More practices are participating in managed care plans these days, and a greater percentage of their production is coming from these plans. Moreover, PPO discounts are growing deeper and deeper. Despite these negative trends, you can dramatically improve profitability by properly managing PPO participation. Developing a managed care plan strategy can help you overcome fear and ignorance to limit patient loss, improve profits, and reduce stress.

Our recent reader survey (May 2017) revealed that 66% of practices are now participating in managed care plans (including Delta Dental), up substantially from 56% just 8 years earlier. Even more troubling, a greater percentage of production is coming from...