42. How Membership Plans Can Generate Revenue in Your Dental Practice
===
Phil Cole: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to KLAS solutions, dental education podcasts, the podcast series, where we share knowledge and experience to provide value to you and your dental practice. I'm your host, Phil Cole. And in today's episode, we're going to be talking about membership plans. We want to give you a dental specific perspective on setting up a membership plan in your office.
And how it can be a revenue generator for you. And today I am very privileged, uh, to be joined by Jane Levy. Co founder and CEO of plan forward. And she's going to be sharing her thoughts with us. So, uh, Jane, welcome. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. Uh, tell us a little bit about yourself, please.
Jane Levy: Thanks so much, Phil.
And I'm very excited to be on this podcast. Um, I'm also excited to join the class family, uh, as a partner. And, uh, I'm looking forward to doing some great things [00:01:00] together, um, and certainly helping, um, our dental practices position themselves better for, uh, growth and for, um, you know, just getting better leverage in, in negotiating with payers.
And that is the, um, the reason that I actually joined plan forward about four years ago. Uh, so at the time I had met Meg Lowman, who is the founder of the company. Uh, and, uh, We, uh, we met in New York City where I live and we met for lunch on an arbitrary Thursday in October and, uh, and she convinced me to join the company, uh, and to join with her in bringing kind of a solution to dental practices, um, really the means by which They can, um, better serve their uninsured patients, uh, get, you know, grow their own production, get better control over, you know, their fee schedule, essentially, and some leverage over, [00:02:00] uh, negotiation with payers.
So that was the genesis of, um, me joining PlanForward and the, and the rationale why. Uh, so just recently we came across, across Class Solutions. We were very impressed with, um, everything that you bring to the dental practices. Um, we. Certainly in the short while that we've known, you have certainly found a meeting of the minds and, um, and are looking forward to this partnership.
So I'm excited to be on this podcast.
Phil Cole: Well, thank you very much. So I mean, we are to it because we are firm believers in a membership plan. Um, I think that especially nowadays with insurances being such a hassle, um, and with everybody, I know for us, we get a ton of people asking us, Can I go fee for service, uh, of which it is the most popular thing I think right now.
So I guess just to go back into the, the very beginning stages, tell us on your perspective, because you guys actually are running these membership plans. Why are membership plans? I mean, I can say it on a [00:03:00] coaching perspective, but give us your perspective of why membership plans are so important for a practice.
And, and in my opinion, I. I feel and maybe you can tell me if you agree or not. I feel like it's a must. You have to have it in a practice. And if you don't, you're you're just missing out on way too much. But what's your what's your view on the importance of it?
Jane Levy: Yeah, it's a great question. So, um, Obviously, we've been, we've had a lot of inflation most recently.
So, in real terms, reimbursements from payers have been declining. So, flat at best, but in inflationary times, even declining. So, we hear practices talk about being reimbursed 50 cents on the dollar. Um, from payers and, um, and obviously this the strikes at the core. So you'll speak to a dental practice that has is chock a block full their hygiene funnel.
They cannot take any more patients, you know, through August, say, and, um, and we, we do an evaluation of the [00:04:00] capacity of that practice. And we realize that, you know, let's say, upwards of 50 percent of their, of their patient base is insured, uh, but they're getting reimbursed 50 cents on the dollar. So the logic is if you drop out of network with your worst performing payers and instead offer, um, those, you know, previously insured patients, um, and membership instead, what you, what you can do as a dental practice is essentially replace that insured patient.
Um, or, you know, a set of insured patients. So let's say 10 insured patients. You can replace them with three members. and earn the same in terms of production. And so for practices that are super, super busy, membership is a great way to really give patients the care that they deserve. Do not overwork your, your providers.
Uh, and really, um, it's a win win. So for certain practices, um, that are in network, uh, it's a slam dunk for that reason. Uh, [00:05:00] we also, we, you know, we do a lot of analysis on the business impact of membership. Uh, obviously it's crucial to, um, the ROI discussion and whether membership works or not. Uh, in fact, uh, most recently plan forward has, um, come out with an analytics dashboard.
which, um, syncs with the practice management data and can show you in real time what the business impact is, um, from a production standpoint. And I know that class does a lot of analytics as well. Um, obviously our own analytics only pertain to members, uh, whereas your analytics is far more far reaching.
