1/1/2013. That's a big day for me as a solo dentist working in America.
You see, I'm a guy who works hard to offer great dentistry. But the costs of dentistry have always been difficult for me to swallow. So I made a decision a few years back to do my best to keep costs as low as possible for patients while keeping the dental office lights on. A couple of examples here: I offer more affordable specialty care than most of my colleagues. And I have signed a contract with the most popular dental insurance provider in our area as an effort to help my patients keep costs down when they need my help.
But 1/1/2013 will usher in another phase of the Healthcare Affordability Act--an excise tax on medical manufacturers. Any costs for this excise tax are going to get passed down the chain to healthcare providers. I'm not exactly sure how my costs are going to increase to buy supplies and equipment, but they are going to go up anywhere from 2% to maybe even 7% depending on the manufacturer. I attached post from a colleague of mine, Dr. Alan Hudley, and I think he puts it pretty well. I feel handcuffed because I am trying to maintain a lower level of cost for patients, but it comes at a pretty big hit to me. The insurance companies won't increase patient reimbursement.
I don't know exactly how it will affect me or my patients, but I think it would be a good idea to consider the following:
1) Do you like the service I am delivering?
2) Can you manage an increase in your healthcare costs?
3) Would you feel good about seeing me for dental and specialty care if I was not a contracted provider with Washington Dental Service?
4) If you have the ability to fund a flexible spending account (FSA), it will likely help you offset the rising costs of healthcare, not only for dentistry, but other medical care as well. More information is available about FSAs here.
I would love to hear your comments, either at the blog, or send me an email to chris@cascadiadentistry.com.
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