Vancouver Family Dentist

Dentists to feel bite of insurer's fee cuts

A plan by the state’s largest dental insurance provider to cut reimbursement fees is raising concerns among Clark County dentists about their ability to stay in business and to serve their patients.

Jennifer Sigman, office administrator for Wendel Family Dental Centre, which has three offices in the Vancouver area, said the move by Washington Dental Service would cost Wendel “hundreds of thousands” of dollars annually in lost revenue.

It also would force the company, which employs 120 people, to issue many layoff notices, she said. That’s why Wendel is dropping Washington Dental Service, effective June 15 — the same date WDS’ insurance-fee cuts are slated to take effect.

“We just have to hope that our patients kind of let things roll out over the next six months,” Sigman said, “and give us a chance to get an idea of what to expect and where things are going to go from there.”

Washington Dental Service sees it differently. In an April 4 letter to dentists announcing the rate cuts, the company’s board of directors said it regrets the action but that it’s necessary to deal with difficult economic challenges.

Employers, seeking to reduce their employee benefit costs, are entertaining lower rates from WDS’ competitors and demanding the insurer lower its fees, according to the letter signed by the 14-member WDS board.

“If WDS does not reduce rates,” the board wrote, “employers are telling us they will obtain lower cost coverage elsewhere.”

State association weighs in

The flap underscores the fact that economic challenges in the ever-evolving health care industry aren’t limited to general hospitals and the practice of medicine. Dentists are feeling the bite, too.

The rate cuts planned by Washington Dental Service would lower reimbursement fees by an average of about 15 percent, according to the Washington State Dental Association, which has more than 4,000 members.

On April 27, the association issued a news release expressing its disappointment with WDS’ decision, saying it fears “such drastic changes to the fee structure” will have serious consequences for dentists and their patients, including layoffs at dental practices and fewer hours available to donate dental care to the needy.

Seattle-based Washington Dental Service, a member of the Delta Dental Plans Association — an organization that offers dental coverage nationally — provides insurance to an estimated 2.5 million patients in the state.

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