In an effort to expand oral health services for children, My Kid’s Dentist/Every Kid’s Dentist (MKD/EKD) announced a partnership with National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy (NCOHF) through the Students United for America’s ToothFairy (SUAT) Pediatric Dental Residency Program. As a result of this alliance, NCOHF will become the primary charitable partner for the Pacific Dental Services-affiliated MKD/EKD offices.
Designed to provide critical oral health educational and preventive services for at-risk children, this new program also cultivates interest in the oral health field and unites future dental professionals in a concerted effort to break the cycle of pediatric dental disease in their communities. Guiding chapter activities, members of the SUAT Pediatric Dental Residency Program will serve as mentors for dental, pre-dental, dental hygiene, dental assisting and high school student volunteers.
“We are proud to partner with My Kid’s Dentist/Every Kid’s Dentist through this exciting program and applaud their commitment to children’s oral health,” said Fern Ingber, NCOHF President and CEO. “Their support will enable NCOHF to mobilize graduate, undergraduate and high school students throughout the country in an effort to reach thousands of underserved children with the resources, services and education necessary to prevent pediatric dental disease.”
Stephen Thorne, Founder, President and CEO of Pacific Dental Services, will also join the NCOHF Board of Directors. The NCOHF Board of Directors consists of highly respected and dedicated leaders of national and international organizations, universities and corporations concerned with children’s oral health and elimination of oral health disparities.
“I’m honored to be joining the NCOHF Board of Directors,” said Stephen Thorne, Founder, President and CEO of Pacific Dental Services. “NCOHF provides unparalleled oral health care education and support services for at-risk children and I’m looking forward to working with my fellow board members to shed light on pediatric dental disease and to help break its cycle.”
Law360, New York (May 25, 2012, 12:36 PM ET) -- A Tennessee bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved a credit bid to sell dental center manager Church Street Health Management LLC to a group of its lenders for $25 million plus their debt, just a few months after fallout from Medicaid fraud claims pushed the company into bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith M. Lundin agreed to the sale to CSHM LLC, an entity owned by some of Church Street's lenders including CIT Healthcare LLC, after no other bids were received at an auction.
I’d say if your are a corrupt dentist in Connecticut and have your name on a PC or PLLC you might be a dumbass. Here is what happened to Dr. Doug Macko. So, if you are in a dental clinic there, and pacing the floor with worry, then you know you are doing criminal acts, right? Get your nitro pills ready. (You know who you are)
HARTFORD –Published: Thursday, May 24, 2012
Attorney General George Jepsen said in a statement that he is seeking restitution from a Winsted dentist and his practice for “allegedly violating the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by illegally billing the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program from April 2002 through October 2009.”
“The state Department of Social Services administers the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program, which includes Medicaid and other programs that pay for medical benefits for certain low-income and disabled Connecticut residents. DSS terminated the provider agreement for (Dr.) Douglas J. Macko ... and on Oct. 26, 2010, suspended him from the program for 10 years,” the statement said. Macko and his professional corporation, Douglas J. Macko, D.M.D, P.C., in Southington, “had unlicensed dental assistants perform cleanings and other dental services, which may only be performed by licensed dental professionals, and then billed the state as if Macko had performed the services,” the statement said. “Alleged illegal billings were also made for services that were never provided.” The complaint also alleges that “the acts, practices and course of wrongful conduct by Macko violated public policies against larceny, vendor fraud, health insurance fraud and against a medical provider violating licensing requirements.”
“This action is being brought to seek restitution, civil penalties and other relief authorized by law,” Jepsen said, also in the statement. “It should also send a clear message to other providers that Connecticut will not ignore fraudulent billing and other illegal practices and will vigorously pursue restoration of taxpayer dollars lost as a result.” Susan E. Kinsman, director of communications for Jepsen's office said Thursday that the action brought by the attorney general is a civil one and, "It is our understanding that criminal charges have not been brought at this time."
When Karla Cardenas took her 6-year-old son Steven to a San Antonio dentist office on Friday, May 18, 2012, little did she know that she would have to take her son off the dental chair and refuse the treatment to protect him.
“They wanted to put him in a straight jacket type papoose while he was still screaming in pain from the shots they were giving him in his gum,” Cardenas said. ”They were trying to rush it and they heavily sedated him.”
The single mother of four took her son to The Smile Center Family Dentistry on Blanco Road after getting the approval and direction from Medicaid.
“I had no choice but to take Steven to that center,” Cardenas said. “Medicaid required it.”
“I told them to stop, you are not going to do this while he is in this much pain,” Cardenas said as she grabbed her son out of the chair.
Cardenas now said she is glad she followed her instinct because she has since learned that this dental care chain has been under scrutiny by the news media.
Chantel Brewer said “they did the same thing to my daughter “but “she kept getting out of the papoose so they wanted to send us home with her teeth all shaved down without the caps on.”
It was so bad that “even the assistant had scratches all over her face from my daughter kicking her in the face, neck, arms and even kicked her in the eye because she was in that much pain.”
“How can the Medicaid office send us to that office when there is this much bad news about them,” Cardenas asks. “It looks like they are herding children in and out as fast as they can with little concern about the pain.”
Earlier this year, Brian Collister of WOAI news issued several reports regarding similar concerns from other parents. According to WOAI, the dental chain has earned $23 million from Medicaid since 2007.
One San Antonio law firm, The Crosley Law Firm, P.C. is representing patients against this chain of dental centers who believe their children “have been victims of substandard dental care leading to injuries and requiring additional treatment.”
According to the Crosley Law Firm website, “many of these parents were approached in parking lots and lured into Smile Center with the promise of dental exams for their children at no out-of-pocket cost to them.”
“In most cases we have seen, the children were covered by Medicaid, and Smile Center would bill Medicaid directly,” the website stated. “ Often the dental care consisted of pulpotomies and the placement of stainless steel crowns.”
Crosley says that for some of their clients “the dental work may have been unnecessary, and resulted in a large bill to Medicaid” and in some cases “the injuries caused from the dental care necessitated visits to the emergency room and/or hospitalization.”
Cardenas, who has been a nursing student, indicated she “didn’t see any kind of resuscitation or life saving equipment or a ‘crash cart’ available” in the event of an emergency.
“This doesn’t mean they don’t have any (life saving equipment),” Cardenas explained. “I’m just saying I didn’t see any there.”
I have to ask is it worth it? Is playing along with the fraud worth giving up your life and family?
Office managers out there, know exactly what is happening with all the Medicaid fraud, children being abused and sit on their asses. Why?
Yeah, I’ve heard it, over and over and over again. “I need to feed my family”. Don’t mean to be so cold, but I’m so over hearing it.
OM’s at the dental mills are paid well, very well, too well in many cases. $50 to $60 thousand dollars a year is over the top to manage an office for a dental clinic. The paycheck is meant to hold them hostage as well keep them gagged and handcuffed.
