be implemented in States like California is not honoring any Premier only contracts for new dentist, or dentist making any modifications with their contracts (purchasing a new location, changing a tax ID, merging practices under a separate tax ID…etc). This begs the question, how the hell did we get into this mess? With Delta being the large provider of dental insurance how can you call for any meaningful change that will actually work? The problem with Delta is that the doctors have given Delta the fuel they need to do what they are doing now. When we interview Fee For Service doctors across the country many state that they are only participating with Delta. Many say this as if an exclusive participation with Delta was a badge of honor or a great achievement. Let us be the first to tell you that offering Delta an exclusive is giving them the power to do what they are doing. By eliminating all of their competition you’ve given employers no choice but to use the Delta plans. Imagine a world where there was only 1 dental lab and only 1 dental supplier. With no competition whatsoever do you think these institutions will have any reason to lower their prices? If as a buying group you only had 1 option to make your purchases do you think you would have leverage to negotiate deals? Deals are made when business owners have choices and those choices are what keeps vendors honest with their pricing. Competition is healthy for the market and when giving any organization an exclusive to the market, that organization will do what’s in its own best interest and not what’s good for society or the customers it serves. So stop giving Delta an exclusive and stop giving them power to control the market.
May we suggest 2 things:
Build your own in-house membership program to capture and active the more than 50% of the population around you that do not have dental insurance. Go to www.boomcloudapps.com to learn more.
Participate in a revolutionary and exclusive dental network where you get to set your own fees. This exclusive network is not for everyone so if you don’t end up joining need not worry, someone will take your spot. The exclusive dental network we recommend has the potential of balancing the power of 3rd party payors such as delta and giving more of the power back to the doctors who provide care. Also, by saying exclusive, the plan will not accept everyone. Just the cream of the crop. Visit www.ProCareDent.com to learn more. The password for their locked video is revolution2017.