So, um, the, the ROI for membership is very clear. Um, and you can certainly see right there that an uninsured patient compared to a membership
the production of a member can be two to three times as high. And the rational or the reasoning why is because When a patient signs up for a membership, they are committing to coming in twice a [00:06:00] year. That's, they're committing to hygiene recall and they're paying for that upfront in a way that's usually use it or lose it, just like a gym membership.
And so, um, so your hygiene production goes up typically, uh, so whereas previously an uninsured patient might visit the practice only once every 18 months on average, now they are committing to coming in twice a year. In addition, once your hygiene funnel is now full of members, folks who are coming in regularly and they're taking x rays because that's typically bundled in the membership, um, you have the opportunity for far more diagnostics.
And, um, so typically you are diagnosing more treatment, um, patients because of their relationship with the practice and feeling a part of that dental community tend to accept more of that treatment. And so in general terms, you'd expect production per member to be. two to three times higher than an uninsured patient.
Of course, there is variability, and I'm talking about average, on average, but um, that's kind of the expectation. There are also [00:07:00] the impacts on no show rate, which tends to decline with members, uh, And, uh, you know, hygiene recall obviously is almost a hundred percent, uh, perio uptake, a lot of practices offer perio plans, specifically focused on perio patients.
So their perio protocol tends to be more in line with the industry average, which is about 25 percent of all patients suffer from perio, uh, and should get those, you know, that more regular treatment. So, um, so there are so many good knock on effects from membership. And, um, so. More and more we're seeing practices realize that this is a vital part of their arsenal and uh, you know The sky's the limit.
Phil Cole: Yeah, I think the big thing for us is is when we see When we're doing fee analysis and when we're, we're looking at some of these insurances, first of all, I think that the, the, when we analyze fees for most practices, they're, they're nowhere near the 80th percentile, uh, where they should [00:08:00] be. I mean, we're, we're seeing, and I don't know if that's the same for you too, when you, when you kinda look at, uh, how you an, you know, 'cause when you got a.
Put the plan together. Uh, I mean, we just see fifties a very consistently fifties. You know, if you get a couple sixties, that's you're doing pretty good. Every once in a while. I look at it as, as you'll get the unicorn practice that has their, their fees in line. And I think that that when people don't understand how you can leverage, you know, the membership plan for a lot of those insurances.
If those insurances are going to keep you down into the 40th and 50th percentile, I just don't think that people do the math. And it's not that, it's not that difficult to me. I, at least I don't think it's that difficult. You just gotta be able to do the math. And that's the one thing that I really appreciate you guys is you actually do.
Way more math than I feel anybody else that I've come across that that helps with a membership [00:09:00] plan. And when you see that math, like you just said, you're getting only 50%, 50 cents on a dollar, then, then you might as well get outta that plan. But the problem is, is what we run across is, is doctors don't want to get outta that plan because they feel they're gonna lose that patient and they don't have enough.
Um, to me, they don't have enough trust in their own goodwill that is offered into their practice. But on the other hand, I think a lot of times it's because they don't have a membership plan or they have their own in house, uh, one that they're trying to do, but no one promotes it because they don't like it because it's too difficult to deal with.
And so I guess that's kind of goes back to that same thing is, is, I mean, like, how do you, how does, how do you look at plan forward leveraging? You know, use that to leverage in a person's practice, you know, why that membership plan, all the different aspects of what I guess what you can do to [00:10:00] leverage that.
your program in there because I just I don't think people realize the dollar amount they're missing out on.
Jane Levy: Oh, so many good points. So, um, so one thing I do want to stress is one of the ways that plan for is different is, uh, we do a very thorough pricing analysis when we first engage with the practice and that involves looking at their standard fees relative to fair health and then, um, Making a recommendation of the plans that we believe that they should offer on a one hour pricing analysis call.
Um, truly we've gone through, um, an entire analysis for that practice, uh, where we are figuring out, um, you know, whether they should raise their standard fees prior to starting, um, and also, you know, what kind of plans would be profitable for that practice. Uh, and so there is a lot of analysis that goes into Understanding, you know, the fee schedule and the adjusted fee schedule.
Um, and so first and foremost, these have to be profitable for the practice. [00:11:00] Um, secondarily, once you've got a great plan in place, uh, the key thing is to market that plan. And, you know, this goes to a point on, you know, there is some fear out there, um, amongst practices on dropping. payers and, you know, will their patient base, you know, their patient base disappear.
