Delta Dental Changes in 2026 That Will Affect Your Practice

Delta Dental has announced a significant change coming at the end of 2026: the elimination of insurance payments by check. While this may sound like a simple administrative update, the downstream impact on dental practices could be meaningful, particularly when it comes to costs, cash flow visibility, and embezzlement risk.

This topic has been thoughtfully explored by Prosperident, a firm that specializes in dental embezzlement prevention. Their insights highlight why practice owners should pay close attention to how these payment changes are handled.

What Replaces Paper Checks

What happens after checks are eliminated will vary by state, depending on local legislative frameworks. In many cases, unless a state specifically prohibits it, insurance companies will default to paying practices through virtual credit card payments.

Virtual credit cards may appear convenient on the surface, but they introduce real financial drawbacks. These payments typically come with processing fees that reduce your net collections. They also increase embezzlement risk, since funds can be redirected or mishandled more easily than traditional checks. For these reasons, opting out of virtual credit card payments is strongly recommended whenever possible.

The Rise of EFT Payments and Why Oversight Matters

If you opt out of virtual credit cards, the most common alternative is electronic funds transfer. While EFT payments avoid processing fees, they create a different challenge: visibility.

Unlike checks or credit card payments, EFT deposits are not something team members physically handle. Posting is often done based solely on the explanation of benefits provided by the insurance company. Prosperident has seen many cases where EFT payments were sent to the wrong account without anyone realizing it, sometimes for extended periods of time.

Without a way to independently verify that funds were actually received, practices are exposed to unnecessary risk.

A Practical Safeguard to Consider

One effective control is to use a separate bank account dedicated solely to receiving EFT payments. Staff can be given read only access to this account, allowing them to confirm that deposits match the explanation of benefits without having broader access to operating funds.

This approach improves transparency, strengthens internal controls, and reduces the risk of misdirected or misappropriated insurance payments.

Planning Ahead Protects Your Revenue

Changes like this are easy to overlook until they create problems. As insurance payment methods evolve, it is important for practice owners to be proactive about understanding how revenue is received, who has visibility, and where controls may need to be strengthened. We appreciate Prosperident’s leadership on this topic and encourage dental practice owners to begin preparing now for these changes.

If you would like to discuss how these payment shifts may impact your practice or want help evaluating safeguards that protect your revenue, the DrillDown Solution team is happy to help. Reach out to start the conversation.