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1 VOLUME 97 NUMBER 1 SPRING 2012 A Publication of the Kansas Dental Association www.ksdental.org In This Issue... KDA Announces KIND Program 1 President’s Message 2 KanCare Medicaid Reforms 3 Non-Dentist Providers 3 From the Office 6 KDCF Update 9 Professional 401K Advice 10 Classified Advertisements 15 The KDA’s 2012 Comprehensive Oral Health Initiative has found its way working through the 2012 Legislature in the form of HB 2631. The bill comes from the KDA’s belief that all Kansans deserve access to quality oral health care for their comprehensive oral health needs. HB 2631 is a comprehensive approach to improving dental care to Kansans as it seeks to safely and responsibly improve the delivery of oral healthcare throughout the state by increasing the supply of dentists available in underserved areas of Kansas, improving the dentist access of Kansas’ most vulnerable citizens, and by using the existing infrastructure to allow dental hy- gienists to perform more dental procedures to deliver more care without a dentist being pres- ent. Specifically, HB 2631 would: Extend the level of care that a registered dental hygienist can provide outside a dental of- fice by creating an Expanded Care Permit (ECP) III dental hygienist, Educate more dental students and designate them to practice in underserved areas of our state, COMPREHENSIVE ORAL HEALTH INITIATIVE MOVES THROUGH LEGISLATURE KDA ANNOUNCES KIND LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM Though the state of Kansas provides loan repayment incentives to physicians, optometrists, and other health- care professionals as an incentive to locate in rural or un- derserved areas, there are NO similar state funded loan repayment programs for dentists. The National Health Service Corp (NHSC) offers a loan repayment program for dentists who sele in and/or serve under- served populations within a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (DHPSA). The NHSC requires the dentist to make a four year service commitment. This program is prob- lematic for dentists entering private practice because the NHSC requires dentists to bill all patients based on a sliding fee schedule as determined by the patients’ insurance or income. Though this may seem appropriate, it makes it very difficult for a new dentist in private practice to generate enough income in smaller commu- nities to make their practices viable as they tend to aract lower income patients who don’t pay full fees. Another problem is that the NHSC criteria for determining a DHPSA is so broad that virtually all of Kan- sas with the exception of the largest counties are included and the areas that really need a dentist are over- looked. The new Kansas Initiative for New Dentists (KIND) Program is de- signed to recruit dentists to sparsely populated areas of Kansas. Working with leaders throughout the state, the Kansas Dental Association and the Delta Dental of Kansas Foun- dation have created a private loan repayment program they will fund to help communities aract dentists At 8:00 PM on Thursday evening, February 16, 2012, Kenneth Gay stood at the front of a line, waiting to enter an old Walmart building in Kansas City, KS. His wife had dropped him off two hours before. He had come to receive free dental care at the Kansas Mission of Mercy, dental care he could not afford after he was laid off from his job a few months earlier. “I lost my job and my insurance,” he said. “I couldn’t afford to keep going to the dentist. It seems now that about every two weeks, I have a chunk of my tooth that falls off and without this, I don’t see any way that anytime soon, I’ll be able to shell out the money to get this taken care of.” Milestone Reached at 2012 KMOM – 20,000 th Patient Treated continued on page 8 When Gay entered the building, he was the first of 2,151 patients who were eventually treated at the two-day Kansas Mission of Mercy Dental Clinic in Kansas City, KS at a building currently being re- modeled to become part of the Kan- sas City Kansas Community College campus. A total of $1.51 million in care was provided. Among those patients was a ner- vous, but extremely appreciative Roxanne Brown of Kansas City, KS, who had hoped to have a partial denture made to fix her two front teeth she had lost a few years earlier. “I came to get my front tooth fixed. I couldn’t afford it. Lile did I know that when I arrived, I was going to receive a beautiful bless- ing. My teeth are fixed,” she said with a beaming smile after returning the next day to receive her finished partial. “Actually, I couldn’t hardly Roxanne Brown was the 20,000 th KMOM patient and was presented with balloons and a $50 gift card to Longhorn Steakhouse by KDCF President Mark Herzog (left) and Governor Sam Brownback (right). continued on page 5 continued on page 4

