Category: Dental Insurance & Medicaid

The Ohio Dental Association is again receiving calls from member dentists on issues that have arisen within the past five years and continue to generate concern and confusion. They include the payment method of a small number of third party administrators (TPAs) and the use of electronic health records. TPA credit card payments This ... [continue reading]

Dealing with the subject of fees can be a tricky and at times an uncomfortable but necessary part of the patient-dentist relationship. The subject can become even more difficult when third party payers become involved in the discussion. One of the most antagonizing things a dentist can encounter involves an assertion that his/her fees are ... [continue reading]

The Ohio Dental Association occasionally receives calls from patients complaining about dentists who assess separate fees or charges for services, activities or functions that would not typically be considered distinct dental procedures such as infection control, missed appointments and filing insurance claim forms. The complaints range from the ... [continue reading]

Recent letters to dentists from dental-related entities concerning regulatory changes to Medicare have generated many questions in dental offices across the state. The questions typically involve whether the letter actually pertains to the dental office and what, if any, action the office needs to take in response to it. Payment issues Medicare ... [continue reading]

Numerous entities within the Ohio Dental Association, ranging from the Executive Committee and advocacy team to the Council on Dental Care Programs and Dental Practice (CDCPDP) and its Dental Insurance Working Group, work to identify and address dental insurance issues. As part of this process, the ODA conducts environmental scans of many issues, ... [continue reading]

Christopher A. Moore, MA - ODA Director of Dental Services The Ohio Dental Association has received a number of calls over the past year from ODA member dentists with questions concerning participating provider contracts they have entered into. The questions typically involve whether the contracting insurance company is allowed to administer the ... [continue reading]

Speakers at the April Ohio Dental Association Leadership Institute addressed a number of topics related to leadership and dentistry in general. One thought provoking segment of the conference was produced during a session on employment issues and dentistry that was presented by ODA Director of Legal and Legislative Services Keith Kerns. Among the ... [continue reading]

Christopher A. Moore, MA - ODA Director of Dental Services The Ohio Dental Association routinely receives calls from ODA member dentists’ offices regarding the form they are asked to complete in order to either be credentialed by a third-party payer they want to contract with or re-credentialed by a payer they already contract with. The ... [continue reading]

Christopher A. Moore, MA - ODA Director of Dental Services The American Dental Association has filed a number of class action lawsuits aimed at defending the dentist-patient relationship and halting what the ADA has seen as unlawful insurance industry practices since the turn of the century. These legal actions had national significance to ... [continue reading]

Christopher A. Moore, MA - ODA Director of Dental Services Dealing with dental insurance can present dentists with a number of situations that have legal and/or ethical ramifications. Some of the issues involved are rather obvious and well established while others are new and in some cases not quite as clear cut. Misrepresentation, AKA insurance ... [continue reading]