So, um, we definitely help our practices on an ongoing basis, market their plans. And this not only involves, you know, working with the office managers and front office staff to sell the plans to existing patients, uh, cause that's absolutely crucial being able to. value and the and the savings that the patient can enjoy on the plan, etc.
So we position that office manager, you know, perfectly to be able to speak to the plan's benefits. But we also help that practice, uh, with marketing collateral, um, that is all white labeled. You would never see our brand on any of our collateral. Uh, and we also help that practice with outreach to, um, dormant patients in the practice management system or those with unscheduled [00:12:00] treatment, you know, and really just help them reactivate their existing patient base who have come into the practice previously.
Um, because this is such an alluring product and it's such a great way to, you know, bring those folks back into the practice. So, um, we've got lots of other, um, Uh, tools on the marketing side, uh, but it's absolutely crucial because really it's the practice marketing their own plan and, um, we're putting the, we're putting the control back in the practices hands, you know, and we really just supporting them to do all of that.
So, um, those are, those are, you know, some of the crucial ways that we help. I'll just add one last one, which is that. Um, the way we really feel that we are differentiated, Phil, is that our team has 40 years of cumulative dental experience. So many members of our team have actually sat in a dental practice as hygienists, treatment coordinators, um, office managers, et cetera.
And so we bring that knowledge and that experience to Work [00:13:00] every single day and, um, you know, being able to position that office manager best to sell the plan. You know, we sat in that chair before, so we know what you go through when a patient walks in and says, I don't know how to pay for my care. So, yeah, so, you know, that's really, you know, it gives us kind of a, an edge a little bit.
Phil Cole: I agree 100%. Um, so one of the other things I thought was very unique, which which I was, um, very impressed with when we started to do our initial conversation with each other was your software. I mean, the software to me is next level. And compared to all the other ones that I have seen out there, so I mean, what talk about your software a little bit and what it can provide to help offices, you know, increase because even on your website, I'm looking at, you know, it's 75 percent patient renewal rates, you know, you're increasing production.
Uh, up to three [00:14:00] times, you know, 25 percent patient opt in. I know a lot of that has to do with, with this software because I mean, like I said, it was powerful and it even, I think it incorporate a lot of stuff that other people are using. other softwares for, uh, to, to do some of that. So just give me just a little glimpse or rundown of your software and how that helps with collection, production, case acceptance and stuff.
Jane Levy: Great. Thank you. So, um, the software is, you know, we definitely believe in, in product first. And, uh, if you've got a great product. And a great team, you know, it's a winning combination. So, um, so make runs product for plan forward. Um, she brings to that role, her experience working in a general practice, but also, uh, her knowledge that she's built over the last seven years building product.
Uh, and, uh, you know, the product flows very easily. It's so simple to use, but it also contains some very powerful. Payment [00:15:00] processing capabilities, automation for the front office. Uh, we integrate to almost every PMS, uh, and, uh, that enables us to pull production numbers, et cetera, into our dashboard. So it becomes kind of the one stop place where the front office can go to manage their plans, manage their members, uh, but also check in and, um, and on an ongoing basis, make sure that, um, They're, you know, the members have used services, which services they've used.
So they never give away free services. It also has incredibly powerful reporting capability and analytics. So the practice can keep track of how many enrollments they've done, what the production by provider is, for example, for both the bundled services, as well as the out of plan services. Um, so there's, uh, you know, it's just a, it's a, it's a great, easy platform to manage, but also gives you a lot of insights.
Um, Table stakes with these membership plans is absolutely, um, renewals [00:16:00] high renewals on the order of 70 to 75 percent on average. So that's absolutely crucial. So with very minimal effort, practices can renew a large complement of their members every year. That's as I said, absolutely crucial because this is all about lifting the load of the front office.
Um, yeah, the platforms also built in, um, you know, a lot of ease of use around, um, enrolling members either through the dashboard or through, um. The website, um, again, that, that speaks to the marketing that we do for the practice, um, through the website, uh, you know, so, but the product is outstanding and of course, if anybody wants to see a very quick demo, they're welcome to go to the website or, uh, or just sign up for a quick demo and then I'm happy to show them.
Phil Cole: Well, there's two that I will say that I thought that I think is are very, um, impressive and, and they're simple, right? But one, I love the fact that you on your dashboard, you have the ability to kind of create like a morning [00:17:00] huddle. We preach morning huddles all the time. I love the fact that in a morning huddle, you want to know those patients are coming in.
