What is a treatment and cost plan?

A treatment and cost plan (HCP) is the basic step in planning and creating new dentures. By recording the findings and planning the dental prosthesis, the forthcoming costs for the patient are calculated by the health insurance company.The treatment and cost plan is prepared by the dentist and checked and, if necessary, approved by the health insurance company, provided that the therapy proposal appears plausible to the health insurance company. The health insurance company will determine the results-oriented health insurance subsidy individually through the bonus program or a hardship case.

The treatment and cost plan is a form on which the total costs are listed. Only after the health insurance company has returned the plan does the patient know the exact sum of the costs that will be incurred. With the signatures of the patient, the dentist and the health insurance company, the treatment and cost plan is valid for 6 months.

During this time the dental prosthesis must have been started. It can happen that a treatment plan is not approved by the health insurance company or has to be checked by an assessor in advance until it is approved. If the patient chooses the standard care that exists in his case, the treatment and cost plan is merely a form.

For services that go beyond the standard care, a form and an appendix are created. The form compares the standard care with the planned more complex care, calculates the total costs and determines the results-oriented health insurance subsidy. In the appendix, the total costs of the planned therapy are specified and compared with the costs of the standard care, so that the patient knows exactly what additional costs will be incurred.

Separate treatment and cost plans must be prepared for any periodontal, surgical or orthodontic pre-treatment. As a rule, the patient is responsible for passing on the treatment and cost plan prepared by the dentist to his/her health insurance company. Once the insurance company has checked the plan, it sends it back to the patient, who then contacts the dentist with the edited plan, who can then start the therapy.