Delta Dental Changes in 2026 that will affect you
Delta Dental has announced that it will be eliminating payments by checks at the end of 2026. What happens next will vary across states depending on their legislative frameworks. Unless your state prohibits this practice, in many cases insurance companies will default to paying practices by "virtual credit card" payments. This method of payment imposes both cost and embezzlement risk on practices (please see the Tip of the Week section of this newsletter for a discussion of why VCCs are a bad idea). We strongly recommend opting out of being paid by VCC.
If you are not paid by VCCs, the other option is electronic funds transfers. EFT payments present their own recordkeeping challenges. Unlike when checks or credit card payments are made, staff generally do not actually see the funds arrive, and are posting them based solely on the Explanation of Benefits provided by the payor. We have seen many instances of EFT payments going to the wrong place, with your staff having no chance to realize this is happening.
One option is to have a separate bank account that is used only for receiving EFTs to which staff have read-only access. This allows them to confirm that funds were properly received while limiting their visibility to these specific transactions.
We are happy to discuss strategies for safeguarding your revenue through these changes. Click HERE to speak with us.