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Page 1: JKDA Spring 2012

1

Volume 97 Number 1 SpriNg 2012A Publication of the Kansas Dental Association www.ksdental.org

In This Issue...KDA Announces KIND Program 1

President’s Message 2

KanCare Medicaid Reforms 3

Non-Dentist Providers 3

From the Office 6

KDCF Update 9

Professional 401K Advice 10

Classified Advertisements 15

The KDA’s 2012 Comprehensive Oral Health Initiative has found its way working through the 2012 Legislature in the form of HB 2631. The bill comes from the KDA’s belief that all Kansans deserve access to quality oral health care for their comprehensive oral health needs. HB 2631 is a comprehensive approach to improving dental care to Kansans as it seeks to safely and responsibly improve the delivery of oral healthcare throughout the state by increasing the supply of dentists available in underserved areas of Kansas, improving the dentist access of Kansas’ most vulnerable citizens, and by using the existing infrastructure to allow dental hy-gienists to perform more dental procedures to deliver more care without a dentist being pres-ent. Specifically, HB 2631 would:

Extend the level of care that a registered dental hygienist can provide outside a dental of-• fice by creating an Expanded Care Permit (ECP) III dental hygienist,Educate more dental students and designate them to practice in underserved areas of our • state,

Comprehensive oral health initiative moves through legislature

KDA Announces KInD LoAn RepAyment pRogRAmThough the state of Kansas provides loan repayment incentives to physicians, optometrists, and other health-care professionals as an incentive to locate in rural or un-derserved areas, there are NO similar state funded loan repayment programs for dentists. The National Health Service Corp (NHSC) offers a loan

repayment program for dentists who settle in and/or serve under-served populations within a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (DHPSA). The NHSC requires the dentist to make a four year service commitment. This program is prob-lematic for dentists entering private practice because the NHSC requires dentists to bill all patients based on a sliding fee schedule as determined by the patients’ insurance or income. Though this may seem appropriate, it makes it very difficult for a new dentist in private practice to generate enough income in smaller commu-nities to make their practices viable as they tend to attract lower income patients who don’t pay full fees.

Another problem is that the NHSC criteria for determining a DHPSA is so broad that virtually all of Kan-sas with the exception of the largest counties are included and the areas that really need a dentist are over-looked. The new Kansas Initiative for New Dentists (KIND) Program is de-signed to recruit dentists to sparsely populated areas of Kansas. Working with leaders throughout the state, the Kansas Dental Association and the Delta Dental of Kansas Foun-dation have created a private loan repayment program they will fund to help communities attract dentists

At 8:00 PM on Thursday evening, February 16, 2012, Kenneth Gay stood at the front of a line, waiting to enter an old Walmart building in Kansas City, KS. His wife had dropped him off two hours before. He had come to receive free dental care at the Kansas Mission of Mercy, dental care he could not afford after he was laid off from his job a few months earlier.“I lost my job and my insurance,” he said. “I couldn’t afford to keep going to the dentist. It seems now that about every two weeks, I have a chunk of my tooth that falls off and without this, I don’t see any way that anytime soon, I’ll be able to shell out the money to get this taken care of.”

milestone reached at 2012 Kmom – 20,000th patient treated

continued on page 8

When Gay entered the building, he was the first of 2,151 patients who were eventually treated at the two-day Kansas Mission of Mercy Dental Clinic in Kansas City,

KS at a building currently being re-modeled to become part of the Kan-sas City Kansas Community College campus. A total of $1.51 million in care was provided.Among those patients was a ner-vous, but extremely appreciative Roxanne Brown of Kansas City, KS, who had hoped to have a partial denture made to fix her two front teeth she had lost a few years earlier.“I came to get my front tooth fixed. I couldn’t afford it. Little did I know that when I arrived, I was going to receive a beautiful bless-ing. My teeth are fixed,” she said with a beaming smile after returning the next day to receive her finished partial. “Actually, I couldn’t hardly

