Interview with Keith B. Dressler D.D.S., M.S.D. of the Hearing Payment Plan.
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AO/Beck: Good evening Dr. Dressler, it's nice to meet you.
Dressler: Hi Dr. Beck, a pleasure to speak with you too.
AO/Beck: Before we discuss the financial services you provide, I'd like to learn a little about you. It's fairly rare for me to speak with orthodontists, particularly regarding hearing aid financing!
Dressler: Sure Doug.
AO/Beck: When and where did you get your dental degrees?
Dressler: I got my D.D.S. in 1983 from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences in Memphis and I earned my M.S.D. in 1985 from the same school.
AO/Beck: How did you go from dentistry to hearing aid financing?
Dressler: As an orthodontist, I face many of the same issues you address in your day-to-day practice. That is, I provide very high quality services, which definitively impact the quality of life of the patients, and my services and products are typically not covered by third party payers, and they are expensive. So for me to build my practice, I needed to be able to find a way to make my professional services and products available to the consumers, and so I worked towards developing a program that meets those needs.
AO/Beck: My impression is that it actually is common for patients to be on long-term payment plans for orthodontic services and products. Is that correct?
Dressler: Yes, that's very common across the nation regarding orthodontic services and products. Very simply, the bills are large and patients need to be able to pay them off over time in order to be able to handle the financial obligations. Many healthcare providers used to offer in-house finance programs but it strained their cash reserves and charge-offs were high. Mike Salisbury, president of Hearing Payment Plan, has been a good friend of mine for a very long time, and Mike was in the banking industry, so we decided to tackle this problem together and to see what kind of solutions we could develop.
AO/Beck: Dr. Dressler, there are lots of health professions and lots of expensive products out there. What was it in particular that got you interested in audiology and hearing aids?
Dressler: I was introduced to audiology and hearing aids because my son was born deaf. When he was in pre-school, he went to a school for the deaf. A number of his classmates didn't have any hearing instruments at all because the parents just couldn't afford it. That really brought these issues to the forefront for me, and that's my personal reason for getting involved. Doug, you know as a clinician the terrible anguish the parents, the spouse and the patient go through when there are treatments available to help their loved one -- but the reality is -- the treatments are not affordable, and the patient is denied access to proper treatment and technologies due to financial, or monetary reasons. That's a terrible burden, and it's one we can assist in overcoming by making the best care and technology affordable.
AO/Beck: Yes, I see your point and I agree in many respects. Particularly when fitting children, I feel very frustrated when I know there are FM systems and other expensive high quality digital and digitally programmable systems available which would be of enormous benefit to the child - yet the insurance company limits me to treating the child for 400 dollars, or even 800 dollars. Many of the better amplification systems have a wholesale cost which is more than twice the insurance limit, and so, often times, the child goes without maximal amplification, entirely due to the cost of maximally treating the child.
Dressler: That's exactly the point. Healthcare is expensive. We need to provide services which allow the spouse, the parent and the loved ones to select and afford the maximal services and products to achieve the best results, whether it's in dentistry or audiology.
AO/Beck: When did you start The Hearing Payment Plan and what other venues do you get involved with?
Dressler: The Hearing Payment Plan is about 2 years old and specific to the hearing industry. Elite Physician Services is actually the 'parent' company, and we started that about 4 and a half years ago.
We also run the Patient Payment Plan for surgical procedures and medical equipment needs.
AO/Beck: All right, walk me through this if you can. Suppose a patient comes into the office and they want to obtain a set of digital hearing aids that cost $3000.00. What happens if they say 'These are the best hearing aids I've ever heard, I want them, I need them, but I cannot afford them.' What can you do and how does your program work?
Dressler: The first thing is that we suggest the audiologist always recommend the best possible instruments to meet the needs of the patient. Patient care is ##1. We have developed our services exclusively for the hearing healthcare providers so that they may precisely concentrate on patient care and the patient can afford the best services and technology to meet their needs. Basically, the patient can fill in our application form and fax it to us while they are in the audiologist's office, or they can apply online at www.EliteDR.com, or they can call us on a toll-free number, 1-877-354-8337. Usually we can evaluate their application while they are still in the office and get a response to them within the hour and sometimes less. Upon approval, we handle the simple paperwork and fund the audiologist up front. Additionally, we offer patients up to 60 months and provide attractive fixed interest rates. The 60 months makes a big difference between affordable hearing aids, and hearing aids that cannot be purchased. So, in essence, if the hearing aids are $3,000, their payment would be about $68 per month. We have rates that are determined by the patient's personal credit history, and that helps tell us whether or not they can pay their bills, and whether or not can they afford the monthly payment. The audiologists need to understand that we do charge an administrative fee for our services, ten percent. This means that they get paid 90% up front payment unless it's a Siemens branded product, in which case we pay 91% of the financed amount.
