Here's another post about why ADA membership is so critically important to private practice dentistry. I realize this is the second post this week about the ADA, but this one is really critical for you to read. As I've stated here many times, dentistry needs a unified voice. A single voice is easy to ignore or to not be heard, but a large number of voices bring the message and make it much more clear.
This can be not only with issues of standards and/or safety, but also when it comes to speaking a clear position to legislative bodies. An agile group that can respond and convey a message is important.
Sometimes a voice is needed for something that has never even crossed the radar before. Something that you may not have even considered and certainly not planned for. That's one of those times where you really need that unified voice plus the resources to provide an immediate response. I recently received an email from the organization to bring to my attention something I hadn't heard about...
What could a situation like that look like? It looks like this... last week the ADA learned that Delta Dental of Wisconsin purchased a group of dental practices in the state. You read that right. An insurance company has purchased a group dental practice in Wisconsin.
Personally, I didn't even know this was legal. I happen to practice in Missouri and the last time I checked only a licensed dentist could own a practice in the state. I've always figured that the rule was made to help prevent undue pressures being exerted on doctors.
And that brings me to my concern with this news. Ask anyone is dentistry and they'll tell you that insurance companies focus on profits not patients. I could go on and on about that point, but I'll save everyone the rant. If you're a dentist, you know what I'm talking about. The most important takeaway is that insurance companies push for the least expensive option practically every time... and sometimes the least expensive option is to deny paying anything at all.
So what will happen when a business that doesn't want to spend money begins to make the total decision from start to finish? By owning the practices the decision won't just be about treatment. It will also affect things like the quality of products that the office uses. Why purchase expensive supplies from reputable companies when the cheapest products available will mean greater profits? Why order lab cases from well known and reputable labs when money can be saved by sending cases to foreign countries with no oversight from US authorities on things like infection control? Those are just a couple of things I thought about, the list of questions could be much, much longer.
To wrap up today's post, this is why I'm glad the ADA exists. If the ADA wasn't there keeping an eye out for the profession, this probably wouldn't have been much of a story. This probably wouldn't make it onto people's news feeds. However the ADA keeps track of happenings in the industry and when they see something they let members know. We need a unified voice!
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