Over the past several years, the dental industry has adopted electronic processes to manage common administrative transactions related to verifying insurance coverage, submitting claims and supplemental information, and sending and receiving payments.
However, COVID-19 brought new challenges that forced the industry to accelerate this transition. With employees working remotely, many dental providers and plans needed to adopt automated processes to manage these workflows.
Then, the COVID-19 emergency waned, patient encounters increased, and staffing shortages emerged. Dental plans and providers continued to rely on these automated processes.
Electronic transactions are less costly and burdensome than manual processes and reduce the amount of back-and-forth communication necessary between payers and providers. And the benefits stack up. According to findings from the 2022 CAQH Index, dental providers and plans can save a combined $2.6 billion each year by fully automating administrative transactions.
More insights: 2022 CAQH Index
For more than a decade, the CAQH Index has collected and analyzed data from across the industry to identify administrative transactions that could yield the greatest impact through automation and other efforts to streamline operations and reduce costs and administrative burdens on providers and plans. The report also outlines steps that can be taken to achieve these benefits.
For example, the 2022 index report found that dental plans can save $132 million annually by adopting fully automated process to manage claim status inquiries.
These insights would not be possible without participation from dental providers and plans. And many of the largest and most recognizable dental plans contribute data to the index.
Want to help power these insights? Data collection for the 2023 CAQH Index is currently underway, and all dental plans are invited to participate. Complete the survey here by August 31st. Each participant will receive a customized benchmark report which compares their organization’s estimates to the national estimate – enabling them to identify their own unique opportunities for savings and efficiencies.
To learn more about the CAQH Index and how you can participate, visit the CAQH website.