June 2013

URGENT…We Need Responsible Party Email Addresses

OrthoBanc is now regularly using the email address field for responsible party contact about failed payments and other important communications. Please begin entering this information if you are not already doing so. Having Responsible Party email addresses on file will allow us to better manage your accounts.

We are in the process of updating our Return Item Processing.  In the future, we will send an email to the responsible party every time we mail a letter – provided the email address is on file. This means we have a greater chance of reaching the responsible party to discuss the account and make sure that you get paid.  Again, starting immediately, please begin to enter an email address each time  you  enter  a  responsible  party’s  information  to  set up an account for OrthoBanc drafting and management.
 

New Help Request Option Added for Responsible Parties

In Mid-April, OrthoBanc added a Help Request link.  This feature took the place of patientaccounts@orthobanc.com that we formerly promoted as the way a responsible party would reach out to us for assistance with their account.  We have already received over 490 requests from responsible parties via this new method.

The  Help  Request   link   is  a   more  efficient  way  to  manage Responsible  Party   Requests.  This  tool   helps   our   Customer Service   Representatives   maintain    a    better   response   time.  Responsible Parties are currently able to request help with these categories: Account Inquiry, eSign, Login, Pay in Full, Payment Arrangements, Payment Method Change, and other.  Let us know if you have any questions about this great new feature.

Patient Login Guide Available on Resources

Are you aware that your patients can view their balance and print receipts directly from the OrthoBanc website? We receive calls fairly regularly asking about this.  Please Click Here to visit our resources page and click on the Patient Login Guide to learn more about this process.

Are You Familiar with the View Notices Feature on the Patient Information Page?

There are several OrthoBanc notices that are specific to a patient. These notices can be viewed by going to the Patient Information tab for an active responsible party and selecting the View Notices link. Here you will find notices such as NTP (Notice to Practice), DWCT or DWCP (Draft Week Change Temporary or Permanent), changes that you may have requested online, and other patient-specific information. This is the place you would go to see any of these notices that relate to a particular patient.

Credit Card “Convenience Fees”: Are They Right for Your Practice?

Background

Currently 46% of payment transactions processed and managed by OrthoBanc are transacted using credit cards. That is up from 37% in 2007 and shows the impact of the recession on our responsible
billing parties. Because credit card volume is a growing percentage of the practice business, and because of the high merchant fees associated with credit card usage, many practices over the years have asked us if it is possible to charge a “convenience fee” for the use of credit cards. Until now, the answer has been “No” since Visa and MasterCard only allowed convenience fees to be charged by governmental agencies, educational institutions and some charities.

In July, 2012, Visa and MasterCard settled an anti-trust lawsuit in part by removing the prohibition against allowing retailers to impose a surcharge on clients paying by credit card. This agreement carries certain conditions that retailers must meet and became effective on January 27, 2013.

Convenience Fee Conditions

Based on our review and understanding of the conditions set down by the card industry, you may impose a surcharge (or “convenience fee”) with the following conditions:
- A convenience fee must be charged on all card brands and must be the same across all card brands.
- A convenience fee may not be charged on debit cards or pre-paid gift cards. It is sometimes difficult to know if a debit card or pre-paid card is being used.
- A convenience fee may not be charged if a card brand you accept doesn’t allow a convenience fee. American Express does not allow surcharges if the surcharge discourages the use of their card.
- The convenience fee may not exceed 4% for Visa and MasterCard, or the actual merchant fee, whichever is less. Discover does not allow surcharges to exceed the actual fee charged to you by Discover. Because of the first requirement above, if you accept Discover then your convenience fee may not exceed the amount charged to you by Discover. For example, if your Discover rate is
2% and your Visa/MasterCard rate is 2.1%, then the most you can surcharge on any card type is 2%.
- You must provide a notice to consumers of your convenience fee at the entrance to your practice, at the point of sale and on-line, if you accept payments on-line.
- You must itemize the convenience fee on the receipt you provide to your customer.
- You must notify Visa of your intent to surcharge at least 30 days prior to beginning the surcharge.

The following 10 states have laws that limit or prohibit surcharges: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. If your office resides in one of these states you should consult legal counsel if you are considering adding a convenience fee for credit cards.

