Dentists Collect

Professional Dental Debt Collections for Dentists.

Best Practices For Dental Bill Payment Options

As a dental practice, you have probably dealt with past due, overdue, and uncollected accounts in the past. How can you avoid this? There is no way to avoid it entirely, some patients simply will never pay. But, offering more than one option to pay, and giving patients several dental bill payment options, makes it easier to otherwise collect on bills patients didn’t make in the past.

Dental Bill Payment Options

Dental Bill Payment Options
Cash
There is the obvious advantage to cash that you receive it when the patient has the work done. There is no risk of non-payment, as you collect in full the day of the procedure. No trying to track down non-payers. With this also comes the flaw that most practices that only accept cash are typically dealing with insured patients only. So, discounted rates are typically given to patients, and you can’t charge as much for procedures. Additionally, if a patient simply doesn’t have cash on the date of their appointment, they are more likely to cancel than offices that accept other forms of payment as well.

Credit
What is the alternative to cash only payment options? To provide additional dental bill payment options. This can include special promotions, which include zero down finance, and interest free periods. Not only does this give patients an incentive to have additional work done, which means higher collection amounts for your practice, it also makes it easier for patients to pay the bill off over time. And, with zero down and interest free periods, patients typically try to pay the bill in full by the promotional period’s end date, to avoid interest charges.

Mixed payment (cash and credit) is another dental bill payment options to consider, for lower risk patients. Those who have stable work history, great credit, and have regularly paid their bills in the past. This allows your dental practice to at least collect a portion of the payment up front on the day of the procedure in cash, and the additional amount will be paid off over the coming months. Make sure you know the patient’s age and job status, repayment history in the past, and ability to pay accounts with other creditors. Doing a small credit check will prove beneficial to dental offices that offer this payment option, as it gives you a better idea as to which payments can, and which ones can’t, make payments on account.

Payment Options
Patients are not only more likely to want to deal with an office that provides more than one dental bill payment options, but will also see the fairness in the dentist’s practice. Further, if patients have regularly paid their bills in the past, on time, your office can provide them with more flexible repayment terms, or additional promotions to repay their bills. Doing so not only ensures the bill will be paid in full, but it is also going to ensure you keep the patients happy, so that they do not leave to a competitor’s practice for future work they need to have done.

Still having problems Collecting?
Regardless of the different dental bill payment options you offer, there is no way to entirely eliminate the unpaid, past due accounts. It is a regular part of this type of work, and some patients are simply going to do all they can to avoid paying a bill. This is where we can help you and your practice. The right dental collection agencies will not only step in to go after the non-paying patient, but will work with your office to learn the best methods to reach these patients, and to find out which methods you have tried to collect from them in the past.

Some patients do not have the means to pay, while others simply do all they can to avoid making payments on past due accounts. Whether patients are ignoring your calls, dodging your emails, or simply won’t respond to mail and collection bill notices, allow us to help you collect on these past due accounts.

Dental Bill Payment Options

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Save time, money and aggravation by hiring a professional who can help you collect some (or all) of your outstanding revenue.

Click the button below and get a free dental bill payment options collection agency quote today. After all, you can keep doing what you’re doing (and hope for a different result), or you can work with a collection agency that can help you recover what’s rightfully yours.

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What To Expect When Making Dental Debt Collection Calls

As the owner of a dental practice, you have probably dealt with non-paying patients in the past. With high number of accounts receivable going into collections, your staff has probably made many dental debt collection calls to patients and former patients. Regardless of the reason they can’t pay, there are certain responses which patients are going to give you when they receive this call. So, what should you know, and what should you expect when making dental debt collection calls? These are a few of the most common responses given by patients who haven’t paid, or have been ignoring your attempts to collect for quite some time.

Dental Debt Collection Calls

Dental Debt Collection Calls
My Insurance Covered It, Right?
One of the most common excuses you are going to hear when making dental debt collection calls from patients is that they were under the impression that their insurer was going to pay the bill. In fact, this is one of the most common reason for unpaid portions of bills, when patients don’t know how much their insurer covers, and how much they had to pay. Some forget there is a copay, while others simply believe the entire bill is covered by their insurer.

So, what should your staff say in these situations? A good way to handle these calls is to say:” We are sorry for the confusion and are happy to go over your insurance at the next visit. However, you currently owe $XXX, how would you like to pay for this today?” By simply asking how the patient is going to pay, rather than telling them you are going to send out another bill, it forces them to make a payment, rather than giving you another excuse. It is a smooth transition which typically results in having the bill paid in full, without insulting the patient. Further, it lets them know that for future visits, their insurer is not going to pay the entire bill, so you do not have to worry about another account going into past due accounts.

How Much Is The Bill?

Another common reason patients simply don’t pay, and make the dental debt collection calls so difficult is that they didn’t expect the total amount to be as much as it was. This is more common with self pay, rather than insured patients. One option for your practice to consider is to offer setting up a payment arrangement when making the call about their bill. If they can’t pay it all up front, set up a smaller monthly amount, which allows them to pay the total over a period of several months. Although it will take a bit longer to collect, at least your practice is not going to lose the total amount of the patient’s unpaid debt.

Further, you can go on to inform patients you will go over in detail with them, the full cost of a procedure, the next time they visit the office. This will in turn allow them to evaluate what they can afford, and which work they have to do right away, and which type of work can wait until a future visit.

You never know what excuse you will hear, but these two are among the most common when dental offices make the dental debt collection calls. Being prepared for these responses will not only help your staff say the right thing and collect on unpaid debts, but also avoids the potential of insulting a patient, who will completely ignore your calls in the past. Further, it ensures patients are made aware of bills, costs, and their responsibility to pay, for future visits to the office.

Dental Debt Collection Calls

If you are tired of making dental debt collection calls, and the same old response from patients with each call, our dental collection agency can step in to help. Not only do we know how to deal with these responses, we know which methods to take with patients who give us these responses, and are trying to avoid paying their past due account. We are not only going to reduce the total past due accounts you currently have, but will help eliminate the occurrence in the future as well.

Ready to find the right dental debt dental debt collection calls agency?

Save time, money and aggravation by hiring a professional who can help you collect some (or all) of your outstanding revenue.

Click the button below and get a free dental debt collection calls agency quote today. After all, you can keep doing what you’re doing (and hope for a different result), or you can work with a collection agency that can help you recover what’s rightfully yours.

Get a Free Quote Today