Roxanne Brown was the 20,000th KMOM patient and was presented with balloons and a $50 gift card to Longhorn Steakhouse by KDCF President Mark Herzog (left) and Governor Sam Brownback (right).

continued on page 5

continued on page 4

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Greetings,I write this President’s Message on the eve of going to Topeka to testify in support of the KDA’s Compre-hensive Oral Health Initiative. This initiative, HB 2631, demonstrates the KDA’s commitment to improve access to quality, safe, and doctor supervised oral health care for all Kansans. It is consistent with the principle that the dental patients of Kansas deserve to have dental disease diagnosed by, and irrevers-ible dental procedures performed by, a dentist and only a dentist. As such, I believe this bill is worthy of the support of everyone who is sincerely interested in solving the multifaceted access to oral health care issue. Each year, the KDA Dental Day in Topeka gives dentists the oppor-tunity to meet their state leaders face to face. This direct interaction allows us to dialogue with those Legislators who make oral health-care policies for Kansas. It allows the voice of organized dentistry to

be heard at a time when it needs to be heard the most. This year’s KDA Dental Day was held in Topeka on February 2. Several State Representatives and Sena-tors, in addition to Governor Brownback, attended our luncheon. It was a great day for Kansas dentistry and the patients of Kansas. I want to thank everyone who took time out of his or her busy schedules to attend. In particular I would like to thank Dr. Ken Dillehay, Dr. Chuck Squire, and the KDA Staff for their efforts in making the day a success. Lastly, I would like to en-courage everyone to plan on attending next year’s KDA Dental Day in Topeka. The KDA’s commitment to providing quality, safe, and dentist supervised care to the underprivileged was further demonstrated by this year’s KMOM in Kan-sas City, Kansas. It was the largest KMOM ever. Over 2,100 patients were treated and approximately $1.5 million in free dental care was provided. Dentists are charitable, caring, and compassionate professionals. Dentists, on average, donate $33,000 of free dental care annually; many dentists donate much more than that. Dentists are dedicated to helping all patients access the care they need. But as the only true authorities on oral healthcare, dentists realize that problems must be solved in a thoughtful, comprehensive, compassion-ate, practical, and above all, SAFE manner. As doctors, we realize in a way that only doctors can, that the first rule of all healthcare is to “DO NO HARM”! This is

true whether providing actual healthcare or making health-care policies. In closing, I want to thank all of our volunteer dentists who have taken time out of their offices and away from their families on behalf the KDA this past year. Many have pledged money to the Kansas Den-tal Charitable Foundation and the K-D-PAC. Others have made phone calls to their Legislators. Still more have donated their time to care for the underprivileged. All have done these things, not for personal gain or glory, but because they care about the profession of dentistry and the patients of Kansas. Thus, I can confidently say that the first and foremost motivation of the KDA and its member dentists in all healthcare policy debates has al-ways been, and remains, the safety and wellbeing of the patients of Kansas.

Dr. Hal E. HaleKDA President

PresIdenT’s Message

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JKdaJournal of the Kansas Dental Association

ISSN# 08887063

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BYKansas Dental Association5200 SW HuntoonTopeka, KS 66604-2398

EDITOREugene F. McGill, D.D.S.

MANAGING EDITORKevin J. Robertson, CAE

PRINTINGJostens4000 SE AdamsTopeka, KS 66609

PRODUCTION Niki Sadler

KDA Executive Committee

PRESIDENT Dr. Hal Hale

PRESIDENT-ELECTDr. Craig Herre

VICE PRESIDENTDr. Jason Wagle

SECRETARYDr. Steven Hechler

TREASURERDr. Cynthia Sherwood

IMM. PAST PRESIDENTDr. David Hamel

Although the KDA publishes authoratative news, committee reports, articles and essays, it is in no respect responsible for contents or opinions of the writers. Advertising rates and circulation data will be furnished by request.Annual subscription price is $5.00 for member den-tists, $25.00 for non-members, and $40.00 for Canada and foreign mailings. Single issue price is $10.00.