Controlling Credit Card Costs

Most OrthoBanc clients who want to impose a convenience fee desire to have the consumer bear theadded expense of the credit card transaction. There are at least three ways to approach reducing that expense.

Convenience Fees. In the past many consumers paid by credit card to obtain reward points or frequent flyer miles. Since 2007, economics has become a factor in favor of using credit cards over cash or check payments. For these latter consumers, the imposition of a convenience fee may discourage starting treatment.

Increased Treatment Fee with Discounts. Another approach may be to raise your fees across the board by 2.5 to 3.5% (roughly the amount of the typical merchant fees; NOTE: OrthoBanc’s merchant fee is far less than is typically paid for point of sale transactions) and then discount the same amount for cash or ACH payment options. This approach encourages patients to choose a less expensive payment method and reduces the number of accounts paying by credit card. One downside is that a patient may request to change payment methods to a credit card during the payment period. Enforcing the ACH choice may be difficult to track and imposing an upcharge for the switch may seem punitive to the patient. Still, this option provides a mechanism for patients to pay most of the expense for credit card costs.

Modification of Fee Presentation. If the card industry rules make it difficult to impose a convenience fee and you have little appetite for raising fees by 2.5 to 3.5%, then fee presentation becomes a key factor in reducing the cost of credit card acceptance. During the fee presentation, your treatment or financial coordinator should present the payment plan and indicate that, “For your convenience, your monthly payments will be deducted from your checking or savings account by OrthoBanc, the company we have selected to manage our payment plans. Here is a take-one card that provides more information about OrthoBanc.” At this point you have subtly set the expectation that the payment will be paid just like their mortgage payment, insurance payments and other obligations that are paid through ACH debit. Should the patient request their payments be made by credit card, go ahead and agree. It is a cost of doing business and you don’t want to deter a start arguing over a payment method. Following this fee presentation approach will reduce the number of accounts paying by credit card but not alienate any new starts.

Bottom Line

Of the three methods presented above, charging a convenience fee has the greatest downside and the most impact on treatment starts. Raising fees and then discounting for cash or ACH payment works,
provided you are not accommodating “telephone shoppers” by providing fee information over the phone. Fee information should always be presented in the office by your treatment coordinator who has discovered the patient’s needs and accommodates those needs in the fee presentation. Using fee presentation to encourage the behavior we want from patients is inherent in the presentation, from
convincing the patient to select you and your practice for their care, to understanding why your fees fit the high caliber dental care being provided, to selecting a payment method that controls your cost of doing business.

In our opinion, even though the new regulations now allow convenience fees to be charged, doing so is not a good choice for orthodontic practices.

OrthoBanc Outage
September 10, 2012

Background

Sometime on the afternoon of September 10, 2012, OrthoBanc’s websites became unavailable due to equipment failure at the domain registrar GoDaddy.com. The resulting data corruption took down servers at GoDaddy.com that route web traffic to companies like OrthoBanc. Since the ability for GoDaddy.com to route traffic across the web was impeded, it appeared that OrthoBanc’s sites were down. Actually, our sites were up but very little traffic from the web made it to our servers.

Summary

The only problem that existed was a connectivity problem between our clients and our websites. Our sites were fully functional and secure. At no time was there any risk to patient or responsible billing party data and our sites were not compromised.

Details

GoDaddy.com provides DNS services for OrthoBanc’s websites. Simply put, DNS services translate domain names such as www.orthobanc.com into an IP addresses (i.e., 192.68.1.1). When a person enters OrthoBanc’s domain name into their browser, the browser must find out what IP address to use to reach the desired site. GoDaddy.com maintains a huge list of millions of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. It was the GoDaddy.com servers that provide the DNS lookup service that
were attacked and brought down. Because their servers were down, client’s web browsers were unable to obtain the IP address needed to access our sites. GoDaddy.com only provides DNS services for OrthoBanc. Our websites are not hosted at GoDaddy.com
nor is our data stored with them. This equipment failure occurred at GoDaddy.com’s site and not OrthoBanc’s. The OrthoBanc sites were fully functionally all day and all security systems were active and working.

