Delta Dental Changes in 2026 that will affect you
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- Why Delta Dental's plan to eliminate paper check payments by the end of 2026 will force practices to accept Virtual Credit Cards (VCCs) or Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs) instead.
- How Virtual Credit Card (VCC) payments from insurers can quietly add both extra processing cost and embezzlement risk, and why Prosperident recommends opting out of them where the state allows it.
- How EFT insurance payments can be misdirected to the wrong account with staff having no way to notice, since verification depends entirely on the insurer's Explanation of Benefits rather than seeing the money arrive.
- The specific fix recommended: open a separate bank account used only for receiving EFTs, with staff given read-only access so they can confirm funds arrived without being able to move them.
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Delta Dental Changes in 2026 that will affect you
SOFIA by Prosperident monitors your daily production, collection, and insurance reconciliation trends—so you see the financial impact of industry changes in real time.
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.
Stay on Top of the Numbers as the Landscape Shifts.
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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.
Stay on Top of the Numbers as the Landscape Shifts.
SOFIA by Prosperident monitors your daily production, collection, and insurance reconciliation trends—so you see the financial impact of industry changes in real time.
About the author
David Harris
Forensic CPA, CFE, CFF, FIADFE — Chief Executive Officer, Prosperident
David Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of Prosperident, the world's largest dental embezzlement investigation firm. A Forensic CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified in Financial Forensics, he has led investigations into financial crime in dental practices since 1989 and speaks regularly to dental audiences across North America on detecting and preventing embezzlement.
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