Cold Start: Managed Care - E8
This one is for all my new practice owners or future practice owners, let's talk about managed care vision plans. When I started, I asked anyone and everyone if I should take this insurance or that insurance. You read all about it in the optometric publications and honestly, I feel like they all gave bad advice.
When you start cold, you do not have patients, the chair is empty, and the phones are silent. Let that sink in. Now consider you have to pay for staff, rent, utilities, the equipment you purchased, etc… Do you think any income is better than none? If you do not or you are too “proud” to take Eyemed because you do not want to support Luxottica or Davis Vision because they do not reimburse what you feel your time is worth, do not open an office. You have to start somewhere and you need people in the office to grow. Am I taking crazy pills? What about this is hard to understand?
Additionally, realize patients are not loyal to you. They go where their insurance is accepted. If you do not take their plan, they will not hesitate to find someone that does. That being said, you have to understand that economic and life situations change. The crappy insurance they start out with can change next year and guess what, you still take their plan! You are in this for the long game, so make sure you do not take the advice of established offices that are booking out 2-3 weeks in advance. Your situation is unique and any income is better than none. Give it about 10 years and then you can start cutting the bad plans to make room for the more profitable ones. But until then, suck it up and make your patients your best marketers by giving them outstanding care regardless of their vision plan.
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