Conclusion

Clients and responsible billing parties should feel confident that the personal information we store was never in any danger of being compromised. We maintain numerous systems that continually monitor both internal and external threats and take action to protect our systems from these threats. We hope that this document will help relieve any concerns that you may have. The problem at GoDaddy.com is fully resolved. It is no longer necessary for clients to use our IP addresses to reach our sites.

OrthoBanc Outage
September 10, 2012

Background

Sometime on the afternoon of September 10, 2012, OrthoBanc’s websites became unavailable due to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on the domain registrar GoDaddy.com. The DDoS took down servers at GoDaddy.com that route web traffic to companies like OrthoBanc. Since the ability for GoDaddy.com to route traffic across the web was impeded, it appeared that OrthoBanc’s sites were
down. Actually, our sites were up, but very little traffic from the web made it to our servers.

Summary

The only problem that existed was a connectivity problem between our clients and our websites. Our sites were fully functional and secure. At no time was there any risk to patient or responsible billing party data and our sites were not compromised.

Details

GoDaddy.com provides DNS services for OrthoBanc’s websites. Simply put, DNS services translate domain names such as www.orthobanc.com into an IP addresses (i.e., 192.68.1.1). When a person enters OrthoBanc’s domain name into their browser, the browser must find out what IP address to use to reach the desired site. GoDaddy.com maintains a huge list of millions of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. It was the GoDaddy.com servers that provide the DNS lookup service that
were attacked and brought down. Because their servers were down, client’s web browsers were unable to obtain the IP address needed to access our sites. GoDaddy.com only provides DNS services for OrthoBanc. Our websites are not hosted at GoDaddy.com
nor is our data stored with them. This DDoS and any attempt at hacking was purely on GoDaddy.com’s site and not OrthoBanc’s. The OrthoBanc sites were fully functionally all day and all security systems were active and working.

Conclusion

Clients and responsible billing parties should feel confident that the personal information we store was not compromised and was not being attacked. We maintain numerous systems that continually monitor both internal and external threats and take action to protect our systems from these threats. We hope that this document will help relieve any concerns that you may have. The problem at GoDaddy.com is fully resolved. It is no longer necessary for clients to use our IP addresses to reach our sites.

An Update on Requesting Credit Recommendations

Rhode Island recently enacted House Bill 7693, which limits the use of a consumer's Social Security Number (SSN) in the search and match process of locating a credit report. This legislation means that the SSN cannot be the primary means of identification.

The credit reporting industry has always relied on more information than just the SSN for matching. However, the SSN has been a very good means of matching a consumer file. This legislation doesn’t change the bureau’s search algorithms too much, but it points out an important fact to remember; whenever you request a ZACC grade or Credit Recommendation from OrthoBanc, you need to be certain you are using the most accurate information possible. For example, if “Bill” is usually “William” and knowing whether or not a suffix is needed (Jr., Sr., etc.) can be the difference in a match or a no record. Accurate address information is also important. If you do not know the zip code, please do not make up one or put in one that you think is close. Also, be sure to spell city names correctly. Accuracy of the SSN is important, but the SSN now carries a lower weight in Rhode Island searches and you can count on other states to follow their lead. Matching input data correctly is important and the best way to insure a good match is to supply the most accurate information possible. Be sure to review the application information for completeness prior to requesting a recommendation and ask your billing party for additional information if necessary.

Please feel free to call OrthoBanc at 888-758-0585 with any questions you may have regarding Credit Recommendations.

OrthoBanc Payroll Services

OrthoBanc is pleased to announce that we are now offering Payroll Services. We are constantly looking for ways to help our customers make their practices more efficient and profitable. Our new Payroll Services promise to do just that! Even if you currently use a payroll service, you owe it to yourself to compare your current service with OrthoBanc. Contact us today at marketing@orthobanc.com to see how easy payroll can be. Now you can calculate wages, pay your employees, and stay compliant with payroll taxes and regulations using OrthoBanc Payroll Services. OrthoBanc Payroll Services allows you to put your hard work and time into growing your business by letting you run payroll online in 2 minutes or less. Just enter hours, review and approve. It’s that easy!

•Our online payroll services provide all the features and benefits you would expect from a traditional provider, but at an affordable price.