Several times a week I find folks coming to this blog looking for the answer to their question on whether they- office managers, dental assistants, etc.-can be arrested or held liable in criminal fraud or malpractice behavior they see in their offices. They answer is a big fat YES. Ask Claudia Ventura.
Beverly Hills often brings up images of huge mansions with beautiful sparkling swimming pools, gorgeously landscaped lawns, and several fancy cars in a large driveway. It often does not bring up images of insurance fraud; but one Beverly Hills dentist to the stars may be changing that.
According to the Beverly Hills Patch and the District Attorney’s Office, Tom K. Kalili, 57, was arrested on May 4th and accused of insurance fraud, grand theft of personal property and filing a false tax return. He was charged in a criminal complaint with 101 felony counts.
Kalili is the owner and operator of Beverly Hills Medical Suites.
It is reported that Kalili and his partners have several celebrity clients, including Jim Carrey, Kathy Ireland, Adam Sandler, Keanu Reeves and Vin Diesel.
Kalili’s office manager and biller, Claudia Ventura, 38, is also being charged, if only with 10 felony counts, including insurance fraud and accessory after the fact.
These charges all come out of a multi-year investigation by the California Department of Insurance, the California Dental Board and the California Franchise Board.
According to DrBicuspid, Kalili directed Ventura to submit fraudulent billing statements to four different insurers for a total of $339,799.99.
Prosecutors are asking for Kalili’s bail to be set at $500,000 and Ventura’s at $25,000.
If Kalili is convicted, he could face over 50 years in state prison, while Ventura could only receive up to seven.
Dr. Gillis worked at Sears Dental and things did not go well for him. He fought the law, and the law won. He lost his licenses for "gross negligent and incompetent" professional treatment. He appealed that decision to an Administrative Law Judge. The Dental Board took it to the First Appellate District Division One in California. The Dental Board won. Errol M. Gillis, DDS v California Board of Dentistry - Appeals Court Decision and Order Case CPF-10-510174 Jot this down: After a five-day hearing spanning days in June, July, and September 2009, an ALJ issued a proposed decision on December 3, 2009. The decision found the facts as set forth above and concluded Gillis was both grossly negligent and incompetent under Business and Professions Code section 16702 for overfilling James J.‟s tooth (paragraph 5E), both grossly negligent and engaging in unprofessional conduct under section 1670 for failing to respond to the wife‟s calls (paragraph 5G), and repeatedly negligent under section 1670 for failing to maintain complete patient records and failing to note the overfill or advise James J. about it (paragraphs 5A and 5F). The ALJ found the Board had not proved the other allegations of the accusation.
After years of getting quarterly dental cleanings, my periodontist said he wanted to pull several teeth and do three or four periodontal procedures. My pockets were too deep, I was told. And don't worry, the receptionist said in a cheerful voice, I didn't have to pay all at once. I was given about nine or ten months to get the $8000 together.
I declined the offer. He is now my ex-periodontist.
Several years later, I was on the verge of losing tooth #16, the left upper quadrant wisdom tooth. And tooth #15, the second molar, was not in good shape either. I was willing to sacrifice my wisdom tooth if it meant saving the tooth next to it, but then my dentist wanted to pull that one too! So I set up appointments with dentist after dentist after oral surgeon after endodontist until I found a dentist I could trust. My new dentist filled the tooth with no guarantees--this was about five years ago--and I've been fine ever since. No root canal. No tooth extraction.
So you can imagine my horror when I read the following (from May 17 on the Bloomberg website, an article by Sydney Freedberg: Dental Abuse Seen Driven By Private Equity Investments):
I guess they have cut back, it used to be $10k. lol
Speaking of bonuses, maybe the $10K “loans” mentioned in the March 2012 below expense report were “signing loans” not “signing bonuses”.
Anyone closing these illegal operations down yet? Anyone interested?
Wouldn’t dental insurance companies be held liable for recommending their beneficiaries go to these illegal operations? What about CSM, for recommending them? What about Tristar and Dentaquest for recommending these illegal dental clinics? Just asking…
Firstly I want to say that I am speaking from personal experience with a Small Smiles Dental Office. I have had some what irritating and bad experiences with them. My son first went to them when he was three and well I thought nothing of it. We knew he needed his front teeth pulled on top. He had acid reflux as a baby till about two years old and does have a pretty bad gag reflex.
So with that being said puking was his middle name if I brushed his little gums with that blue finger thing, he would puke projectile! He still has some issues with his gagging, he also has a bit of anxiety as well, I wont deny that. However we needed to go in for cleanings that was fine. They told me he needed to come in 1 time a year or less that he should be okay. I asked about the cleanings they said just make sure he brushes. So I did what they said and we went back again later for another issue he was having a tooth that was bothering him.
They said it was two teeth and capped them both with silver, he did gag and puke while there. Then after they said he didn't need to come back at all for cleanings, to just keep him brushing. I called another dentist who pushed us away, saying sedate him, he needs to be put under. I really didn’t think that was the smart thing to do. He has respiratory problems already with asthma. I was referred by this new dentist to another dentist and they said put him under, he needs to be put to sleep. I’m sorry if they can work on other peoples kids to fill a tooth, why on earth was it that horrible for mine. So I called small smiles again because I felt defeated that NO ONE would see him unless sedated or the others I called weren’t accepting new patients.
So after calling Small Smiles again I just didn’t know where else to go, we honestly cannot afford to pay for him being put under, and I’m afraid to! By this time the dentist said it would be easier to just pull it, and when he came out, he looked horrible my poor baby. His face was so red and I said next time my husband or I will be going back there. We attempted to schedule a cleaning and they didn’t seem to have any openings.
I called them again recently because my son is having issues. We take him in and they sit there and put there fingers in his mouth and pull them out fast like they are scared of him, cause he may puke because last time he was there for the same tooth he puked on the woman, she was upset and started complaining my hair, my hair. I told them its been hard just even trying to get him to properly brush. The puke filled with stomach acid isn’t for the teeth at all and will rot them! So she was very childish this time, there is no soothing or trying to make him feel comfortable. So after poking their fingers in and out of his mouth like scaredy cats, they sent in two other women and left.
Then told my husband his tooth needed extracted. It had a abscess on it so we got antibiotics thankfully. The dentist they referred us to was AWESOME!!! Dr Craig Schmidtke, of Metro Oral – Maxillofacial & Facial Cosmetic Surgery. He looked at his mouth and said I can send you next door to Dr. so and so to save the tooth and explained he don’t want to put him under because of his asthma, that he could get his tooth out with no problem if there isn’t any saving it. We called the other doctors next door and another one they referred to but neither were taking new patients.
So I just said its a baby tooth, it will grow in later just take care of it now. So they took him back and boom it didn’t take long at all a little topical numbing and gas they didn’t even give him a shot of numbing, at least he said they didn’t! He said that the guy was really nice and made him feel like he really wouldn’t hurt him. I was so glad and felt so relieved, happy and so grateful he was good to my boy.