What they're, what they're coming in for, do they owe to the, and you guys have your software system hooked up exactly like that, you know, what patients, uh, need to pay. They had a credit card that bounced, you know, and maybe because of the expiration date, it's easy things to see very easy to maneuver around in that.
And no, but I think the other thing that's key, uh, to go back to kind of like that production that you have on your website, um, that, that three times is. Exactly what you I think you said it so fast. Maybe people didn't hear. So I want to repeat it. And that is, is the fact that you can keep track so easy and you got to see this thing, folks.
So I'm telling you do a demo. Um, how easy it is for them to see what services they used. And what services they still have available. I mean, to maximize the [00:18:00] production of every single patient by looking at a software system that easy and that quick to me is once again, you help eliminate the stress of.
wondering, you know, going into all kinds of different softwares to search and find and stuff. With those people on that plan, you will know exactly what you need to do to accomplish for that treatment planning for those patients, right? And what you got to get them in there for. And that to me is, I think, Key.
Uh, you guys did a phenomenal job with that.
Jane Levy: Thanks, Phil. I mean, I think that is that is a key part of the platform. Um, as you said. So if you recall how membership is structured, membership plans typically bundle. You know, a bunch of implant hygiene services for a fixed price. And then there's also a discount off out of plan or restorative.
And so it's crucial for the practice to track how many of those implant [00:19:00] services each patient is actually used so they don't give away free services. And so the platform lets you track that. But also key to that high renewal rate is making sure that patients do actually use the services that are owed to them.
So, um. So just, you know, keeping that front of mind for the practice to that, you know, this patient has not used their second visit. Is it worth reaching out and bringing them back in? Uh, you know, the, the genesis of the company back to Meg's original vision was always to position the practice in the best possible way.
And, um, you know, to make sure that they are doing right by their patients, but also, you know, live, getting profitable services and, and maximizing essentially production. And so, um, and that's what these plans really do. They really help by bringing in that patient more frequently, um, and, you know, giving them all the services and the time that they need to get proper oral care.
You are then, you know, maximizing the opportunity for [00:20:00] them to accept treatment, um, and get, and get, and look after their mouths really. So it's a great, great win win.
Phil Cole: Yeah, absolutely. So, so this is always the, the big topic for me is, is, is, is just, you know, why should, you know, how do you evaluate a membership plan is, is one, but I'm going to go one step farther on that because I have people all the time that say I'm not paying a company to, to, to manage my plan when I can do it on myself, do it on my own.
But. Just, just in the last two months, I have been in South Carolina where there is a meeting with a doctor that has a try to do their own membership plan, and I pulled up all their fees and their membership plan, literally, if they sign people up for it, they're paying, they're giving away over 150. A year to each patient for their services.
So, and, and they said, well, [00:21:00] I don't, I don't think that's right. I'm like, it's once again, it's math, right? You didn't, you didn't analyze or you didn't know how to analyze. And then the other one I saw, uh, uh, just recently on a post that they were bragging about how they're only charging 125, uh, for a membership plan and they're giving 25 percent off All other services in the practice, which to me is like, you might as well just sign up for PPO plans.
You know what I mean? And other insurances, if you're going to take 25 percent off of everything you do, because even with the insurance plans, they don't cover every 30%. Yeah. Scenario. So that in itself was shocking. And I see this happen all the time with our coaches and what we come across. But I think the other thing is, too, is I always run back into that.
I don't need a membership plan. I'll do it in house because I can do it cheaper. So kind of go with that, but also just when you are looking at companies, because we've looked at it, we looked at a lot of them. [00:22:00] What is it that you want to really concentrate on when it comes to picking the right membership plan and company?
Jane Levy: Oh, um, really, really good question. So we do, I would say You know, one in four, uh, prospects that we speak to practices do have an in house membership plan and, um, it is absolutely possible to run these in house. I'll tell you some of the limitations, as you said, sometimes practices just come up with a number or they, you know, they, they do do some research into, you know, what this plan should be, you know.
Uh, but maybe that was, you know, from five years ago and now you've got to raise pricing, but it's extremely hard to raise pricing on plans because everybody renews on a different day. So you do you have to call all your members, um, every single day of the year on those renewal dates and mention that you're raising the pricing.