May11 Dental Lifeline Network Board Mtg, Wichita7-9 ADA Washington Leader Conference, Wash. D.C. 18-19 South Central States Meeting, New Orleans

June7-9 KDA Annual Session, Hotel at Old Town, Wichita

July16-19 ADA Management Conference, Chicago

august2-4 Mid States Dental Leaders Conference, Kansas City, MO 25-26 ADA District 12 Caucus, Dallas

KdaCalendarof events

With Medicaid currently making up a third of the total state budget at $2.8 billion and federal matching funds likely to dry up as the U.S. government tightens its belt, the state of Kansas is in the process of imple-menting significant Medicaid reforms known as Kan-Care geared to cut costs while also improving health outcomes. Kansas faces major challenges in its Medicaid pro-gram that require swift and effective policy changes to continue serving vulnerable Kansans. The Gover-nor’s FY 2012 budget sustained Medicaid through the current fiscal year and provided Kansas the time to reinvent its Medicaid program to better serve Kansans in need and maintain fiscal responsibility. Kansas Medicaid costs have grown at an annual rate of 7.4 percent over the last decade. Long-run trends in Medicaid are driven by widespread increases in en-rollment and spending per person. While exacerbated by the economic downturn, Medicaid growth is not just tied to the economy. Kansas is in the midst of a sustained period of accelerated growth as baby boom-ers reach the age of acquired disability. Yet the cost drivers in Medicaid are not confined to one service area or population; the projected sources of growth in Kansas Medicaid spending cut across populations. Tackling the structural deficit facing Medicaid cannot be accomplished by excluding or focusing solely on one population or service. Kansas will implement reforms in the current Medic-aid program to improve outcomes and reduce costs. As highlighted in the Deloitte report on the public

input and stakeholder consultation process, the Kansas approach will be based on the themes of:

Integrated, whole-person care,• Preserving or creating a path to independence, • Alternative access models and an emphasis on home and com-• munity based services.

The reform process will align the financial incentives for the payers, providers and consumers to best serve the needs of the whole person and the taxpayer, without adding to the administrative burden of the program. The idea is to leverage private sector innovation to achieve public goals by selecting three statewide KanCare contracts which guarantee:

Population-specific and statewide outcome measures will be • integral to the contracts and will be paired with meaningful financial incentives. The reforms explicitly call for creation of health homes, with an • initial focus on individuals with a mental illness, diabetes, or both. Contractors are encouraged to use established community part-• ners, including hospitals, physicians, community mental health centers (CMHCs), primary care and safety net clinics, centers for independent living (CILs), area agencies on aging (AAAs), and community developmental disability organizations (CDDOs). Safeguards for provider reimbursement and quality are included. •

non-Dentist providersNoticeable activity during this leg-islative session regarding the Regis-tered Dental Practitioner non-dentist provider proposal has been slow. In January, the House Committee on Health and Human Services, Chair-person Rep Brenda Landwehr, held an informal roundtable discussion on the mid-level concept. Opposing the concept at the roundtable were, Dr. Hal Hale, Dr. Cindi Sherwood, Dr. Paul Kittle, Dr. Jeff Stasch, Dr. Richard McFadden, Dental Board President Dr. Glenn Hemberger and Kansas Dental Association Executive Director Kevin Robertson. The Reg-istered Dental Practitioner support-