To some that may seem like a lot, to others it may seem like a little. We hope audiologists view it as a normal cost of business and use our service as a proactive sales tool and a payment option for their patients that need to pay monthly. It's important to understand that we take the hit if the patient doesn't pay. We have the total collection risk, not the audiologist. In other words, the audiologist is paid by us up front and then we take the ride with the patient for better or worse. Again, the audiologist's risk is removed from the equation, for the fee.
AO/Beck: How long does the audiologist have to wait to get paid by you guys?
Dressler: That's really up to the audiologist. Some like to get paid at the time the ear impression is taken, some like to get paid when the hearing aids are dispensed, others like to get paid at the end of the 30 day trial. It varies tremendously. The point is that the audiologist gets to pick and choose when they want to get paid, and we do whatever they prefer.
AO/Beck: Regarding the patient and their payment schedule, how does that work?
Dressler: They get a monthly coupon book, much like a car payment.
AO/Beck: What about the warranty? Suppose the patient has a one year parts and labor warranty, and a one year term on their hearing aids, and they are unable to make payments after the tenth month. Is the warranty still in effect?
Dressler: Yes. Again, the audiologist is totally removed from the financial equation after they get paid by us. The patient can still return to your office for adjustments and service, and the warranty is not affected by their financial or payment status. The financial obligation to The Hearing Payment Plan is separate from the relationship between the patient and their audiologist. Furthermore, the audiologist would have no way of knowing that the bill has been defaulted, that's a confidential issue between the patient and The Hearing Payment Plan.
AO/Beck: What percentage of the total patients across the USA wind up financing hearing aids?
Dressler: It's hard to really supply you with a number, but we feel confident telling you that if the audiologist offers the payment plan, there's a good opportunity to increase your business by ten to twenty percent, by bringing in people who could not afford the products and services otherwise. So basically we're not taking away business. Rather, we're adding incremental sales to the business they already have. We are in fact bringing in new business and allowing patients to be placed in the best technology to meet their needs while making it affordable as well.
AO/Beck: Thanks for your time Dr. Dressler. I think you have a unique product here and I think it's worthy of investigation by the readers. Let me give them the toll free number again, 1-877-345-8337, or they can visit the website at www.elitedr.com.
Dressler: Thank you too Dr. Beck. I appreciate the opportunity to tell your audience about what I have learned and about our services so that they too can grow their practices while providing quality healthcare.
Dressler: Hi Dr. Beck, a pleasure to speak with you too.
AO/Beck: Before we discuss the financial services you provide, I'd like to learn a little about you. It's fairly rare for me to speak with orthodontists, particularly regarding hearing aid financing!
Dressler: Sure Doug.
AO/Beck: When and where did you get your dental degrees?
Dressler: I got my D.D.S. in 1983 from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences in Memphis and I earned my M.S.D. in 1985 from the same school.
AO/Beck: How did you go from dentistry to hearing aid financing?
Dressler: As an orthodontist, I face many of the same issues you address in your day-to-day practice. That is, I provide very high quality services, which definitively impact the quality of life of the patients, and my services and products are typically not covered by third party payers, and they are expensive. So for me to build my practice, I needed to be able to find a way to make my professional services and products available to the consumers, and so I worked towards developing a program that meets those needs.
AO/Beck: My impression is that it actually is common for patients to be on long-term payment plans for orthodontic services and products. Is that correct?
Dressler: Yes, that's very common across the nation regarding orthodontic services and products. Very simply, the bills are large and patients need to be able to pay them off over time in order to be able to handle the financial obligations. Many healthcare providers used to offer in-house finance programs but it strained their cash reserves and charge-offs were high. Mike Salisbury, president of Hearing Payment Plan, has been a good friend of mine for a very long time, and Mike was in the banking industry, so we decided to tackle this problem together and to see what kind of solutions we could develop.
AO/Beck: Dr. Dressler, there are lots of health professions and lots of expensive products out there. What was it in particular that got you interested in audiology and hearing aids?
Dressler: I was introduced to audiology and hearing aids because my son was born deaf. When he was in pre-school, he went to a school for the deaf. A number of his classmates didn't have any hearing instruments at all because the parents just couldn't afford it. That really brought these issues to the forefront for me, and that's my personal reason for getting involved. Doug, you know as a clinician the terrible anguish the parents, the spouse and the patient go through when there are treatments available to help their loved one -- but the reality is -- the treatments are not affordable, and the patient is denied access to proper treatment and technologies due to financial, or monetary reasons. That's a terrible burden, and it's one we can assist in overcoming by making the best care and technology affordable.
