The Evolution of Membership Plans in Dentistry

Episode #318 with Megan Lohman – CEO of Plan Forward

If you want to know the benefits of a dental membership plan for you and your patients, today’s guest will teach you everything you need to know. Kirk Behrendt brings in Megan Lohman, founder and CEO of Plan Forward, to talk about common myths and misconceptions, and why you need a membership plan ASAP. By implementing it in your practice, you, your staff, and your patients will be happier! For more, listen to Episode 318 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Dental care has the highest cost barrier compared to other healthcare services.

Membership plans help alleviate the fear patients have about cost.

Many patients will benefit from membership plans; they will be happier and healthier.

Members spend more than nonmembers in membership plans — by two times!

Discount plans are not membership plans!

Have software to manage the plan automatically, not manually by your team.

Patients want convenience and transparency.

Offer both monthly and yearly payment options.

Quotes:

“[Membership plans are] so important because there are patients sitting in your practice, calling every single day, walking through your doors, who could benefit from this. And they're going to be healthier, happier people and patients for you. Dental insurance is not going away. But the massive population of people who don't have dental insurance is growing. And the frustrations both on the dentist and the patient side with dealing with insurance companies is growing. And so, it’s more restrictive, it’s just as expensive, there are so many hurdles. And that's not going away. But there's this massive population of people out there that need an alternative solution, but your business of the dental practice can really benefit from leveraging a well-constructed, well-organized membership plan.” (04:50—05:29)

“Dental treatment, whether it’s preventive care or restorative care, anything, dental care has the highest cost barrier compared to any other healthcare service. So, people are just confused. They don't know what they should be paying, they don't know what they're due for. And, frankly, if you're uninsured, patients are terrified to walk into your practice because you're going to start recommending things or saying, ‘We need to take X-rays.’ And they can just hear the cash register going, and they're like, ‘What is this going to cost me?’ And that's a terrifying feeling for anyone. So, from a psychological standpoint, patients are not walking through your doors if they don't have benefits, because they're afraid of the cost. And so, membership plans help alleviate that uncertainty.” (06:25—07:16)

“When I talk to dentists all over the country, they're like, ‘Oh, we already have a membership plan.’ And they explain it to me, and I'm like, ‘That's not a membership plan. That's a discount plan.’ So, a discount plan, that's where a patient pays — hopefully — you. If you're doing a discount plan, hopefully it’s at least an in-house discount plan, not a commercial one. But the patient would pay the practice a one-time fee to then essentially get a reduced fee schedule. So, they get discounts, but they're paying ala carte every time they come in. So, you're eligible for 12 months after you pay this one-time fee, and then the patient gets discounts.” (08:33—09:17)

“In our world, [the amount members spend versus nonmembers is] over two times for membership plans. They spend more than two times what an uninsured or an insured patient spends in a practice. And so, from a bottom-line revenue standpoint, there's no question that these patients are going to opt in more than anyone else.” (10:39—11:02)

“When patients are on a membership plan — I know we don't like the word “discount”. It cheapens our services, all the things. But consumers want to save money. Everybody wants a discount. Everybody wants savings. So, if they're opted in and they're on your