Babies for braces? News 8's Medicaid investigations continue | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

 

DALLAS - No one would say being a single mom is easy. Especially being a single, teenage mother.
But the State of Texas appears to be encouraging teenage girls to become pregnant so they can receive free dental care under Medicaid.

Our investigation last year found hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money spent for free braces on kids' teeth under Medicaid. That spurred a federal investigation, because cosmetic braces aren't supposed to be paid for under Medicaid.
If that is an example of good intentions gone bad, Latricia Banks and her mom, Patricia Jones, may exemplify a good idea gone terribly wrong.

For them, home is a tiny, wooden house in the shadow of Dallas' skyscrapers, which they share with Latricia's 82-year-old grandfather. It is a household held together with love, not money. Medical and dental care came mostly through Medicaid.
A little more than two years ago, Latricia's mom got a postcard in the mail, like many people in the neighborhood.  Access Dental was offering to provide free braces for qualified children like Latricia, then 17 years old.

Pediatric Dentistry’s Revolving Door

We hear a lot about the “revolving” door in Washington, but seldom does anyone talk about the revolving door within agencies and professional organizations.  The same organizations that write the rules, regulations, tests, and guidelines that effect each of us in a more personal way. The same organizations that states and lawmakers trust to protect the public from harm. Chances of corruption are 100% when there are no checks and balances.

Their Publications and Studies

Looking are various websites including the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), you find publication after publication, study after study, dating as far back as the early 1990’s to the present.  Just about all of them are, rewritten and republished studies that are merely mashups of their own previous written articles and studies.

Here is just one of hundreds of examples :

Journal of Dental Education – Vol. 68, Number 1

General Dentists’ Perceptions of Educational and Treatment Issues Affecting Access to Care for Children with Special Needs. 
Written by:
Paul Casamassimo, DDS, MS;
N. Sue Seale, DDS, MS;
Kelley Ruehs, DDS

Referenced:
Casamassimo PS. The great educational experiment: has
it worked? Spec Care Dentist 1983;3:103-6.

Seale NS, Casamassimo PS. Access to dental care for
children: profiling the general practitioner who treats
young and low-income children. J Am Dent Assoc
2003;134:1630-40.

If you get to looking at all the professional opinions, publications, studies, and continuing education courses concerning pediatric dentistry, the same names are there over and over.

Engine trouble eyed in plane crash - The Pueblo Chieftain: Local News

 

Posted: Saturday, February 4, 2012 12:00 am

Engine trouble eyed in plane crash By NICK BONHAM | ​nickb@chieftain.com The Pueblo Chieftain | 0 comments

An engine problem appeared to have caused the Thursday night slide-off of a Learjet at Pueblo Memorial Airport, a preliminary report by the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The plane "lost power in right engine during take-off and ran off side of runway," the report said.

Due to weather conditions, investigators with the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board won't arrive in Pueblo until early next week, said Mark Lovin, airport director, on Friday.

No one was injured in the Thursday night crash. The private plane was occupied by the prominent DeRose family of Pueblo. The group was taking off in poor weather conditions to Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl. Lovin, however, has said it doesn't appear the weather was a factor.

The report said the plane sustained "substantial damage" in the crash. The name of the pilot has not been released.

The DeRoses were on Learjet ID number N31WS, which was once owned by singer John Denver, according to flightaware.com

"John Denver took delivery of this Lear in 1975. He named it WindStar 1. He created WindStar Aviation. His father, Dutch, was the chief pilot," the website said.

Records show the Learjet is now owned by Extra Point LLC, in Delaware. The plane's most recent flight was from Centennial to Pueblo on Jan. 27.

The Learjet was removed from the side of the runway late Thursday night and is being stored at the airport for investigators.

The airport was closed following the incident but was reopened Friday morning.

Engine trouble eyed in plane crash - The Pueblo Chieftain: Local News

DeRose Learjet crashes at airport - The Pueblo Chieftain: Local News

This morning I awoke to hear news about the big snow storm in the Rockies.  Next thing that was talked about was the flight cancelations and so forth.  Then it was mentioned a private jet had already slid off the runway in Pueblo due to the fierce snow storm.

Pueblo! The sudden adrenaline rush woke me on up, since I was still in bed half asleep. When I hear Pueblo, I think DeRose.

Being the meanie I am, I thought, “Oh, please let that be a DeRose jet.” 

Then the newscaster said, “luckily no one was injured.” Again, being the meanie I am I thought, “dang”. That little devil on my shoulder shows up every now and again, ya know.  (it does for everyone, I just might admit it more…lol)

That was the end of the report and the newscaster moved on.

The devil side of me disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.  I came to my senses and thought, there has to be dozens of private jets in Pueblo.Then, just moments ago a reader sent me a link to the following story!

Time is money–ever wonder how much?

So why does your dentist strap your child in a papoose board as soon as they get their hands on them, instead of taking the time to go through the acceptable standards set out by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry? (Listed in detail below).

Answer - M.O.N.E.Y.

How much?

Every MINUTE saved is $6-$8.

