Whether you should choose in-house dental billing or you should outsource dental billing to a third party? This is not a case of Hobson’s choice. Sure, there is an element of dilemma. But it is like being presented with two shirts— one checked and the other striped. Shirts serve the same purpose. Similarly, in-house dental billing and outsourced dental billing both get the job of billing done, but at variances in cost. The consensus that has built up over the years is that outsourced dental billing is by far less costly than doing it in-house.

Ubiquitous across the world

Dental offices generally, nowadays, have got used to hiring the services of a “remote” dental billing company. Dental billing companies are ubiquitous across the world, wherever insurance companies proliferate and health insurance is baked into the healthcare system. Know, however, that handling health insurance claims is not easy. The intricacies run through the process and there are specialists who have to be engaged including insurance coordinators and other specialists like billers & coders who do the billing and the coding.

At the end of the day, the patient pays

But always the question surfaces: Is outsourcing dental billing less costly than in-house dental billing? Alternatively, what are the benefits of outsourced dental billing? The decision has to be based on truth. One which will help the dental practice make an informed decision, both for itself and for its “patients” —for, at the end of the day, it’s the patient who shells out the damages. Dental billing professionals who have experience working both systems, in-house as well as outsourced, will be the best judge and guide. They have first-hand knowledge of which of the two processes works better and costs less.

Saving money for other things   

Chances are the odds will always favor the outsourced dental billing company, for the simple fact that the costs are considerably less when outsourced. In fact, data in the public domain and pertaining to the United States suggest that compared to in-house, outsourced dental billing saves as much as $30,000 per year for the dental practice. The in-house dental billing cannot do without hiring at least one insurance coordinator, who will have to pay a regular monthly salary which adds up to a sizeable annual amount, money which could have been directed to pay for other urgent needs—while the outsourced dental billing company took care of the dental office’s dental billing services at a fraction of the in-house cost.

Outsourcing is an old practice

Working remotely is not just a Covid-19 and lockdown masked phenomenon. The phrase has been in vogue for decades. In the dental billing business, it’s been a practice ever since health insurance was “invented’ and put into practice. Working remotely brings with it a plethora of benefits. But let’s first define outsourced dental billing, what is it? Well, outsourcing dental billing is asking a specialist dental billing company to do the billing for your dental practice for a fee, paid monthly or annually, for services rendered.

Summing Up Usually, the cost for the dental office is around $1,500 per month, which is a fair price for the journey covered from making the insurance claim to post the payment. Outsourced dental billing companies do this by using VPN and dedicated dental software.