What he did explain to me about Small Smiles is that they have no special training to call themselves Pediatric. He said he took special courses to be an Oral Maxillofacial etc to be the specialist he is. He took Psychology classes and everything, that he could do it and boom it would be done, no sedation. I was shocked to hear there is no special training or nothing, they are basic dentists who take a crash course basically in dental. Kinda scary to think they are only taking care of kids, then to think they tell parents no when they ask to go back with their children.
When I was there a 12-14 year old girl asked if her Mother could go back there with her, not thinking they would say no her mom was right behind her, they said NO you don’t need your mom. Told the mother to wait out there and she would be out soon.
HELL NO is what I say! No one tells me that I cannot go back with my child to have a procedure of any kind done!
I don’t recommend this dental company as a good dentist for kids!
They use very tight restraints that strap there arms to their sides, they are being sued for their behavior now by 10 family’s!
As Bloomberg report in “Dental Abuse Seen Driven by Private Equity” as has pointed out, this is NOT a good idea. All American’s should be fighting this issue and support North Carolina’s Senate Bill 655.
ATR is demonstrating the lengths the Private Equity firms will go to in order to line their pockets with your health and health care dollars. These dental management companies could care less about your dental health. But they certainly care about the creative dental care they can deliver to you, your children, your family, and your elderly.
North Carolina is one of the top battleground states for the 2012 election. Ads are already flooding the airwaves from Cape Hatteras to Cashiers and, with the DNC being held in Charlotte, the state is expected to become a political fever pitch over the next few months.
A major topic during the campaign season will be the policies that President Obama has signed into law, such as the 20 tax increases in ObamaCare alone, that will drive up the cost of health care. Indeed, Republicans who hope to pick up three congressional seats in the Tar Heel State will make this a major theme of their campaigns. Yet, in order for North Carolina Republicans to avoid muddling their message and contradicting themselves, Republican state legislators would do well to reject Senate Bill 655, legislation currently pending in the General Assembly that would drive up the cost of dental care for North Carolinians.
Yesterday, Americans for Tax Reform sent the following letter to all members of the North Carolina House, urging them to reject SB 655, legislation that uses the power of government to stifle competition and drive up consumer costs:
21 May 2012
Dear legislators,
On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), I write today urging you to reject Senate Bill 655. If passed, this bill would add onerous new regulations restricting the ability of dentists in North Carolina to engage in free enterprise and administer their practices more efficiently. Simply put, this bill is an attempt to use the power of the government to eliminate competition. The effects of SB 655 will harm consumers and taxpayers in the state by limiting access to care, restricting competition, increasing costs, destroying jobs and discouraging investment.
It does NOT add “new” regulations. It further defines regulations already in place, because the Private Equity firms have found, and sometimes created loop holes with direct access to your dental health.
As it stands, North Carolina faces a shortage of dentists, ranking just 46th nationally in dentists per capita, based on data from the American Dental Association (ADA) and US Census Bureau. The result is less access to needed care and higher costs. Dentists in North Carolina earn 25 percent more than the national average according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Who said there is a shortage of dentist? ADA? Seriously! WTF! The ADA is in bed with the Private Equity firms! Google Dental Group Practice Association and the ADA. The ADA is allowing the president of the DGAP to host and sponsor simanrs to “sell their snake oil.” Various heads of the ADA are owners or partner in the Private Equity owned changes of dental clinics! What does preventing Private Equity and Hedge funds from deciding the treatment your dentist delivers have to do with the above? Nothing!
This costs North Carolina consumers over $250 million more in additional costs every year, with the effects being the same as that of a hidden tax: increased costs and less disposable income for the citizens of North Carolina. SB 655 would exacerbate these current problems.
Tell us exactly how the above is true? Because the ATR says it is? I say it’s BS. ATR is making this a political issue as if your dental care depends on whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent. This is ridiculous.
Given the rising costs of health care across the United States and the resulting burden on employers and taxpayers, states should look to promote more efficient models of delivering healthcare. SB 655 would prohibit dental practices from contracting with Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), which allow dentists to focus exclusively on providing care, resulting in both high quality care and lower costs for patients.
More outright bullshit! DSO’s are owned and operated by Private Equity firms and they could care less about your dental health! These rules were put in place to protect the public and NC is trying to continue to protect the public.
DSOs do not own dental practices,[choking and gagging on this one, pure lies, let’s put a couple of these fake owners in front of a grand jury and see if the DSO’s own the clinics or not, I dare someone to do this one.] and the Dental Board already has the regulatory authority required to ensure that all dentists deliver high quality care to their patients, irrespective of how they choose to contract for administrative services. This is a broadly accepted model utilized by many other medical professions, including emergency room physicians, oncologists, anesthesiologists and hospitalists. In a recent statement, the ADA wrote: “States should implement administrative reforms to cut red tape that impedes dentists from delivering care and patients from receiving it.” SB 655 flies in the face of this advice.
What red tape? Go to school? Pass a test? DEA paperwork? Hell, why require any of this, since it appears this is too much red tape.
As the John Locke Foundation noted in its analysis of SB 655, North Carolina lawmakers “should be looking at ways to expand dental care in North Carolina, not restrict it. If a management company is interested in assuming purchasing, billing and administrative duties and a dentist wants to spend more time on patient care, they ought to be allowed to work out whatever arrangement works best for them.” ATR agrees whole-heartedly with this astute assessment.
While many in the dental industry support SB 655, many other dentists, consumers, taxpayers, employers, and investors in North Carolina would be harmed by this legislation. Rather than consider legislation that stifles competition and drives up consumer costs, North Carolina lawmakers should instead be looking for ways to make the state more economically competitive. As such, I urge you to oppose SB 655. If you have any questions, please contact ATR’s Patrick Gleason at (202) 785-0266 or pgleason@atr.org.
NASHUA – The president of a defunct dental chain gave up his New Hampshire dentistry license to resolve professional misconduct charges.
David Bates, DDS, president of Allcare Dental Management and Allcare Dental and Dentures of New Hampshire, surrendered his license to the state Board of Dental Examiners. The board approved the agreement on May 9, according to state Attorney General Michael Delaney.
Bates had been scheduled to appear before the board for disciplinary hearings later this month. Bates has also been the focus of licensing boards in Massachusetts, West Virginia and North Dakota, Delaney said.
Most of the company’s offices closed abruptly in December 2010. In Nashua, that meant hundreds of former patients, some of whom said they prepaid for dental work, descended on the Nashua office shortly after New Year’s Day trying to track down their dental records, X-rays and dentures.
Is Private Equity Contributing to Dental Abuse? Federal and state regulators are looking into whether dentistry companies backed by private equity are being encouraged to perform unnecessary procedures, Bloomberg News reports
Bloomberg News on Dental Management Corporations: Patient Abuse, Private-Equity Funds & Medicaid Fraud - Wall Street Money Fuels Coalition Against SB655 in North Carolina
Protect the public. That’s the deceptively simple mission of any American dental board. But while the mandate may be uncomplicated, its execution is anything but. Critics of board actions say they range from misguided and contradictory to baldly self-interested. Controversial decisions are increasingly putting boards under fire. Among the more common sources of complaint are unfair and unequal treatment of dentists; failure to quickly address malpractice and the unlawful restraint of competition.