AO/Beck: Yes, I see your point and I agree in many respects. Particularly when fitting children, I feel very frustrated when I know there are FM systems and other expensive high quality digital and digitally programmable systems available which would be of enormous benefit to the child - yet the insurance company limits me to treating the child for 400 dollars, or even 800 dollars. Many of the better amplification systems have a wholesale cost which is more than twice the insurance limit, and so, often times, the child goes without maximal amplification, entirely due to the cost of maximally treating the child.
Dressler: That's exactly the point. Healthcare is expensive. We need to provide services which allow the spouse, the parent and the loved ones to select and afford the maximal services and products to achieve the best results, whether it's in dentistry or audiology.
AO/Beck: When did you start The Hearing Payment Plan and what other venues do you get involved with?
Dressler: The Hearing Payment Plan is about 2 years old and specific to the hearing industry. Elite Physician Services is actually the 'parent' company, and we started that about 4 and a half years ago.
We also run the Patient Payment Plan for surgical procedures and medical equipment needs.
AO/Beck: All right, walk me through this if you can. Suppose a patient comes into the office and they want to obtain a set of digital hearing aids that cost $3000.00. What happens if they say 'These are the best hearing aids I've ever heard, I want them, I need them, but I cannot afford them.' What can you do and how does your program work?
Dressler: The first thing is that we suggest the audiologist always recommend the best possible instruments to meet the needs of the patient. Patient care is ##1. We have developed our services exclusively for the hearing healthcare providers so that they may precisely concentrate on patient care and the patient can afford the best services and technology to meet their needs. Basically, the patient can fill in our application form and fax it to us while they are in the audiologist's office, or they can apply online at www.EliteDR.com, or they can call us on a toll-free number, 1-877-354-8337. Usually we can evaluate their application while they are still in the office and get a response to them within the hour and sometimes less. Upon approval, we handle the simple paperwork and fund the audiologist up front. Additionally, we offer patients up to 60 months and provide attractive fixed interest rates. The 60 months makes a big difference between affordable hearing aids, and hearing aids that cannot be purchased. So, in essence, if the hearing aids are $3,000, their payment would be about $68 per month. We have rates that are determined by the patient's personal credit history, and that helps tell us whether or not they can pay their bills, and whether or not can they afford the monthly payment. The audiologists need to understand that we do charge an administrative fee for our services, ten percent. This means that they get paid 90% up front payment unless it's a Siemens branded product, in which case we pay 91% of the financed amount.
To some that may seem like a lot, to others it may seem like a little. We hope audiologists view it as a normal cost of business and use our service as a proactive sales tool and a payment option for their patients that need to pay monthly. It's important to understand that we take the hit if the patient doesn't pay. We have the total collection risk, not the audiologist. In other words, the audiologist is paid by us up front and then we take the ride with the patient for better or worse. Again, the audiologist's risk is removed from the equation, for the fee.
AO/Beck: How long does the audiologist have to wait to get paid by you guys?
Dressler: That's really up to the audiologist. Some like to get paid at the time the ear impression is taken, some like to get paid when the hearing aids are dispensed, others like to get paid at the end of the 30 day trial. It varies tremendously. The point is that the audiologist gets to pick and choose when they want to get paid, and we do whatever they prefer.
AO/Beck: Regarding the patient and their payment schedule, how does that work?
Dressler: They get a monthly coupon book, much like a car payment.
AO/Beck: What about the warranty? Suppose the patient has a one year parts and labor warranty, and a one year term on their hearing aids, and they are unable to make payments after the tenth month. Is the warranty still in effect?
Dressler: Yes. Again, the audiologist is totally removed from the financial equation after they get paid by us. The patient can still return to your office for adjustments and service, and the warranty is not affected by their financial or payment status. The financial obligation to The Hearing Payment Plan is separate from the relationship between the patient and their audiologist. Furthermore, the audiologist would have no way of knowing that the bill has been defaulted, that's a confidential issue between the patient and The Hearing Payment Plan.
AO/Beck: What percentage of the total patients across the USA wind up financing hearing aids?
Dressler: It's hard to really supply you with a number, but we feel confident telling you that if the audiologist offers the payment plan, there's a good opportunity to increase your business by ten to twenty percent, by bringing in people who could not afford the products and services otherwise. So basically we're not taking away business. Rather, we're adding incremental sales to the business they already have. We are in fact bringing in new business and allowing patients to be placed in the best technology to meet their needs while making it affordable as well.
AO/Beck: Thanks for your time Dr. Dressler. I think you have a unique product here and I think it's worthy of investigation by the readers. Let me give them the toll free number again, 1-877-345-8337, or they can visit the website at www.elitedr.com.
Dressler: Thank you too Dr. Beck. I appreciate the opportunity to tell your audience about what I have learned and about our services so that they too can grow their practices while providing quality healthcare.
