PPO versus fee-for-service

Definition

Whether the revenue comes through insurance at a discounted fee or from patients paying in full.

Why It Matters

The mix decides both margin and effort. A fee-for-service book earns more per chair and grows harder; a PPO-heavy one trades rate for volume and depends on staying in networks. Ask which plans the practice is in, what the contracted rates are, and when they were last renegotiated, because a single plan repricing can move a whole year. Dropping a plan is possible and it is a decision about which patients you are willing to lose.