What does an outsourced dental billing company cost? Are collections fluctuating, decreasing, why? Are you sure the dental office is running up to its efficiency level? Whatever there is a need to set things right or close the shop. Tinkering with the system, tweaking it, could work for the time being but only a long-term solution will pave the way for total satisfaction. An outsourced dental billing company could spell release from lots of hassles.
The first question in the mind
As said, the question will still be asked: What will it cost to hire this “remote” company? Dentists will start the conversation with “How much does it cost?” Spoken in a different way, the question becomes “Is outsourcing a viable option for your dental?”
Let’s stop wracking the mind. Clarity on cost cannot be sacrificed at the altar of convenience. Third-party involvement depends on several factors and “cost” tops the list. The workings of dental billing companies and how much they charge are essential information.
Informed decisions
Things that influence outsourced dental billing costs should be spelled out beforehand. Along with the various services these companies provide. Only then can informed decisions be made. Only then will whether or not to hire an outsourced dental billing company to be settled. To the dentist, the question will be: “How much will I have to pay month after month for outsourced dental billing?”
What suits the practice?
Out there, is the comparison between in-house dental billing and outsourced dental billing. The dentist has a choice to make. What suits the practice, decide? According to reports in the public domain, the outsourced dental billing monthly cost would be in the realm of $1,500 to $1,600. This is against an in-house billing of around $18 per hour. The problem with in-house billing is there are overhead business costs—taxes, social security, blah, blah, blah. The extras will push up the costs by 30 to 40 percent.
Additional hires in-house
Besides, to get the costs accounted for, you will have to hire an accountant. His salary will be another toll. Maybe, you will have to pay for an insurance coordinator. The annual spend on his salary will be in the thousands of dollars.
Compared to this, outsourced dental billing will cost far less. According to one report, it will be in the range of $20,000 per year. The same job in-house will cost about $50,000 per annum, which means an additional cost of $30,000 for the in-house arrangement. It is saving in exchange for the privilege to shake hands with an insurance coordinator every morning!
Size matters
Several factors leave a mark on outsourced dental billing costs. The charges could be based on insurance collections. Patient AR could be an added service with costs added by some dental billing companies. It is a standalone service.
The size of the dental practice will also have a say in the cost to hire an outsourced dental billing company. This will have an impact on the overall cost. There is one dentist outfit to several dentist’s practices. Outsourced dental billing companies charge on collections from insurance companies on a month-on-month basis. There are different insurance collection tiers— from under $40K to over $200K. The average cost of outsourced dental billing will vary for and from tier to tier.