04 Apr Fee Reviews

Fee Reviews

As nearly all of you are aware, we make annual fee increase recommendations each year. With seemingly ever increasing practice adjustments (due in large part to Delta “frozen fees”), many of our clients have thrown their hands in the air.

“Raising my UCR/Cash fees will only increase my write-off and penalize my good, retired/cash paying patients.” While there is a level of validity to this thought, please keep in mind that hospitals, doctors etc. will keep up with annual increasing overhead in UCR/Cash fee increases. Further, as a dental care provider, your annual costs in overhead increases incrementally with the consumer price index. Dental and office supplies, lab, staffing, and business insurances typically all rise each year.

On top of that, if you pay rent, most leases increase at a minimum of 3% annually. Even a small increase in fees, especially in those seven to ten procedures the majority of our clients generate well over half their annual production in, will help. A doctor considering a transition in the next few years should also be current in their fees.

This will not only help their bottom line but also is a “selling point” as the new doctor, who likely will need fees current to the area, will not want to be the one to impose the appropriate increases after the transition is finalized. It is far better for the established doctor to do so prior.