Uh, and obviously with things that auto renew, obviously there are. Compliance rules most recently put out by the FTC requiring that if you are doing [00:23:00] auto renew, you absolutely have to be very, very careful on your disclosures to ensure that patients and obviously all consumers are very well informed of what they're signing up for.
So, you know, so that really just touches on two things, which is first and foremost, it's extremely hard to keep up with renewals. You know, changes in pricing within the practice. If you're raising your fees, but also compliance is is a serious issue and should be taken seriously by all practices. So you know, when you're signing up a subscription.
So, um, so I think from, from, you know, if you're a small practice and you're running a very small membership program, just to try it out by all means, try it out in house. But once you realize that it should be part of your arsenal, then you should absolutely look at a vendor because there is no way to run these, these programs efficiently and professionally and without taxing your front office.
Um, without software. So how do you evaluate the vendors? I know there's, we've got a lot of great [00:24:00] competitors and people doing really interesting work in the space. Uh, so I think the best vendors, um, you know, I, I think what we bring to the table honestly is, you know, the best product, uh, bar none, both in terms of its ease of use, but also the fact that it does integrate with the practice management system.
Which brings a lot of value to the practice, but also the team. Uh, and, uh, you know, recently our team actually went on its first offsite and, um, and you know, what, what came away from that was part of, you know, as trying to define what our mission is. And, um. What we, what we landed on is that we are darn good people.
And, um, we kind of liked that, that sentence because honestly we care. We really do care that the practice does well with these plans. And so that means we're not just selling you software and, you know, riding off into the sunset, we will follow up frequently. After the rollout and, um, our customer support is excellent.
You can look at our [00:25:00] Google reviews. We have 27 five star reviews, which is more than any other vendor, uh, by multiples. So we just think that the combination of a great product and a great team positions plan for it, you know, best in the space. Now there are other vendors out there and, um. And, uh, you know, they definitely have, have valuable, valuable attributes.
Um, you know, there are some with great product, um, and, um, and good teams. But I do feel like, um, you know, knowing that your customer support team is there by your side and is, we'll get back to you within an hour or two, no matter when you call, um, I think it's very, very valuable, especially, you know, office managers are super busy.
A constantly. So
Phil Cole: I, I, I think that, uh, you have now, uh, through our conversation, I've got three or four more questions. So it's obviously that we have to do another, uh, podcast, uh, because there's a couple ones. But I, I gotta say real quick that the two things that I think are, that were amazing and we'll go through this, uh, in another [00:26:00] podcast, like I said, 'cause we're definitely inviting you back, um, is one.
The amount of softwares that you can connect to that that to me is is gigantic, and I don't think people realize that to the other thing that I think, which really is a reason why our partnership was a very important to me as is. But our, one of our key things for us at class solutions is transparency.
Um, and you guys are very transparent with your customers, uh, and how you handle things. Uh, and, and one of the things that I think that shows for that, which is going to be the next show, uh, for us because the compliancy I've, I've interviewed and I've met with all the different membership companies and stuff, and never once.
Never once has anybody brought that up and you, you guys had showed that to us the importance of it and stuff. And I would have never thought of that. So, to me, I appreciate the fact that you said, you know, [00:27:00] if you're small practice, go out and try it yourself to get started and stuff. But I would sit there and say that compliancy issue is something that you better be careful with, though, because I.
Did not until meeting you did not know that that was, there was so many compliancy issues to, to think about. So I really appreciate that. Uh, and that you guys were trained, that you were transparent with us, but that you also are transparent, you know, with your customers and make sure that. That that's something that's being there, um, and being done for them.
Um, and those to me are big reasons why plan forward stands out, uh, versus, uh, other members. So any last words, Jane, before we, uh, Send off the, this, uh, podcast out to the public.
Jane Levy: Uh, last words are only, um, feel free to reach out. Uh, you can email me directly at [00:28:00] jayLevy@planforward.io. Uh, the IO is just to keep you on your feet
And, um, uh, no, it's been a pleasure. Um, stay warm. Looking forward to the start of spring for sure. But, uh, uh, yeah, this has been a pleasure.
Phil Cole: Yeah, absolutely. And thank you very much because like I said, we, I definitely want to, um, dive into more of that compliancy and stuff like that as well. So, uh, appreciate you being here.
So if you enjoyed our show, please rate, review us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Phil Cole with class solutions. Thanks for listening. Have a great day.
