Let’s start with a truth that would’ve sounded ridiculous ten years ago:

Dental insurance plans now have “retention departments.”

Yes. The same tactic used by DirecTV, Comcast, and every cell phone company you’ve ever tried to break up with.

You call to cancel.
They suddenly care.
They offer perks.
They hint at discounts.
They ask, “What can we do to keep you?”

Insurance plans didn’t wake up one day feeling generous.
They did this because the data is painfully clear:

👉 Insurance companies need dentists in-network more than dentists need to be in-network.

Employers don’t buy dental plans with limited provider networks. A plan with low dentist participation doesn’t sell. And when dentists quietly start leaving, insurance feels it in the only place that matters, the employer renewal conversation.

So yes, retention departments are a smart move.

But what comes next is where things get slippery.

The Re-Credentialing Trap (Read the Fine Print… Then Read It Again)

Lately, insurance plans have found a clever workaround.

Instead of saying, “We won’t negotiate,” they say:

“Just sign this re-credentialing packet.”

Buried inside that packet?

• No-negotiation clauses

• Non-termination clauses

• Multi-year lock-ins that quietly reset the clock

Doctors sign thinking, “This is just paperwork.”
Insurance hears, “I agree not to negotiate and I promise not to leave.”

That’s not retention.
That’s handcuffs with a smile.

If you re-credential and later realize the fees don’t work anymore, congratulations, you’re now contractually stuck explaining to your accountant why your margins keep shrinking.

The Oldest Negotiation Trick in the Book (And Dentists Fall for It)

Here’s a pattern I see constantly as a professional dental fee negotiator:

A negotiating firm submits a request
Insurance says “no”
Doctor personally calls to complain
Insurance suddenly offers a bigger increase

Insurance adds:
“Your negotiating firm isn’t very good…”

And just like that, the doctor forgets one critical detail:

👉 That door only opened because the negotiating company kicked it first.

Insurance doesn’t reward loyalty.
They reward pressure.

They use the same tactic they use with patients:

• Create doubt

• Redirect frustration

• Shift blame

• Delay accountability

And somehow, dentists, brilliant clinicians, fall for this psychological sleight of hand every single day.

Here’s the Part No One Likes to Admit

Look at national fee trends.

Across most states, in-network fees are creeping upward.
Slowly. Quietly. Reluctantly.

You know what the common denominator is?

Negotiating companies.

Not insurance goodwill.
Not “provider relations being nicer this year.”
Not inflation empathy.

Pressure works.
Data works.
Persistence works.

And when dentists abandon the very support systems moving the needle, insurance companies win twice.

Divide and Distrust: Insurance’s Favorite Strategy

Insurance companies already:

• Convince patients the dentist “made a billing error”

• Delay payments while blaming the office

• Undermine treatment decisions

Now they’re applying that same playbook to dentists themselves:

• Distrust your negotiators

• Distrust your vendors

• Distrust your advocates

And some dentists are helping them do it.

A Hard Truth (Said with Love… and a Little Sarcasm)

There are days, even for people like me, where you start thinking:

“Why keep doing this when those you serve are taking the side of insurance? If insurance was so great, why did they only give you a fee increase when I kicked down the door for you?”

Not because they’re bad people.
But because they’re too quick to abandon their own support groups the moment insurance whispers something convenient.

That’s tough to hear.
Even tougher to accept.

But if the industry wants change, it has to stop falling for tricks that cable companies mastered in 2009.

Final Thought: Read. Question. Pause.

Read re-credentialing packets
Question “free” fee increases
Pause before blaming the people actually fighting for you

Insurance companies are negotiating differently because they’re losing leverage.

Don’t give it back to them by accident.

Because if history tells us anything, it’s this:

Insurance never changes out of kindness.
They change when someone forces them to.

And that someone…
has never been the insurance company itself.

Benjamin Tuinei
Founder - Veritas Dental Resources, LLC
📞 888-808-4513
Services: PPO Fee Negotiators, PPO Fee Negotiating, Insurance Fee Negotiating, Insurance Credentialing, Insurance Verifications
Websites: www.VeritasDentalResources.com, www.VerusDental.com