Holiday Hours Update: In observance of Thanksgiving, our Contact Support Centers will be closed on November 28th, and open on November 29th until 2:00pm. Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday!

×

By the Numbers: The Challenge of Lower Insurance Reimbursements

April 29, 2024

A decrease in dental insurance reimbursement rates has led to financial challenges for dental practices.

90%

of practices accept some form of insurance and are directly affected by lower reimbursements.1

57%

of dentists reported that one or more of the plans they participate in lowered reimbursements in 2022. More dentists every year are reporting lower reimbursements from their insurance plans.1

61%

of dentists surveyed say that dealing with insurance claims is the biggest hassle they deal with in their practice.2

With decreasing insurance reimbursements, dentists have several alternate pathways to increase office production. Concentrating on patients or procedures not covered by insurance plans can provide access to revenue streams that are independent of insurance programs.

68.5 Million

adults in the U.S. do not have dental insurance.3 Offering affordable dental care with options for extended payment can make a dental practice attractive to these patients.

42%

of practices expect to drop one or more insurance plans.1

47%

of dentists are now enrolling patients in an in-house dental membership plan, possibly to compensate for lower insurance reimbursements.1 Such an arrangement can be beneficial for patients and clinicians alike.

References

  1. Roger Levin. Levin Group. [cited Dec. 2023].

  2. The 2023 Dental Business Insights Report. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2024, from https://content.getweave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-Dental-Insights-Report_v1.pdf.

  3. CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. New report: 68.5 million adults in the US don’t have dental insurance, may rise to 91.4 million by end of year. Sep. 2023. Available from: https://www.carequest.org/about/press-release/new-report-685-million-adults-us-dont-have-dental-insurance-may-rise-914.