Perhaps nowhere is the board under greater fire than in Texas, where the executive director recently resigned. Sherri Meek’s abrupt exit followed a rocky stint punctuated by frequent dispute. In particular Meek was assailed for allowing board members to act as paid expert witnesses in lawsuits against Texas dentists; the practice posed a clear conflict of interest. Long-time opponent Dr. Mark Stankewitz, a prosthodonist, used YouTube to decry the Texas board as “a good- ole-boys’ network…some dentists receive slaps on the wrists for serious matters and others serious consequences for much less significant offenses.”
Dentist-turned-attorney Frank Recker used the same language—a good-ole-boy’s network—to describe his own experience on the Ohio State Dental Board in the early 1980s.
State dental board officials will come to town in early June to investigate long-simmering allegations that a Bakersfield dentist mistreated children while they were strapped to a papoose, or stabilizing board, several local parents say.
Many of the parents involved also allege excessive, unnecessary or flawed dental treatments from Dr. Edward Dove.
"I struggle with the fact that it's taken a long time, but at least movement is coming quickly now," said parent Chris Cook, who has led a grassroots mobilization effort. "I'm exhausted but that doesn't mean I stop -- he ain't getting away from me."
Dove did not respond to an interview request, though he said last year that he gives excellent care, has never hurt a patient and the parents are "making it up." Dove, who has a clean disciplinary record, also said last year that the papoose board was necessary to keep some of his young patients immobile during treatment.
Since the parents banded together with a Facebook page last summer, the Bakersfield Police Department has conducted "a couple of investigations" into Dove's care, said Sgt. Joe Grubbs. He said police have been unable to substantiate any criminal wrongdoing, and are not actively investigating Dove now.
News of the Dental Board of Californiavisit follows the decision by a high-profile Colorado attorney not to take the local parents' case.
Jim Moriarty, who is currently representing a young patient in a case of alleged pediatric dental abuse that's received national lawmaker attention, said the Bakersfield case involved too few local parents, a weak expert on his side, and too much "he said/she said." He also said being an out-of-state attorney was challenging.
Despite that setback, which parent Cook called "extremely shocking," the parents' case is still building momentum. Along with the coming dental board visit, they've collected about 1,000 signatures for an online petition to revoke Dove's license. Several weeks ago, Cook's son was featured with other Bakersfield children in an Inside Edition television segment, which investigated dental papoose boards.
To papoose or not?
Papoose boards, many of which have Velcro straps, are used to hold young patients in a stable position while procedures can be safely done.
Many of the parents' complaints against Dove stem from the slaps and scratches that reportedly happened while their children were restrained on the board, under partial sedation. Parents weren't allowed in the room during the process, something Dove has said is important since they can interrupt and distract from care.
The American Dental Association responded to that Inside Edition show with a press release detailing guidelines on when such stabilization should be used.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says papoose boards might be used when young patients require immediate diagnosis but can't cooperate due to "a lack of maturity or mental or physical disability;" when the safety of the patient, dental staff or parents would be at risk; or when movement of sedated patients needs to be reduced.
In general, papoose boards aren't considered part of routine dental care, said Dr. Paul Casamassimo, a pediatric expert at the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio and a past president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. For a typical, healthy child, it would not be the first course of action.
[Dr. Casamassimo has failed to mention since 2008 he has been on the the board of advisors to one of those Private Equity dental chains-Small Smiles. I would like to ask Dr. Paul Casamassimo why he’s done nothing to stop the use of the papooose board, mainly used to expedite treatment, in the Small Smiles Dental Centers. In fact Dr. Casamassimo and Dr. Steven Adair, Small Smiles new Director of Clinical Quality Initiatives and Education and asshole buddies as they say, putting on a CE course together in Adair’s home town of Hilton Head, North Carolina.]
"Most people undergoing procedures in a dental office can stand still," he said. "It would be a hysterical child, or one who is too young to understand what is going on who would need the papoose."
At Ohio State University, a resident in one of Casamassimo's programs is working on a thesis project looking at parental attitudes toward papoose boards as well as other techniques like oral sedation, anesthesia and distraction/positive reinforcement.
Thirty years ago, parents would have said they'd rather have their children held down and the job done, Casamassimo said. Now, though, he has seen a 180-degree shift, as parents prefer putting children to sleep for extensive care.
[Is it the parents, Dr. Casamassimo or is it your pocketbook that prefers sedation. I call BS on that 30 years ago crap, 30 years ago no one had ever heard of such a thing. Were you papoosed Dr. C?]
In a previous interview, Dove pointed out that using general anesthesia is much costlier than using the papoose board, which can be a factor for parents struggling financially.
Another shift in dental practices is the increasing movement toward having parents present during care, Casamassimo said. He said the group of dentists who preferred that parents stay out of the room is largely retiring and a new generation wants the family more involved.
[Increased shift toward parents being present?? Would that be because of this blog and the lashing you’ve taken for the past four years. If not for the force of the Federal Government, Small Smiles would still be keeping parents in the waiting rooms.
[I want to know when the shirt was away from having parents present? Actually, that was something Dr. Casamassimo and some of his colleagues hatched to not let parents know what they were doing to the children back in those rooms. Dr. C is as much a part of this problem as anyone. He’s held various offices at the AAPD for decades!]
Regardless of whether parents are in a room, they should actively understand the extent of the procedures, the pros and cons, and be comfortable with it, he said.
That's not what Bakersfield parent Kristy Andreas says she experienced when she took her then-3-year-old son, Evan, to see Dove. If she had understood Evan would be papoosed, she would have insisted on staying with him, or at least behind the door, she said.
Evan says he was scolded and hit during his dental procedures, Andreas said. In addition, Andreas found Dove's care faulty. She ended up getting not just a second but a third opinion to prove it, all of which she said she has documented in her dental board complaint.
Attorney setback
Late last year, Colorado attorney Moriarty told The Californian he was poised to represent Bakersfield parents and was planning a visit here to ink the deal. Earlier this year, he said he was having an expert review some of the children's dental records.But last week, he said he had decided not to take the case.
Moriarty's other dental clients have been in the headlines recently for a case against a dental management company. Such management companies, which are often backed by private-equity money, are the subject of a U.S. Senate inquiry.
Moriarty said some private-equity backed dental businesses routinely bilk Medicaid patients, mistreating them in the process. Even though Medicaid reimbursements tend to be very low, the idea is that the businesses can make money if they practice "assembly line medicine."
"They routinely papoose and grossly sedate children, routinely refusing to allow parents to be present," he said. "They do that to keep parents from knowing what they're doing."
Moriarty said he was drawn to the Bakersfield case because of the parents' mobilization efforts. Ultimately, though, there was too much "he said/she said" and it would have required working with another California-licensed attorney since he was out of state, he said. Besides, he specializes in going up against private equity-funded dental businesses. Dove owns his own business.
