Frank conversation with Florida dentist Dr. Michael Barr
by Dr. Michael W. Davis
Dr. Michael W. Davis maintains a private general practice in Santa Fe, NM. He also advocates for disadvantaged citizens, and provides expert legal work for numbers of attorney clients. His publications and lectures are on ethical and whistleblower issues within the dental profession, as well as numbers of clinical research papers. He may be contacted at: MWDavisDDS@comcast.net
Dr. Michael Barr is a private care general dentist at Palm Beach Smiles in Boynton Beach, Florida. He began his dental career spending three years in the U.S. Navy. Two of those years were onboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Independence, which was the first response in the Persian Gulf (Operation Desert Shield).
Dr. Barr’s dental passions include Cosmetic and Reconstructive Dentistry. He served on the board of the local affiliate dental association (South Palm Beach County Dental Association) up to President. He has also served on the board and as a lecturer and clinical instructor (currently) at the Atlantic Coast Dental Research Clinic. He writes an eclectic blog about dentistry, marketing, current dental events, and frequent musings about personal safety, security, and armed self-defense at www.TheDentalWarrior.com. You can also find him stirring the pot on DentalTown.com.
Question 1
Dr. Davis: Dr. Barr, you’ve been very outspoken on how government administered healthcare like dental Medicaid has not served the public favorably. We’ve seen disadvantaged patients abused, taxpayer monies wasted, and ethical caring doctors forced out of this dysfunctional government program. Please give our readers an overview of your perspectives.
Dr. Barr: I have not had any personal exposure to Medicaid. But, my first “wake-up call” was when a dentist posted (on DentalTown) about his run-in “with the law” as a Medicaid dentist. He ended up doing time in prison for, if I recall correctly, $5,000 worth of administrative errors over the course of five years. He lost everything.
Another frightening case involved Dr. Morse, in New York. He was suspected of Medicaid fraud. They shut down his practice. The state attorney was intent on “cracking down” on Medicaid fraud (and make examples of the offending doctors). The short version of the story is that not only was this dentist exonerated, but the state attorney’s office was found to have fabricated false evidence against him. In such cases, the defendant can sue the state. And, so he did… and won a $7 million settlement. Of course, it dragged on for 11 years and made it all the way to the Supreme Court. (No kidding!) You can read about his case (and others) in my blog and read Dr. Morse’s own comments at the bottom of my article.
I wouldn’t accept Medicaid if they offered to pay double my fees. If you are suspected of fraud, you can be shut down BEFORE Due Process. You can have your assets frozen or seized BEFORE Due Process. It can take years to clear your name, and even then, you’ve already lost everything. No thanks. No way. Never. Too risky.
Question 2
Dr. Davis: Dr. Barr, could you give us your ideas on a few mechanisms, which might help ameliorate our toxic dental Medicaid program? Further, what suggestions might you offer for a financially disadvantaged parent who relies on the dental Medicaid program for their children?
