708: PPO Independence: Turn ‘Do You Take My Insurance?’ Into a Winning Conversation! – Ariel Juday & Christina Byrne
Whether you're fee-for-service or PPO, patients will ask the dreaded question, “Do you take my insurance?” If you're struggling to give a great answer, don't miss this episode! Kirk Behrendt brings back Ariel Juday and Christina Byrne, two of ACT’s amazing coaches, with tips to improve your communication, verbal skills, and understanding of dental insurance. To learn how to have a winning insurance conversation, listen to Episode 708 of The Best Practices Show!
Learn More About Ariel and Christina:
More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:
Main Takeaways:
- Have a strong understanding of the dental insurance process and benefits.
- Get your team aligned on how to answer the dental insurance question.
- Remember that patients like their insurance. Don't knock it down.
- Know which key words and phrases to use and to avoid.
- Never assume you know what patients are asking.
- Use open-ended questions.
Snippets:
0:00 Introduction.
1:26 ACT’s To The Top Study Club and BPA.
6:25 Why this is an important topic.
8:23 The patient engagement cycle in a dental office.
10:18 Know the basics of dental insurance.
19:06 Understand the insurance process.
23:15 Don't shoot down patients’ insurance plans.
27:49 Benefits of non-participation.
31:47 How to educate and talk to patients about dental insurance.
38:48 Q&A: If insurance downgrades, can you collect the difference?
40:19 Out-of-network and non-participating provider, explained.
41:00 Pros and cons of being a non-participating provider.
43:49 Q&A: Bill everything to insurance, whether it’s covered or not.
44:51 Reserve time in team meetings to review the basics.
46:26 Key phrases to use: Dental benefits.
47:30 Key phrases to use: Insurance-friendly practice.
52:06 Key phrases to use: Feel, felt, found.
54:34 Key phrases to use: Yes.
55:46 Be concise when answering questions.
56:16 Q&A: Unrestricted provider, explained.
57:33 Key phrases to use: Patient portion or patient investment.
58:26 Q&A: How do you respond to, “Which insurances do you take?”
59:17 Q&A: What's the verbiage for, “Do you take my insurance?”
1:00:07 How to answer, “So, you aren't taking my insurance anymore?”
1:02:22 Q&A: What to tell patients with HMO plans when we are non-participating providers.
1:05:22 Q&A: How to explain the out-of-network letter to patients.
1:07:34 Get rid of your limiting beliefs.
1:10:03 Use open-ended questions and listen to your patients.
1:11:29 Q&A: How to help patients whose portions are too high.
1:12:45 Be proactive and strategic.
1:14:32 Q&A: Focus on what you can control.
1:16:16 Conclusion.
Ariel Juday Bio:
Ariel has a master’s in healthcare administration and several years of dental experience in all aspects of the administrative roles within the dental office. Her passion is to work with dental teams to empower team members to realize their full potential in order to better serve patients, improve office systems to ensure a well-functioning team/office, and to help everyone have fun in the process!
Christina Byrne Bio:
Christina Byrne has been involved in dentistry since 1985. Over the years, she has held many positions on the dental team, including dental assistant, business office, and dental hygienist. Christina’s extensive knowledge of the front office and clinical procedures is a great asset, and she loves to impart her knowledge to guide dental teams do the best they can to achieve a Better Practice, Better Life!