Moriarty was clear that he still supports the California parents' mission.
"What Chris Cook and the other families did -- banding together, raising hell and bringing attention to the authorities --brings to light" conduct which otherwise would not be brought to life, he said.
That's exactly what local parents hope to accomplish June 9, when they say dental board investigators will interview their children at the Bakersfield Police Department.
If a dental board investigation finds a preponderance of evidence some violation has occurred, the next step is for the case to go before an administrative law judge, said Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the dental board. He would not comment on any specific details of the Dove case.
But that could take some time. From January to March of this year alone, the dental board received 969 complaints. From the intake of a complaint to disciplinary action -- if it is deemed necessary -- takes about 1,100 days on average.
"I know some people want it wrapped up in an hour, like CSI," Heimerich said. "But these aren't investigations that happen overnight."
Staff writer Jason Kotowski contributed to this report.
Bloomberg has published an article today that you just have to read.
It starts with a mom in Arizona picking up her (sobbing) 4 year old after school, only to learn that a dentist had installed steel crowns on two of his back teeth — "pulpotomies" according to a note in his backpack. Baby root canals.
The mother hadn't even been consulted. "I was absolutely horrified," she said.
No, this wasn't Marathon Man for toddlers. So why this aggressive act of dentistry?
It was about money. Profits. Private equity. And a new plague known as "dental abuse."
Bloomberg explains:
Isaac’s dentist was dispatched to his school by ReachOut Healthcare America, a dental management services company that’s in the portfolio of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, operates in 22 states and has dealt with 1.5 million patients. Management companies are at the center of a US Senate inquiry, and audits, investigations and civil actions in six states over allegations of unnecessary procedures, low-quality treatment and the unlicensed practice of dentistry.
ReachOut, Bloomberg reports, is one of just 25 dental management services "bought or backed by private-equity firms in the last decade." The management services take care of the business side, leaving the dentists to focus on teeth. The trouble started when the profit-driven businesses began seeing opportunity in your tax dollars: Medicaid.
Maybe that's why there's a big cavity in the US government's budget?
A former physician once counseled me that dentists were "a bunch of crooks, out to get rich." At the time, I took that with a grain of salt. Thanks to Bloomberg, I won't even floss without exercising caution.
AsBloomberg reported today, Private Equity is seen as the driving force behind abusive dentistry and Medicaid fraud. Little Isaac Gagnon, is still suffering from night terror from the abuse he endured while he was supposed to be safe at school.
However, it is “We The People” who are picking up the tab and enriching Private Equity firms coffers into the billions of dollars. But that is not the biggest price being paid.
The biggest price of all is the dental health of each and every American!
This is not a Medicaid patient only problem. The same driving force is behind places like Heartland, MidWest, Pacific Dental, BrightNow, Aspen Dental, Affordable Dentures, Comfort Dental and now Wal-Mart is getting in on the action. The list goes on.
Some private equity firms have figured ways to overcharge Medicaid for dental work, and Texas seems to be a hotbed. The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners is investigating dozens of cases where dentists billed Medicaid for unneeded work or for services they didn't do. A Dallas orthodontist who reviewed Medicaid dental claims for the state told Congress that fraud in Texas is flagrant and that some dental clinics engaged in the illegal practice of dentistry.
Don't credit the state for uncovering the scandal. A series of exposes by Byron Harris of WFAA revealed little oversight of the state Medicaid program. He reported that more than 20,000 Texas children under age 12 received braces in a year's time. One clinic billed Texas Medicaid more than the whole state of Illinois spent on Medicaid dental care.
Chew on that a while if you wonder whether Texas state government is keeping a close watch on spending your tax dollars.
Read more here: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/investigations/2012/05/speaking-of-texas-teeth-combine-devious-dentists-with-dubious-private-equity-firms-and-what-do-you-get-soaked-taxpayers-ac.html#storylink=cpy
Special needs child taken from class and received root canals, stainless steel crowns and excessive X-rays without parents consent or knowledge, while his brother was next to him hearing his screams of pain and fear.
Dr. Alvin Coon working for ReachOut Healthcare America's Big Smile mobile dental program deliver the horrifying treatment and could be headed to jail. Just two weeks ago a child in California had 4 teeth pulled while at school by the same company. The company is under investigation in AZ and CA.
Rumor has it, Dr. Andrew Loomis – date of hire May 23, 2011- is purchasing the Small Smiles Dental Clinic in Pueblo, Colorado and the current employees last day is late next week.
Anyone besides me crying foul and not believing that an actual sale is happening?
I find it odd that a guy who has been with the company for less than a year is purchasing the original Small Smiles. You know the DeRose family is not going to allow anyone to control their original clinic. I’m sure it hold a massive amount of sentimental value.
The clinic just so happens to be housed in a building owned by the DeRose-Padula Enterprises. This sounds like North Carolina and DeRose’s fake sale of the Smile Starters Dental Centers to his employee, Raf Rivera, DDS about the time he agreed to pay $10 mil to settle fraud charges.
If I were a dentist purchasing the clinic, where I had been an employee for a year. There was a full staff with whom I had worked all during that time, I would most likely keep them on, wouldn’t you? Why wouldn’t you? Some of those let go will be bound by non-compete agreements won’t they?
I’m pretty darn sure Michael DeRose, Eddie too, are on the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities and are not to participate in the Medicaid program, directly or indirectly. I guess DeRose Padula Enterprises is not on that list so it can participate? All sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? That’s because it is ridiculous.
Presumably Randall Ellis, DDS owns the place, right? He is one of those “fake” owners for Church Street Health Management. One thing is for sure, if Randy Ellis, DDS actually owns the clinic,as he has filed sworn documents attesting to, then he should have some serious capital gains on that 2012 tax return on his.
However, if you go back and look at the entity documents on file with the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, I’m not sure it ever left the DeRose Family in the first place.
All Personal Property is billed to Church Street Health Management, LLC in Nashville, assessed at $34,996.
Land and Building belongs to DeRose Padula Enterprises. Assessed value for 2012 is $430,411. (land 77,500 structure $352,911)
So what did Dr. Loomis purchase and from whom did he purchase it? Has this been reported to the Bankruptcy Trustee?
How many papoose boards did he get in the deal? I notice they are not actually listed as being part of Church Street Health Management’s assets, but surely they are part of the $34,996 of “personal property”. Did he get his contract back so he’s not auctioned off like a slave in a human trafficking ring?
May 1, 2012 -- Carlos Armin Morales-Ryan, DDS, 45, and his wife, orthodontist Nelia Patricia Garcia-Morales, DDS, 42, of Laredo, TX, have pleaded guilty to making false statements on bills to Texas Medicaid.
Drs. Morales-Ryan and Garcia-Morales owned and operated Orthogenesis International Centre, a dentistry and orthodontics business, and a substantial portion of their business was targeted toward Medicaid-eligible children.