For a Private Equity firm, or other Wall Street bank or investment firm, wasting $6-$8 a minute is UNACCEPTABLE!  For a greedy dentist who cares nothing about your child, only about his/her 5 million dollar home and private jet it’s also UNACCEPTABLE.  (see below about these numbers)

From the AAPD Guidelines for Behavioral Management

AAPD Guidelines Page 4 - Regardless of the behavior guidance techniques utilized by the individual practitioner, all guidance decisions must be based on a subjective evaluation weighing benefits and risks to the child. The need for treatment, consequences of deferred treatment, and potential physical/emotional trauma must be considered.

Decisions regarding the use of behavior guidance techniques other than communicative management cannot be made solely by the dentist. They must involve a parent and, if appropriate, the child. The dentist serves as the expert on dental care (i.e.,the timing and techniques by which treatment can be delivered). The parent shares with the practitioner the decision whether or not to treat and must be consulted regarding treatment strategies and potential risks. Therefore, the successful completion of diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Acceptable Techniques

1st – Tell-Show-Do Tell-show-do is a technique of behavior shaping used by many pediatric professionals. The technique involves verbal explanations of procedures in phrases appropriate to the developmental level of the patient (tell); demonstrations for the patient of the visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile aspects
of the procedure in a carefully defined, nonthreatening setting (show); and then, without deviating from the explanation and demonstration, completion of the procedure (do). The tell-show-do technique is used with communication skills (verbal and nonverbal) and positive reinforcement.

New Medicaid Dental Rules in Texas is Potential Windfall for Wall Street–Anyone Surprised? Not me!

I made an entry here a few weeks ago about Kool Smiles telling their patients they have to choose a doctor, not their clinic under the new rules. I wondered how that would work, since the dentist’s don’t stay too long at the dental mills. Chances of seeing the same dentist twice (unless it’s the next day) slim to none. 

Here’s a comment on that from a Texas dentist I thought deserved being front and center.

Welcome to HCE LLC–Your Medicaid Profit Scout

Company is part of McBee and Associates,

 

 

About Us

Learn how HCE can improve your profitability by
obtaining eligibility—especially with the most
difficult cases

Headquartered in Manhattan, with offices in Nassau and Westchester counties

HCE LLC provides Medicaid eligibility services to the New York metropolitan area and lower Hudson Valley. The firm’s clients range from independent health care providers to major medical systems. HCE maintains a consistent reputation for superior results and client-focused services, and has done so for the past seventy years.

HCE is focused exclusively on Medicaid eligibility services. The firm’s knowledge of and experience with the intricacies of the New York Medicaid system is unmatched. HCE professionals have dedicated their careers to Medicaid eligibility, with most having at least ten years of experience in the field. This depth of knowledge and expertise results in superior return of Medicaid dollars to our clientele.

HCE LLC has expanded into opening a new source of additional revenue for hospitals through the federal grant program, Section 1011 that provides reimbursement for uncompensated ED care for undocumented aliens.

Welcome to HCE LLC

Dentist who used paper clips in root canals gets one year in jail - Crimesider - CBS News

 

(CBS/AP) FALL RIVER, Mass. - Dr. Michael Clair, a former dentist who substituted paper clips for stainless steel posts in root canals, was sentenced to one year in jail on Monday.

Clair pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges including assault and battery, illegally prescribing medication, witness intimidation and defrauding Medicare of $130,000.

Prosecutors say that Clair sometimes used pieces of paper clips while performing root canals. This caused infections and other problems in patients.

One woman said her teenage son's tooth turned black and had to be removed after Clair gave him a root canal in 2005.

"He put my kids in pain for months ... I hope he rots there," said Brenda Almeida after Judge Richard Moses sentenced Clair to a year in the Bristol County House of Correction.

Dentist Charged with Medicaid Fraud - Holmdel, NJ Patch

An announcement from the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General

Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that a Monmouth County dentist has been indicted for allegedly submitting false claims to the Medicaid program.

Ping Cai, 49, of Holmdel, a licensed dentist whose practice is located in Hazlet, was charged with second-degree health care claims fraud and two counts of third-degree Medicaid fraud.

The Monmouth County grand jury indictment alleges that between Jan.1, 2007 and Jan.1, 2010, Cai fraudulently billed the Medicaid Program for dental service purportedly rendered to Medicaid recipients. 

It is alleged that Cai submitted fraudulent claims for payment from Medicaid for relining and rebasing of dentures and filling of cavities when those dental services were not rendered. 

The Medicaid Dental Patient

Somethings just burns my ass-there are a lot of things-but the one that belongs here is what people seem to think is the face of the Medicaid poster child.

Perpetrated by the greedy elite, to flaunt their sick and distorted view of philanthropy, the face of Medicaid Dental Patient is NOT a poor black daddy baby, (yes, daddy baby), left alone with a sippy cup full of Mt. Dew, and whose mom has been strung out in some crack house down the street for a week. Somehow by painting this picture we all are guilty of turning our heads. Shame on us.

The true picture of the Medicaid Dental Patient is our handicapped, it's our foster children, it's many of the children at St. Jude's, ( keep that in your mind),it's our children whose fathers are allowed shirk their financial responsibility, it the children of your neighbor who lost his job, it's your grandmother in the nursing home you don't go visit enough! Yes, they too are preyed upon. ReachOut Healthcare America is one of many who do this.