Rio Grande Valley District Dental Society with 225 members unanimously endorses grass-roots
dental Medicaid reform group TDMR.
Harlingen, Tx (PRWEB) February 16, 2013 – The Board of Directors of the Rio Grande Valley District Dental Society (RGVDDS) has unanimously voted to endorse the Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform (TDMR) during their monthly meeting.
TDMR was formed last December by a number of Medicaid dentists to assist law makers in restructuring Medicaid, while protecting dentists by ensuring that they are provided due process and not subject to abusive and destructive actions – such as those currently occurring across the state.
In an email sent out announcing the unanimous endorsement, RGVDDS president Dr. Jorge Castillo D.D.S. wrote, “I am pleased to announce that the Rio Grande Valley District Dental Society officially endorses Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform. On February 12, 2013 it unanimously voted to endorse TDMR during the monthly meeting. As a dental society we all need to join together and help one another and protect our rights and make sure that all of our patients get the proper dental care.”
TDMR executive board member Dr. Vivian Teegardin D.D.S. was very pleased with the RGVDDS endorsement. “It means a lot to us that our fellow dentists in the Valley support the need for Medicaid reform. They well know the challenges that have been occurring with the program.”
The announcement echoed key TDMR concerns that Medicaid is flawed and in serious need of reform, due to a number of reasons:
1. Standards of care are being taken out of the hands of dentists
2. Complex reimbursement procedures and heavy paper work
3. Long waits for pre-approvals from Dental Management Organizations
4. Potential criminal and civil litigation for mistakes or errors
5. Low reimbursement rates
6. High volume Medicaid Providers are automatically targeted for Medicaid fraud investigation
The endorsement announcement email went on to state that, “The vast majority of dentists who take Medicaid patients decided to do so because they want to help the children of those less fortunate and provide them access to quality dental care. Their pay for doing so is increased scrutiny and now the public image that dentists are crooks ripping off Medicaid. The Texas Dental Association has shown little concern over the plight of Medicaid providers as only 9% of their members take Medicaid. It is time to do something about the situation and a number of dentists are banding together because they have been affected personally by the insanity that is occurring,” the email stated.
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