Medicaid regulations required them to be in their offices when services are provided to Medicaid patients.
Dr. Morales-Ryan has admitted that though he and his wife were in Hawaii on or about October 12, 2007, he falsely represented to Medicaid that he performed an evaluation and management of a new patient on that date. Dr. Garcia-Morales has also admitted she falsely represented to Medicaid that she performed an orthodontic retention on March 23, 2007 when she and her husband were en route to the U.S. from the Virgin Islands.
As a result of their plea agreements, they will be sentenced to five years' probation and will pay $686,545 to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission-Office of Inspector General.
Dr. Morales-Ryan currently is not licensed to practice dentistry in Texas due to another unrelated criminal proceeding.
This letter was received last week from a Small Smiles employee. It is one of two received last week alone. Hopefully any identifying info was scrubbed, if not, oops, sorry.
My job is obviously a nightmare. I have been an employee with the company since March. A lot of funny business goes on. We are a profitable clinic probably when I first started in we were averaging 100 patients a day which is close to $10,000 a day now we see approx. 50.
I for the last year have been miserable at my job but as a single mom with no child support I struggle to leave and possibly lose my apartment, etc.
It's not so much that i think what we do at my office in unethical most times I do agree on the treatment. Big changes in the last year obviously after the Medicaid fraud we have a million compliance meetings, the state cracked down on reimbursement for stainless steel crowns. We no longer papoose (for the most part) as I was seeing many in a day we may have one a month..everyone's scared.
[well at least I’ve accomplished something!]
They are acting as if we will stay open and tell us very little. Always constant changes weekly at small smiles..such as bill out what was before a periapical as an occlusal etc...no more papooses for Dr's etc.
[ so was it fraudulent billing before or now?]
All I really know is when they filed they told all 67 clinics over the phone a big 67 clinic phone conference and we were encouraged to ask questions basically it was that Tori guy who said business as usual...they don't want the company morale to be down so they don't tell us any new news.
Steve Adair told the Dental hygienist's if they see an HIV patient to double glove spray the room and leave it for two hours..who says this???? Exactly the opposite of what I learned in school.
Anyway the anxiety level I have when I get to work and the fear the boss puts in you and the company morale is terrible. They have us going out now doing ten minute marketing in which I have to walk the streets and pass out toothbrushes to passerby's encouraging them to come to Small Smiles.
Well in a city it’s the same damn people everyday. My bosses are acting like nothing is happening but a few of us follow your blog closely. It's the only truth we get. Dr (intentionally removed) is the current lead dentist "owner "of the office I work at, he is (age removed) spinning in circles and about to have a heart attack. I actually feel for this guy he is so going to get thrown under the bus. He does whatever they say no matter what he thinks
[ He is exactly right. He will be, the whole business is designed to protect the quarterback; Corporate Headquarters.]
But it's his own fault I said to him, “you actually own this place and he said no, I paid $100 and they put my name on the building. I think what he said is BS.
I was venting sorry so basically I was wondering if no one bids on this hellhole by the 11th this Friday could it be the doors are locked Monday?????????? or probably not going to happen until after the 22nd...??????????
Can they possibly prolong the agony and then file chapter 7? I wish I could quit and go collect unemployment and state how horrible stressful and much anxiety this job gives me but I know they would fight it and I would lose and then put my daughter and I in a poor situation...
I wish there was something I can do..we started seeing adults in November 2011. I think they got a huge tax break for that or maybe are just desperate for any patients we can get.
I feel terrible telling these adults go see the oral surgeon get your teeth extracted then come back and we will fit you for dentures and I have no idea if we will be here???? Any thoughts, any advice????
I thank you for your blog..it's my only knowledge and when they told us in a morning huddle that Lori Steiner-chief compliance officer was going back to her roots and leaving CSHM. I was silently cracking up thinking about your blog which usually is the topic of our lunch room conversation and her last day (Lori Steiner the compliance officer) is May 31st how convenient.
Another dentist concerned about or lead/owner told me privately that she spoke with our lead/owner, and told him he should get a lawyer since he's the owner. He told her he had corporate lawyers.
The dentist looks at me and laughs and says “he's going to fry....”
[yes he is! so things must still be a bit shady around there, maybe?]
I feel that those of us who read your blog know more than they do. I just wonder if no one buys CHSM are we definitely closing??? Could they possibly only close some clinics and keep some open??? We have had a few people leave and they are not replacing them. But they tell us they aren’t replacing them because we have slowed down...everything is a lie.
I’d love to say thanks again for sharing your story Debbie...I just want it to end for me the girls I work with and the patients.
This one blows my mind. This was an ad that landed in many dentists email box on Monday. 1-800-Dentist selling "leads" for prospective new patients on "state aid". Now, I ask you, what medical provider is patient shopping for potential patients in a program most all says reimburses way too little? Only a big dental mill would be willing to pay $25 per lead for 'state aid' patients.
Is 1-800-Dentist selling patient contact information or are they a third party broker and selling the names of patients which would be (assets) of bankrupt dental clinics such as Small Smiles and All Smiles? Someone needs to be asking?
HIPPA violations?? Anyone?? Bueller?
Where did 1-800-Dentist get these names? At the Corporate Dentistry Going Out of Business Sale?
What's really fantastic, is they can sell the same stuff over and over and over and over again. This is really not unlike the paid patient hunters where dental clinics have employees hit the food banks and food stamp office and get paid per head to bring them directly to the dental office. The patients want to come to get their wal-mart gift cards and such! Win win!
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - A trip to the dentist can evoke pain, anxiety or fear. Those feelings generally subside once your appointment is over. But for one Chesapeake family the pain will never end. It's been five years since their traumatic visit.
Today, they want to challenge parents; they want them to question their child's dentist.
On March 9, 2007, the Blanco family took their 8-year-old daughter Raven in for a simple procedure. She would be sedated, worked on, then awakened from her sleep.
But Raven never woke up.
Raven's father, Mario Blanco, often visits Norfolk's Forest Lawn Cemetery; that's where Raven is buried. He brings a chair and sits a few steps from her headstone. It's time alone with his eldest daughter. He opens up to her.
"I don't hear her talk back, but I feel her presence," Mario said.
There is a picture of her at the burial site and Mario meditates on her sweet smile. The same smile still fills the Blanco's Chesapeake home. There are family pictures in every room.
Raven's mother, Robin Blanco, still finds her young daughter's death hard to accept.
"For me, the longer the time goes by, you learn to cope with it. But the longer the time goes by, I miss her more," Robin said, her voice cracking.
Raven was sedated for a routine dental procedure. While getting the work done, complications arose and her heart stopped. Robin watched as staff members performed CPR on her little girl. Crews rushed the child from the dental office to the hospital emergency room.
"I remember a doctor coming out and telling... you know, that they've done all that they can do," Robin continued tearfully. "And did I want to see her - you know I just couldn't believe it. And I said, 'Yes I want to see her. I want to see her.' I just couldn't believe it. And she was gone."
