Dental membership plan

Changing times call for changing practices. Kaiser Health News reported on a recent trend among dental practices to offer membership plans, where regular monthly payments entitle patients to free exams, cleanings, and X-rays. The membership plans also generally seem to offer a discount on other services. If this sounds like a health insurance plan, it is probably because this is similar to how health insurance plans started: a doctor wanted regular payments in exchange for providing services when needed.

Growth of these membership plans for dental practices have occurred during the pandemic, when many people lost access to their corporate-sponsored dental plans, and many dentists were willing to give a discount for regular payments. Health care is now probably too complex, with too many different specialties and with some treatments costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, for small doctor offices to offer similar membership plans (in place of insurance). However, the patients and the providers doubtless find something attractive about not having to pay a middeman.