Many patients feel that they do not receive the appropriate dental care due to inconvenience, high costs, fear, appointment conflicts, inaccessible locations, and dentists not accepting insurance. Dental insurance verification is one of the primary reasons for claim denials and inconsistent cash flow.
Skipping dental insurance verification is not an option for the practice. Even a minor slip-up can drain all the time and energy, resulting in unhappy patients. This article highlights how dentists, verifying patient information, can secure payment in the RCM.
The insurance verification originates with the patient's call. The practice should collect key information about the beneficiary, the insurer, and the employer.
The collection of these details at the initial point of contact enables the practice to determine eligibility. Some outlined issues take time and resources.
The experts at Capline Services have years of experience in handling situations. The outsourced team streamlines the dental insurance verification process to prevent denials and upgrade the consistent flow of cash. Experts empower providers to navigate patient details and verify coverage details before treatment.
Compliance with the HIPAA regulations safeguards patient personal data.
The initial verification is just the start until the practice receives the payment. With the new month, coverage may change due to employment status.
Complete Patient Data
Firstly, gather PII to verify eligibility during the first patient visit to the clinic. A single mistake in personal and insurance details can affect revenue. The wrong start date of the insurance policy provides incorrect information about coverage.
Verifying Patient Eligibility
The step confirms the eligibility for dental services. The patient from the policy tries to cover expenses to support their dental care. Verifying accurate information about coverage and benefits helps the practice receive quick payments. Information about co-pays, deductibles, and coverage annual maximums expedites verification.
Confirm Coverage before the Service Date
The practice contacts the insurer to verify insurance coverage before treatment. Sometimes, the patient's dental plan is not notified about their termination by the employer, as stated by the American Dental Association. As a result, the details may not be accurate.
The best practice would be to ask questions on their service day to confirm the changes in their eligibility. It would look like:
It is crucial to understand the challenges associated with the COB. Beneficiaries have more than one plan to maximize coverage. The complexity of COB results in overpayment.
Choosing between primary and secondary coverage correctly ensures maximum reimbursement. Every dental plan has unique limitations. Managing primary and secondary coverage together improves the collection. It also provides patients with fair-priced services, as it follows the annual limit for dental services.
Additionally, few plans have lifetime maximums, so understanding the restrictions creates smooth dental services. If the procedure is not covered, meaning working with exclusions and deductibles to get payment for eligible reimbursement.
The dental practice submits the claim adhering to coding and billing guidelines after the completion of the treatment. The research shows that approximately 8% of annual revenue gets compromised by claim denials. Proceeding with the reimbursement process to explore why clean claims matter and how to prepare for upcoming trends.
However, some dental procedures shall be indemnified under their medical policy first. Failure to do so can cause payment loss. Technology can play a role in RCM, enabling real-time corrections.
Clean claim submission is an accurate dental insurance verification process reinforced through proper documentation. It includes eligibility details with dates, policy updates, active coverage benefits, prior authorization information, gaps in coverage, communication with the insurer, treatment estimation through written communication, and patient consent.
Managing insurance eligibility requires the right approach towards accurate information and following standard processes for faster results. Denied claims indicate manual workload and dissatisfied patients. With Capline experts as your team members, the verification process can result in timely payments and happy clients.