By: Angela Holland, Founder of Preferred Dental Solutions
Insurance Expert and Strategy Consultant for Dental Practices
PreferredDentalSolutions.com
Dentistry is a business of both skill and strategy. Delivering excellent care is non-negotiable, but maximizing what you’re paid for that care requires an intentional approach to PPO management.
Here are three powerful ways to optimize your revenue from a PPO perspective:
1. Update UCR Fees Regularly
Your usual, customary, and reasonable (UCR) fees set the baseline for what you can negotiate. If your fees haven’t been updated in years, carriers have no reason to increase reimbursements. Aim to keep your fees in the 80th–90th percentile for your area, and raise them 3–5% annually.
This maintains leverage and ensures your practice reflects current market value.
2. Review Your PPO Networks and Reimbursements
Not all PPO relationships age well. Some networks consolidate, others restructure, and reimbursement levels can shift quietly over time.
At least every two years, evaluate how each plan is paying you, how it fits with your patient base, and whether renegotiation or restructuring could yield better results, and negotiate with expert support every two years.
3. Work With Insurance Experts to Protect the Future
The best time to secure great reimbursement is before you need it. Partnering with an insurance strategy team, such as Preferred Dental Solutions, enables you to negotiate more effectively, avoid hidden pitfalls, and establish a PPO structure that supports both growth and profitability for years to come.
In Conclusion
Optimizing PPO revenue isn’t about squeezing more out of insurance companies; it’s about ensuring your practice is positioned to thrive. With deliberate fee management, regular plan reviews, and professional guidance, you can significantly improve profitability without increasing chair time.
We believe the PPOs can work FOR you, and we show you how to get there!
Photo by RDNE Stock project