•Our friendly, US based customer service support is available 6 days a week via email, phone and live chat.

•Our employee portal allows your staff to access their own payroll records and view benefit days without involving you. Your employees will not have access to other employees information.

•Your money is secure with OrthoBanc Payroll Services. We use industry-leading security measures to make sure your data is protected by multiple layers of security including encrypted social security and account numbers, firewalls, and third-party experts to monitor security 24/7.

Be sure to contact us today at marketing@orthobanc.com to learn more about OrthoBanc Payroll Services. We are confident that we can provide you a valuable service at a price that is better than you will find anywhere else. Call 888-758-0585 option 2 to learn more.

OrthoBanc Announcement

March 19,2012

Due to continued growth in OrthoBanc’s business, we are in the process of upgrading our IT infrastructure to some of the most advanced systems available. These changes will insure that we continue to meet your needs and bring you additional features and capabilities. In order to accomplish some of these changes, we must schedule some system downtime.

The purpose of this communication is to make all of our current customers aware that our system will be down on Saturday, April 7, 2012, for system maintenance from 2:00am EDT until possibly 8:00am EDT.

We do not anticipate that this will affect the majority of our very valuable customers; however we would still like you all to be informed.

If you have any questions feel free to contact OrthoBanc, 888-758-0585.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Important! Security Threats

The Threat - Malware

You are probably familiar with the term Malware, which is short for malicious software. Malware is a computer program designed to infect your computer with the intent of disrupting or denying computer operations or, more seriously, to gather personal information such as names, social security numbers and credit card numbers. 


There is a malware program being spread through the Internet that is designed to capture credit card numbers entered into an Internet browser.  If your computer becomes infected, when you enter a 16 digit number beginning with a 3 (AMEX), 4 (Visa), 5 (MasterCard) or 6 (Discover), the malware program will pop-up a legitimate-looking message box indicating that the account number must be validated. If you click OK or Validate, the program sends the credit card number and other information to a malicious site, usually overseas, that will then compromise your patient's credit card account.


Malware is generally introduced onto your computer through spam email, social networking sites or by browsing sites with malicious intent but disguised to appear legitimate.

What To Do

 Please take the following actions:

• Inform your staff of this threat and tell them that OrthoBanc has not changed its prompts for account number entry. We do not ask you to validate numbers through a pop-up message though we do inform you if a number entered is invalid.
• If you receive such a pop-up message, cancel out of the window, close your browser, and immediately run a virus and malware scan of your computer.
• If you learn that your computer has been infected, please contact us so that we may document what happened. If your scan reveals the name of the malware program, we would like to know which malware infected your computer.

How To Avoid Malware

• Be certain that your antivirus and anti-spyware software is installed and up-to-date. Many computers have antivirus software installed that has long since expired and is no longer up-to-date. That is not protection!
• Make certain that your antivirus software is setup to scan your computer for viruses and malware at least once per week.
• Be sure that your antivirus software checks for malware. If not, you need to update your software to a better version.
• Check to see that your computer is setup to download and install operating system updates (Windows, Mac OS). Keeping your computer up-to-date is essential to avoiding and preventing such threats.
• Always use the most current browser version. Approximately 20% of OrthoBanc users still access our site with old browser versions.
• Limit your browsing on office computers to business use only. Many viruses and malware programs are distributed through social networking sites such as FaceBook,  Twitter, music sharing sites, etc.
• If you are prompted to install a program and you were not trying to install software, cancel the install or verify what is happening before clicking OK or Next.
• Don't believe the myth that using a Mac means you can't be infected with a virus or malware. It just is not true.

Working Together

We spend tens of thousands of dollars each year to protect the sensitive information you entrust to our care. If you take the steps outlined above, together we can safeguard your patient's information and provide an exceptional payment experience for everyone involved. 

Thank you for your help and for your attention to this serious matter. 

IRS 6050w Regulations And What They Mean To You

Read the post below we these thoughts in mind: We have heard that the IRS is not going to enforce the 28% withholding for 2012. We are still required to file form 1099-k for 2011 credit card sales but unless you are currently subject to IRS backup withholding, we will not withhold the 28% in 2012 due to the inability to match your information to IRS records. We will, however, continue to try and resolve any mismatch so that reporting for 2012 credit card sales will not result in any withholding. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.




