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The Main Highlights of Dental Insurance Verification Service

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Dental RCM
The Main Highlights of Dental Insurance Verification Service

The present dental care space has created doubt about dental insurance verification service -not only among dental care providers but also among their patients.

Most patients are completely not aware of how the mechanism of insurance works, as it comes with various price-sharing alternatives They might not even know the difference between copay, deductible, coinsurance, premium,  and out-of-the-pocket maximum –all of which function together to offer dental coverage.

Patients are suspicious over why their plans come with high co-insurance, despite choosing for a low-price premium plan. Having settled the lower payment rates, they feel fudged when getting an out-of-network service hauls up their bill. They are confused that they are denied coverage, little discovering that they might not have fulfilled the deductibles.

Research has proved that most of the claims are delayed or denied because of gaps in inpatient data. This might be linked to failure to upgrade the medical dossier of the patient at the reception/front-desk or incorrect form-filling during their visit, insurance cover expiry, a missing form of claim, a mismatch between diagnosis and service provided, lack of pre-certification and so on.

In this backdrop, it is imperative to confirm the dental insurance verification service very diligently and also make the process of verification highly effective.

Why is Dental Insurance Eligibility Verification Crucial?

The Dental Insurance Eligibility Verification is the process of confirming the insurance of a patient in terms of:

➣ Status of coverage

➢ Inactive or active status

➣ Status of eligibility

Without this data, dental care services might be derailed. Insurance eligibility verification is very crucial as it is linked directly to payment delays or claims denials of a dental care practice, especially the A/R (Accounts Receivables). This occurs when the eligibility verification is not correctly done.

If the verification is performed out step-by-step as discussed below, there is little possibility of doubt around insurance claims. The instructions discussed below will throw also a light on the significance of insurance eligibility verification.

  1. Scheduling of Patient – When appointment scheduling software automation, patient self-scheduling via the online scheduling attribute and appointments prioritization are followed, patient scheduling can be highly streamlined. Add to this, appointment reminders via phone texts and emails, waiting lists, and canceled appointments rescheduling and your patient scheduling function will be strong.
  2. Enrolment of Patient – Patient demographics are the basic data of a dental care facility. The main question is what shall be included and what might be omitted. For example, identification – date of birth, address, and name are needed; so are allergies, medical history, and diagnosis; however, patient family doctor, emergency contact, and the insurance provider might be captured elsewhere below particular heads.
  3. Verification of Eligibility – The eligibility verification is the most neglected aspect of revenue cycle management. Eligibility verification –is performed right, can raise the number of “clean” claims. If the process of verification is easy, most issues such as late payments, rework, reduced patient satisfaction, increased problems, and non-payment can be resolved.

Coverage and Benefits Verification: It is crucial to periodically examine the benefits and coverage extended below the patient insurance plan. For this, a correct record of patient data has to be managed since any changes such as birth, divorce, and marriage can change benefits and coverage. In the process, it is best to suggest the patient on benefits such as deductibles, in and out- of- network services, and co-pay.

  1. Calling Patients – Call the patients if any extra detail is needed.
  2. Upgrade Billing System – The patient information, comprising the coverage and other data, are upgraded in the billing software.

Insurance Verification Process

Present Insurance Eligibility Verification Challenges

As per the CMS (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services), approximately 2/3rd of physician practice revenue is lost because of billing leak, and 30 percent of claims being rejected or denied on the initial submission.

In the U.S., Healthcare providers lose up to $126 billion a year due to inferior billing practices. Discovery from Remit Data claims that three of the top five claim denial causes were insurance-coverage associated –the culprit being insurance eligibility verification. Millions of claim denials happen as there is no coverage for the patient under this plan or eligibility verification has not been ended.

There are various occasions when the teams at the healthcare facility who is responsible for the insurance verification are burdened with various tasks. This comprises recording patient check-in information, patient checkout information, replying calls and managing extra responsibility of staff goes on vacation comprising the insurance eligibility verification. The sheer burden of multi-tasking and work also lead to errors.

Overall the claims are delayed or rejected because of inaccurate or the partial details given by the patients during their visits to the dental care service provider or when the existing coverage data is not upgraded by the healthcare provider.

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