Since the beginning of 2023, budgeting in dental practices has once again come under increased scrutiny - and is causing economic pressure, planning uncertainty and concerns about the future. The reason for this is the Statutory Health Insurance Financial Stabilization Act (GKV-FinStG), which strictly limits the total reimbursements for those with statutory health insurance. For many practices, this means even more precise planning, strict cost management and intelligent scheduling in order to avoid financial losses.
Background: Why budgeting has been tightened again
Budgeting in dental care is not a new concept. It was originally introduced to control SHI costs and avoid unnecessary treatment. Around 70 percent of dental services - including conservative, surgical and periodontal procedures - are subject to this regulation.
However, budgeting was significantly tightened with the GKV-FinStG adopted in October 2022. Since January 1, 2023, the total remuneration for contracted dental services may only increase minimally - by a maximum of 0.75% in 2023 and 1.5% in 2024. The aim of the policy is to reduce SHI expenditure. However, this has serious consequences for practices: The economic leeway is becoming narrower and planning more complex. Practices that predominantly treat SHI patients will be particularly hard hit, as they will be able to bill less and barely be able to absorb rising operating costs.
The effects in everyday practice
Tighter budgeting brings with it several challenges. Dentists have to calculate each treatment even more precisely and weigh up whether it even fits into the budget for the current quarter. If the quota is exceeded, there is a risk that necessary services will no longer be reimbursed.
In addition, rising energy, material and personnel costs are putting additional pressure on the economic situation. In teams where employees live off revenue sharing or commissions, falling billing volumes can lead to existential fears. There is also growing concern about the long-term security of care: if treatments have to be postponed or canceled for cost reasons, not only the profitability of the practice suffers, but possibly also the quality of patient care.
Classic strategies and their limitations
Conventional approaches include:
- Cost calculation before the start of treatment
- Postponement of services to the next quarter
- Check supplementary insurance
- Separation of cash (budgeted) and private services
- Observe the principle of economic efficiency.
- Choose alternative methods (e.g. extraction instead of root canal treatment).
These strategies are helpful, but time-consuming and error-prone in everyday practice.
Digital support: budget control with the medondo manager
This is where medondo manager comes in. It offers dental practices the option of storingfixed quotas per billing quarter for certain appointment types. This means you always know exactly how many appointments for a particular service have already taken place and how many are still possible.
The system works automatically: if the quota is reached, the online appointment system only offers appointments in the next quarter. When bookings are made in the practice, a message appears indicating the full quota so that you can decide independently whether to allow an exception. This allows you to keep control of your budget at all times - without manual counting or having to look at complex tables.
The big advantage: the risk of providing unpaid services is significantly reduced. At the same time, you gain planning security and can focus more on patient care instead of investing valuable time in budget management.
Conclusion
Budgeting in accordance with the GKV-FinStG is a serious economic challenge for dental practices. If you want to continue working profitably and offer your patients the best possible care, you need more than conventional planning. Digital tools such as medondo manager create transparency, avoid budget overruns and give practices the security they need in these times. This not only ensures your profitability, but also the quality of your dental services.
Take the opportunity now to future-proof your practice - arrange a free and non-binding consultation appointment with our medondo practice management experts.