KanCare meDiCaiD reforms

continued on page 11

ers included representatives from the Kansas Action for Children, Kansas Association of Medically Under-served, Kansas Dental Hygienists Association, Fort Hays State University President Dr. Ed Hammond, United Methodist Health Ministries Fund Executive Director Kim Moore, Pittsburg dentist Dr. Dan Minnis and Hays dentist Dr. Melinda Miner. The four-hour roundtable discussion was essentially a stalemate, but Chairman Brenda Landwehr pushed for some common ground, eventually getting the mid-lev-el proponents to agree that the KDA-backed extended care permit III concept was “a step in the right direc-tion.” HB 2631 was introduced following the roundtable discussion and the House Committee on Health and

continued on page 9

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continued from page 1KIND Program

to key areas identified by the state as underserved.Trying to recruit and create incen-tives for dentists to practice in rural Kansas is not a new concept for the KDA. The KDA has introduced bills and discussed the idea of a dental loan repayment program with the legislature from time to time over the past several years. Those pro-posals have all mirrored the physi-cians’ “Bridging Loan” program and would have allowed dentists to practice in large portions of the state. The programs required a substan-tial state commitment for the loans as well as state staffing to provide administrative support. “We know that for communities in our state to remain viable, three things are critical: preserving good schools, maintaining our infra-structure and ensuring access to healthcare. We’re pleased today to be unveiling a program we know can be effective in addressing access to dentists. Loan repayment or forgiveness programs are a time-tested model when it comes to recruiting health care

professions in our state. Kansans have long benefitted from programs like the one we’re launching in at-tracting physicians, optometrists and other healthcare professionals to some of our more rural commu-nities,” noted Hal Hale, President of the Kansas Dental Association. “That’s why we’re confident that the same success can be realized in

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bringing more dentists to rural areas. While in the past we have asked the state to fund a program to attract dentists to rural areas, we are fortunate to have found financial support for the effort from the Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation.” The KIND program will target the location of new den-tists within the key four areas of Kansas identified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Bureau of Oral Health as “dental deserts”. That study identi-fied the limited areas of our state where Kansans are not within 20 miles of a dentist office. That data is what will guide the loan repayments and grants made under

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Map 5. Drive Time Buffers around Primary Care Dentists Office with Four Dental Care Service DesertsDrive Time Buffers around Primary Care Dentists Office with Four Dental care Service Deserts

continued on page 6

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Expand the liability protection • of the Charitable Healthcare Provider Act to include orga-nized in-office charitable proj-ects, Create a Special Volunteer Li-• cense for dentists, and;Lengthen the time from 12 • months to a maximum of 30 months (for good cause) that the estate of a deceased or sub-stantially disabled dentist has to sell or close the practice.

Section 1 of the bill contains an expansion of services for dental hygienists. In 2002, the KDA and Kansas Dental Hygienist Association hammered out the agreement that became the Extended Care Permit (ECP) Dental Hygienist. The KDA was also involved and supported changes to the ECP I and II legisla-tion in 2007. HB 2631 is a further ex-pansion to the Dental Hygienist Ex-tended Care Permit law to create an ECP III. An ECP III would have the same infrastructure, practice loca-tions/populations and dental super-vision that the current ECP I and II have. These include nursing homes, prisons, indigent health clinics, head start programs and children in schools. The ECP III dental hygienist would be allowed to use additional procedures that would assist them in treating these patients:

continued from page 1

Oral Health Initiative The new procedures that the ECP III dental hygienist could perform are:

(A) Removal of extraneous deposits, stains and • debris from the teeth and the rendering of smooth surfaces of the teeth to the depths of the gingival sulci; (B) Application of topical anesthetic if the dental • hygienist has completed the required course of instruction approved by the dental board; (C) Application of fluoride; • (D) Dental hygiene instruction;• (E) Assessment of the patient’s apparent need for • further evaluation by a dentist to diagnose the pres-ence of dental caries and other abnormalities; (F) Identification and removal of decay using hand • instrumentation and placing a temporary filling, including glass ionomer and other palliative mate-rials;(G) Adjustment of dentures, placing soft reline in • dentures, checking partial dentures for sore spots and placing permanent identification labeling in dentures;(H) Smooth a sharp tooth with a slow speed dental • handpiece;(I) Use of local anesthetic, including topical, infil-• tration and block anesthesia, when appropriate to assist with procedures where medical services are available in a nursing home, health clinic, or any other settings if the dental hygienist has completed a course on local anesthesia and nitrous oxide as required in this act;(J) Extract deciduous teeth that are partially exfoli-• ated with class 4 mobility.