In Raven’s memory, the family started The Raven Maria Blanco Foundation, Inc.They follow and share the stories of other children who’ve died following complications at the dentist.
By their count, 11 have lost their lives in the past year.
Today they're on a mission to educate parents and they want dentists to be prepared. Raven's cousin, Nicole Cunha, is spearheading those efforts.
"People have to go to the dentist, people have to have these things done, there are children with anxiety that have to be sedated, they have to have the work done on them, so no you can't take that away, you have to know what to do if something goes wrong," Cunha said.
Virginia Beach Oral Surgeon Dr. Scott Goodoveputs into practice what Raven’s foundation wants in every dental office. He told us, "If we have an emergency, our assistants are prepared. They have stations to take if we have an emergency from the back to the front."
Each morning he holds a staff meeting and goes through the patient list. They discuss any medical complications that could arise.
Dr. Goodove sedates hundreds of patients each year. That's far more than a general dentist. But he points out that oral surgeons also undergo years of specialty training. His advice for any dental office, whether they sedate or not, be ready for a worst-case scenario.
"What we have here is sort of a more organized central emergency station.... (Our) patients walk in, they feel comfortable, 'Hey ... these guys are prepared.'"
In a corner of his office he has an automated external defibrillator (AED), a tank of oxygen, a range of medications and drugs. There's also an emergency response guide.
"It's as simple as picking the emergency - someone passes out - and it will give you the step-by-step guide. But you don't want someone reading this for the first time during the emergency itself, so you run through these drills."
And Dr. Goodove holds mock drills every month. For general dentists, not doing deep sedation procedures Virginia dental regulations don’t go nearly that far. That’s where the Blanco’s want the public to help.
"If we get a group of the whole country coming together, and demanding these things, you'll see a big change," Mario said. Mario eventually wants to see these preparedness practices become law - Raven’s law - as he sees it.
Meantime, much of his time is spent sitting across from Raven burial site, as they keep each other company. Her epitaph reads: "'The most beautiful girl in the world a beloved daughter and sister who is missed and loved so much. One day we will all be together again....' And we will."
Click here to watchthe portion of our interview in which the Blanco's discuss taking their other children to the dentist for the first time, following Raven's death.
Hello, After going to the link that showed all the children that had lost their lives due to "complications" at the dental office, I felt like I just needed to tell someone briefly what I have experienced as someone "in the field". I live in Va. Beach and was a dental assistant for almost thirteen years. (I left the field in 2004 after working in an adult practice, and since that time I actually work in the cemetery industry as a General Manager at a cemetery in Va. Beach) I worked five of my thirteen years in a pediatric office. (Drs Sundin and Bullock) and about two months after that at Drs Hechtkopf and Cox. (1998) I did not work long at the last office because the unsafe practices that they undertook actually scared me.
When a child had to have a lengthy procedure they were given Chloral Hydrate for the procedure as well as Nitrous Oxide. (and Lidocaine of course) The dental assistant would come out to the waiting room and get their patient and bring them back. Then the assistant would mix the Chloral Hydrate based on the dose prescribed by the Dr. and give it to the child. Within about ten minutes the children would literally just start getting drowsy and then basically pass out. We would then have to hold them until it was time for them to have their work done...if the office was busy that day then sometimes that could be up to 45 minutes. During that time (and this happened A LOT) the children would begin vomiting...while unconscious and we would have to try to hold them upright while this was happening.
When the procedure would start, the child (who was already completely unconscious) was given Nitrous. It was jacked up way over the necessary level (about 70%) and to the point that it would induce nausea and vomiting even in an adult...but especially on a child that was already sedated. While the child was being worked on (with the papoose board) they had a heart monitor on...when their heartbeat would start to increase the Dr. would say, "Okay...get ready...here we go!" (Because the heart rate would increase when they were getting ready to vomit.) They would not reduce the Nitrous strength and we would just have to keep suctioning as they were getting sick.
After the procedure was finished, they would turn on the straight oxygen and start to try to wake the child up. They would still be very groggy when we would carry them back out to their parents, however we were not allowed to tell them that their little child had just spent the last two hours vomiting while unconscious. We did give them precautions for them to eat lightly and to watch them while their mouth was still numb so that they wouldn't bite the inside of their mouth, etc. They never had any idea what had happened back in the office though. That is the part that was so upsetting to me.
I happened to be CPR certified, however this was not a requirement for the job. I was never asked before I was hired if I was. That I know of, none of the assistants were ever shown emergency procedures. I know I was not. This happened on an almost every day basis. Now, when I started the job, I did have eight years of experience and five of those had been in a pediatric office...however the requirements to get a job in Dr. Hechtkopf and Cox's office were very minimal.
I am saddened to hear these stories...I can very easily see how these tragedies could take place. The dentist most of the time very heavily relied on their assistant to have already checked the child's health history without every looking at it themselves. (This was the story in every office I worked at unfortunately.) I'm truly sorry that this happened and I hope that you sharing these stories will help to regulate the requirements of dentists and their assistants in the future. I just felt like I needed to tell what it was like behind the scenes because I can easily see how this could have happened. Sincerely, Kim
David Culver of WAVY 10 TV reports on the deadly dangers at the dentist office. Full piece to air on Monday, May 14, 2012 starting at 5:00 PM. Please watch and share.
On May 5, 2012 Kevin Rector of the Baltimore Sun devoted 1042 words to an article questioning the mental and emotional health of Jenny Olenick who died April 6, 2011during a sedation procedure to extract 4 3rd molars (wisdom teeth). Jenny was 17 years old. One has to wonder who actually wanted that many words devoted to this case, it certainly wasn’t Jenny’s mom, Cathy Garger. I doubt the writer was actually monitoring the civil case in the courts, so who handed over this piece to Rector? I doubt it was an idea from the bankrupt media conglomerate Tribune newspapers, which is the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, WGN TV and others. Whoever it was, should have thought more about it and made another choice. Below is the link to the article.
My heart goes out to the family of Jenny Olenick, who by all accounts was a talented and wonderful teen. The May 5 article detailing events surrounding the filing of a malpractice suit, "Lawyers question teen's health before death," got my attention for several reasons.
To imply that pre-exiting conditions, such as stress, anxiety and heart disease would have contributed to or caused her death seem far-fetched. As reported in the article the autopsy report found "no evidence of a physical process, like cardiomyopathy having occurred," according to the state's chief medical examiner. Regarding the premise of "undisclosed medical conditions," the article states that Ms. Olenick had a medical evaluation and was "cleared" for anesthesia and surgery.
Katy Stech May 11, 2012 (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
A federal court watchdog wants to put a hold on the $25 million sale of the operator of Small Smiles Dental Centers to a private equity firm--a deal that a bankruptcy judge has yet to approve--until the Tennessee-based chain sheds light on its post-closing moves.