January 2012 will bring some interesting new mail to your mailbox. Credit card companies, as well as payment processing companies like OrthoBanc, are now required to report your credit card sales to the IRS and send you Form 1099-k. 

What is 6050w? Congress issued new IRS regulations as part of the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008.  Effective for the 2011 tax year, all credit card companies and payment processors must report the total gross sales volume of customers whose sales exceed $20,000 and who have more than 200 transactions.  In January 2012 you will receive form 1099-k from OrthoBanc and any other payment processor or credit card company with whom you do business.

What does this mean to me?  You will want to be certain you have received form 1099-k from OrthoBanc when your 2011 tax return is being prepared.  You must also supply certain information to OrthoBanc before the end of 2011.

What information does OrthoBanc need?  We are required to file form 1099-k using your Tax Identification Number (either your business tax ID or your social security number, whichever is used when you file your tax return related to your business) and your firm's legal business name. We are required to match the number you supply and your legal name with the IRS records before filing form 1099-k.

What if I do not supply the tax ID number or business legal name? If we do not obtain a match on your tax ID and business legal name, we are required to withhold 28% of the credit card sales we collect on your behalf. To avoid this withholding, you need to be certain we have this information.

What is OrthoBanc doing in regard to 6050w? We are in the process of collecting the required information from every customer. We ask that you cooperate with us and submit a completed W9 when we request it. Of our more than 2,000 customers, we have about 500 still pending.

What does OrthoBanc do with funds it withholds? These funds are forwarded to the IRS and OrthoBanc cannot refund these amounts to you once they are withheld. It is important that we have your exact tax ID and business name on file. We must continue to withhold that portion of your sales until the IRS informs us that we can stop.


How will I get back any funds withheld? You will be required to claim the withheld funds on your tax return for the applicable tax year. We will not be able to return any withheld funds.

Does this apply to ACH transactions (drafts from checking and savings accounts) that OrthoBanc drafts on our behalf? No. 6050w only applies to credit card sales. We will not be surprised to see this expanded in future revisions of the IRS tax code but for now it only applies to credit card sales.

How can I know that OrthoBanc has my correct tax ID and business legal name?  If we have the correct information as verified by the IRS, we will not be contacting you.  If we do not have the correct information, we will make every effort via fax, telephone call and letter to give you opportunity to provide the correct information.  If we do not have the valid information by December 31, 2011, we must begin withholding a portion of your sales.


How can I confirm exactly how my information is listed in the IRS records?  If you were issued an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your business, try to locate the computer-generated notice that was issued by the IRS when you applied for the EIN. If you cannot locate this notice you can try contacting the IRS at (800) 829-4933 between 7am and 10pm local time, Monday through Friday. You must be an authorized person to request this information. For those filing under a Social Security Number, try to locate your Social Security Card or contact your local SSA office to request a Social Security Number Printout.

Are there any other taxes that may be withheld?  Yes.  If your practice is in California or Maine and you are subject to backup withholding, we must deduct additional amounts for those state taxing authorities.

It is not our preference to report this information to the IRS but we cannot avoid the duty imposed on us by congress.  We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

The following schedule includes the dates and booth numbers where OrthoBanc will be exhibiting this Fall.

Please be sure to stop by and see us if you plan to attend
any of these shows!


Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Annual Session (PCSO)
Sept 22 – 24
Vancouver, BC Canada
Booth # 518

Southern Association of Orthodontists Annual Meeting (SAO)
Sept 28 – Oct 1
Boca Raton, FL
Booth # 303

American Orthodontic Society / Academy of Gp Orthodontics
Annual Meeting (AOS/AGpO)
Sept 29 – Oct 1
Atlanta, GA
Booth # 38

Southwestern Society of Orthodontists Annual Session (SWSO)
Oct 13 – 16
Houston, TX
Booth # 205

OrthoVoice - Discover Reinvent Grow
Oct 20 – 22
Las Vegas, NV
Booth # 415

Northeastern Society of Orthodontists Annual Meeting (NESO)
Nov 10-13
Boston, MA
Booth # 1025