The state of Kansas has a formal arrangement with the state of Missouri to allow 85 dental students to attend the UMKC School of Dentistry along with 12 optom-etry students at UM-St. Louis School of Optometry in

Kansas Dental Association

Annual Meeting

June 7-9, 2012

Hotel at Old Town

Wichita, Kansas

exchange for 491 undergraduate architecture design students from Missouri to attend KU, K-State or Wichita State. As recently as 2004, Kansas had only NINE dental students graduate from UMKC School of Dentistry. The KDA was very involved in rework-ing the agreement between Missouri and Kansas at that time and the past five classes at UMKC have gradu-ated 19, 19, 21, 23 and 27 Kansas students respectively. Section 2 of HB 2631 directs the Board of Regents to investigate 3-5 additional seats for Kansas residents with the stipulation that they return to practice dentistry in underserved areas of the state. The KDA believes it is important that dental students in additional seats be directed to underserved areas even though this may disqualify them from receiving loan repayment from the National Health Service Corp which is used for this purpose. Existing Kansas students at UMKC and other dental schools would remain eligible for such grants which are incentives to practice in rural areas and commu-nity health clinics. The KDA believes other funding opportunities, like our own private Kansas Initiative for New Dentists (KIND) Program funded by Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation, could provide assis-tance to these 3-5 new dentists who would be required to practice in an underserved area.

continued on page 15

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Kevin Robertson, CAEKDA Executive Director

FroM The oFFICeThe KDA is involved in a variety of efforts and programs to reduce barriers of care and increase access to dentists in Kansas. These ef-forts promise to help Kansans across our state

receive better dental care. Here’s a quick list of the efforts we’ve supported, implemented and are following through on, in just the past year:

Undertaking the Medicaid 140 Initiative geared at increasing • the number of dentists participating as Medicaid providers;Creating – with Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation - the • KIND Grant Program to create incentives for dentists to locate in Kansas’ dental desertsWorking with the Kansas Board of Regents Oral Health Task • Force looking at increasing the number of Kansans that have the ability to become dentists and where they are located;Creating the Extended Care Permit III dental hygienists • who could provide more preventative and palliative care in schools and nursing homes;Funding for the Donated Dental Services program so dis-• abled and elderly adults have access to receive dental care; Creating a new Special Volunteer License for retired dentists • so they can continue to provide dental care in charitable and other settings without compensation; Limiting liability to encourage dentists to provide more • charitable care within their office setting; and,Expanding the time for the estate of a deceased dentist to • transition the dental practice to reduce the risk of (usually rural) these practices from simply closing.

The KDA continues to also support water fluoridation in all • Kansas communities and expanding Medicaid to cover all adults. Kansas needs your ongoing assistance! I encourage each • of you to take advantage of the various changes in Kansas law and the programs the KDA has to offer to help Kansans across the state improve their oral health.

Correction: It was incorrectly reported in the last issue of JKDA that Pittsburg dentist Dr. Dan Minnis had recently visited Alaska to learn about the dental health aid therapist mid level model. Though Dr. Minnis enthusiastically supports the creation of a mid level in Kansas, he has informed the KDA that he has never been to Alaska on such a mission.