U.S. Trustee Samuel Crocker, who monitors bankruptcy court pleadings for the Department of Justice, wants company executives to be clearer about the financial professional who would take over the bankruptcy estate once distressed investor Garrison Investment Group purchases its operations on May 31, according to papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Nashville, Tenn.
I heard the the infamous Doug Brown and Kirk Huntsman might be involved before it ends. if so, Doug Brown would be involved in more Private Equity “Medicaid dental mills” and “pull every tooth in your mouth and slap in some cheap denture” operations in the world.
Upon the motion of The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, by and through counsel, it is ORDERED that individuals designated by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company shall appear for examination pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2004 on May 16, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. C.S.T. at the offices of Baker,Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C., 211 Commerce Street, Suite 800,Nashville, Tennessee 37201.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that individuals designated by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company shall produce the documents as specified inExhibit 1 to the Committee’s counsel at the above address not later than May 15, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. C.S.T.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the attorney for the movant shall serve a copy of this order on the party or counsel for the party required to appear and to the U.S. Trustee.
The attendance of an entity for examination and the production of documentary evidence are compelled in the manner provided in Fed. R. Bankr. Proc. 9016 for the attendance of witnesses at a hearing or trial. Dated: May 4, 2012
Who wants to bet they do all they can to postpone this one?!! LOL
Exhibit A of Exhibit 1 – List of Small Smiles Dentist Names I’d bet a whole crap load of these 916 dentists are on Santa’s Naughty list. No wonder I was told some of the folks in the below list are spinning in their shoes and support employees are afraid some are going to have a heart attack.
“Dr. Weber violated the trust of his patients, by hiding the true nature of his relationship with the credit financing companies, and through the substandard care he provided,” said Eric T. Kanefsky, Acting Director of the State Division of Consumer Affairs. “Egregious violations such as these cannot, and will not, be tolerated by our licensing boards.”
A Nigerian man who lied to become a U.S. citizen has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for immigration fraud and Medicare fraud.
Plano resident Okey Nwagbara, 45, is the first person to be imprisoned for crimes connected to Medistat Group Associates -- the DeSoto business run by Dr. Jacques Roy (right), who federal prosecutors say orchestrated a record-setting home health-care fraud scheme.
Nwagbara, who owned a company in Richardson called Advanced MedEquip and Supplies, cut a deal under which prosecutors recommended letting him serve his sentences for both crimes simultaneously. U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay agreed to this in assessing punishment Monday.
The defendant had asked for an even more lenient sentence. Prosecutors objected last month, calling Nwagbara "a fraudster of the highest order" whose immigration fraud "merely laid the groundwork for his next fraud scheme: accessing Medicare and stealing as much as he could without getting caught."
"Upon receiving cash payments from Nwagbara, Bullard would sign 'JRoy MD' on Medistat prescription pads, durable medical equipment information forms (DIFs) and 'Certificate of Medical Necessity' for enteral nutrition products falsely indicating among other things that the beneficiary required tube feeding," according to a summary of facts signed by Bullard. He has also pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud and faces sentencing June 4.
This morning at 9:00 a hearing was to be held in Nashville Bankruptcy court whereby Church Street Health Management, LLC was asking the court to modify the final Debtors In Possession (DIP) Order and to reschedule the closing of the sale of Church Street Health Management ,LLC to CSHM, LLC. They want to set it for May 31, 2012 instead of May 30, 2012 and they want to remove a legal service agreement with King and Spalding. (lol…they are gonna miss that income!)
Church Street Health Management , LLC and CSHM, LLC are two completely different companies now, so keep that in mind from this point forward. Church Street Health Management, EEHC, LLC, FORBA NY, LLC and Small Smiles Holdings, LLC are now combined into one company, namely CSHM, LLC. At least that is what it will become when the sale closes with Garrision
In their “Assumption Notice” (Doc 301, 302, and 302 Schedule A) is listed all the contract and obligations the new buyer will assume and have possession of at closing of this Rule 363 sale. The first one filed May 1, 2012 had 14 pages of those phony Management Service Agreements with phony clinic owners and employment agreement contracts, intellectual property such as trademarks, non-compete contracts with the original founders-The DeRose-Padula family- and other miscellaneous agreement, contracts and business agreement. A new and amended Schedule A was filed the next day, May 2, 2012. Yes, there was a change, a tiny one; King and Spalding were removed as having a Legal Service Agreement with the new CSHM, LLC.
From reading the “Assumption Notice” , the new new CSHM, LLC will only “assume” a little over $700k ($707,399) (see assumptions and "cure" amounts here)of Church Street Health Management, LLC, EEHC, LLC, FORBA, NY, LLC and Small Smiles Holdings, LLC $23,607,147.40 of debt. (According to Form 1 Schedule F here-Doc 213, starting on page 51)
Suspiciously missing from the debt the new buyer would now assume is $4,911,378 listed as still being owed to several states on a March 23, 2012 report. (Here on page 51)
BTW, who were those $10,000 loans made to that were listed on the March 2012 expense report?! Who loans money when they are broke? (see here on page 6)
Didn’t they report in February they recovered $4 billion in fraud in 2011. That’s $4 billion that escaped from the hands of CMS, right?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, May 10, 2012
HHS finalizes new rules to cut regulations for hospitals and health care providers, saving more than $5 billion Changes will reduce costs and allow more focus on medical care
[Reduce costs for whom? I’ve heard this for years now, and my costs keep going up, how about yours?]
Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced significant steps to reduce unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome regulations on American hospitals and health care providers. These steps will help achieve the key goal of President Obama’s regulatory reform initiative to reduce unnecessary burdens on business and save nearly $1.1 billion across the health care system in the first year and more than $5 billion over five years.
“We are cutting red tape and improving health care for all Americans,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Now it will be easier for health care providers to do their jobs and deliver quality care.”
The new rules are being issued today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The first rule revises the Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs). CMS estimates that annual savings to hospitals and CAHs will be approximately $940 million per year.
The second, the Medicare Regulatory Reform rule, will produce savings of $200 million in the first year by promoting efficiency. This rule eliminates duplicative, overlapping, and outdated regulatory requirements for health care providers.
“These changes cut burdensome red tape for hospitals and providers and give them the flexibility they need to improve patient care while lowering costs,” said CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “These final rules incorporate input from hospitals, other health care providers, accreditation organizations, patient advocates, professional organizations, members of Congress, and a host of others who are working to improve patient care.”
Among other changes, the final rules will:
Increase flexibility for hospitals by allowing one governing body to oversee multiple hospitals in a single health system;
Let CAHs partner with other providers so they can be more efficient and ensure the safe and timely delivery of care to their patients;
Require that all eligible candidates, including advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, be reviewed by medical staff for potential appointment to the hospital medical staff and then be granted all of the privileges, rights, and responsibilities accorded to appointed medical staff members; and
Eliminate obsolete regulations, including outmoded infection control instructions for ambulatory surgical centers; outdated Medicaid qualification standards for physical and occupational therapists; and duplicative requirements for governing bodies of organ procurement organizations.