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KIND Programcontinued from page 6

this program. The KIND program will target the location of dentists within these dental deserts which include communities like Greensburg, Medicine Lodge, Coldwater, Sublette, Satanta, Ness City, Sharon Springs and others.“Working with communities in the areas identified by the state, we hope the funding we’ve pledged can be further leveraged in successfully attracting dentists to these areas,” added Dr. Stan Wint, a member of the Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation Board of Directors. “We are pledging up to $150,000 a year for each of the next three years to support this initiative.” Depending on the level of funding awarded, recipients will be required to make either a three or four year service agreement. Mirroring a success-ful effort in Iowa, the Kansas initiative offers our state a proven program to help dentists local in those areas.The Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation, the Kansas Dental Asso-ciation, and the Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation will serve as the fiduciary for the KIND program. In addition to providing financial support for the students, the KIND program will work with local communities to determine other kinds of support that might be available to make the recruit-ment successful. Kansas citizens, regardless of where they live, deserve access to dentists. To that end, KDA Executive Director Kevin Robertson and Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation Execu-tive Director Karen Finstad are discussing the KIND Program with students at the dental schools at UMKC, Nebraska, Oklaho-ma, Creighton and Colorado and are meeting with local officials from communities within the identified dental deserts. Interested students and/or dentists will complete an application and submit it prior to May 15, 2012. The KIND Oversight Com-mittee will review all applications and announce the winning grantees this summer. For more information and/or to submit an application for KIND funds go to www.KINDgrants.com. “50% rule” Satellite Practice Carve Out In 2008 the Kansas Legislature adopted a KDA-backed bill to amend the Kansas Dental Practice Act to allow a dentist to have up to two satellite practices in counties with populations of 10,000 or less within 175 miles of the primary practice. Dentist practice owners that have a satellite within these guidelines are NOT required to be physically present in the office and therefore are allowed to have an associate or partner dentist wok in those satel-lite practice location 100% of the time. Dentists interested in set-ting up a satellite practice in one of the dental desert communities are encouraged to complete an application for a KIND Grant.

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When Jennifer Jones and Greg Hill of the Kansas Dental Association say they’ve traveled to the far corners of the state, take their word for it. They’ve done it. They’ve also hit the center of the United States, spent the night in an old bank in Oberlin, and even traveled home by train.With 140 dentists to photograph across the state, there is almost no place in Kansas the two haven’t traveled, including the two west corners. Jones and Hill are photographing KDA member dentists as part of the KDA’s 140 Years, 140 Stories project. The photography project will focus on KDA member dentists and their unique interests, hobbies and locations across the state. The photos will be pub-lished in a book this summer. “When we went west in early November, we had some time in the morning between shoots so we traveled to the far Northwest corner of Kansas, actually entering Colorado before the road took us back around to the corner of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado,” Hill says. “For someone who had never been to that far corner of the state, it was an exciting opportunity to see the unique geological features of this area.”For Jennifer Jones, who traveled to the far Southwest corner of the state, the chance to see Kansas has been an enjoyable part of this project.

“Throughout my years at the KDA, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many of our members at vari-ous meetings and projects,” says Jones. “However, this project has allowed me to see and visit with dentists in the context of their practices and communities in the near and far corners of our state. Seeing the level of commitment and passion shared by our members to their communities, families, and interests has been a delight.”Each has taken their own trips around the state, but for a few of the longer trips, they have traveled together, sometimes splitting up as they did on the trip to Southwest Kansas.

KDa staff travels far and Wide to get the shot

“Jennifer drove west out of Garden City to take photo-graphs and I went out on a 4X4 ride in a jeep with Jake Juhl,”

“Dr. Paul Kittle in Leavenworth was very passionate about loving his country and the three generations of his family that have served in the military.”

“Jennifer drove west out of Gar-den City to take photographs and I went out on a four-by-four ride in a jeep with Jake Juhl,” Hill joked about a photo shoot he took with Dr. Juhl who practices in Lakin. Jones meanwhile trav-eled to Wichita County to pho-tograph Joanne Brown in Leoti and to Hugoton to photograph Effie Gaskell with her horses.

For Hill though, the adventure was not over. At two o-clock in the morning, he boarded an Amtrak train in Garden City and traveled back to Topeka. “I had never rid-den a passenger train here in the United States,” Hill said. “It definitely add-ed a level of uniqueness to

the traveling aspect of this project that I’ll always remember.Jones says that the dentists have been tremendously receptive to the project. “They are always interested in sharing their passions and information about their communities. Dr. Paul Kittle in Leavenworth was very passionate about loving his country and the three generations of his family that have served in the military. I hope that by sharing these stories in the 140 Years, 140 Stories publication, our members will enjoy getting to know other dentists and develop new friendships and bonds within the organiza-tion.” While the two have taken more than seventy photographs for the book, the two will continue to travel, mostly now focusing on Wichita and the Kansas City area and look to have the book completed this summer.

Plans are also well underway for the official unveiling of the project at the 2012 KDA Annual Meeting in Wichita. Among the photographs to be unveiled for the first time will be the den-tists numbered “1” and “140” who were selected for what they represent in organized dentistry.“We are very excited about what these two dentists represent both for the history of the KDA, but too, for its future,” said Hill.

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sleep last night I was so excited. When I looked in the mirror I couldn’t be-lieve how I looked because I hadn’t had my teeth in so long. They told me to take them [partial] out, but I don’t want to.” Roxanne, who goes by Roxie, became the 20,000th patient that the Kansas Mission of Mercy has treated since it began in 2003. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback made a stop at the clinic and received a tour by Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation President, Dr. Mark Herzog. Brownback had the opportunity to share in the celebration as Brown was presented a handmade sign, balloons and a gift certificate for dinner at a restaurant in the Kansas City Legends. “I can’t express what you have done for me. I was afraid to smile and would put my hand over my mouth or kind of give off a little grin. But now, I’m happy.” A total of 1277 people, including 163 dentists, 136 dental hygienists and 188 dental assistants, volunteered for the event, the largest volunteer event in the nine year KMOM history. Since inception, KMOM has treated 21,317 patients with dental care valued at more than $11 million.It’s about “Giving more than you Receive”Dr. John Fales, a pediatric dentist from nearby Olathe who has participated in ten KMOM projects, says it all comes back to a lesson he learned as a kid in the Boy Scouts. “I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to give back to the community,” Fales said. “Not just to my local community, but the community in a larger sense. Ever since I was a young boy in the Boy Scouts I was taught that you give back more than you receive. That’s a tenant that I try and live by and this is a wonderful vehicle that allows me to do that.”Fales modestly explained that he was given a gift to be able use his hands to help people with their dental needs.“This is a way in which I can use this gift to better other people’s situations. One of the people that I spoke to was the pastor in my church and he told me that the one word he heard over and over was that this was a blessing. I think that sometimes when we as volunteers come and do these kinds of things that we don’t really understand how much and how dramatically we touch the lives of the people that we are caring for.”A Sense of AppreciationMarvita Oliver came to KMOM for the same reason as every other patient, but as a broadcast journalism student at Johnson County Community Col-lege, she also brought along a video camera and spoke to a number of pa-tients who, like her, were waiting to receive dental care.She said that many of the people that she spoke to really understood how the economy had impacted the need for dental care and to her that was a little surprising. “The [volunteers] are to be commended. So many of the patients are very appreciative and that’s one thing that I saw from the people I spoke to. Some of the patients I saw were in pain for a long time,” she said. “Every time I interviewed someone, they would say how appreciative they were for the clinic. That was very humbling for me because I could feel it. I knew what they were talking about.”Adult Medicaid would make a DifferenceJoAnn Anderson drove from Emporia with her two sons, a one-month old daughter, her mother and her sister. They left at 12:30 AM and arrived at the KMOM clinic about 4:00 AM. When she entered the clinic, she was pa-tient number 776. “I believe it is very important when people don’t have insurance to be able to come to a place like this and have their teeth taken care of,” she said. “My boys have dental care through the [Medicaid Program] but I don’t. If I had Medicaid, I would not have to worry about my teeth. The same with my mother, she has been having a lot of problems with her teeth. This has been a great opportunity for her.”Dr. Cindi Sherwood of Independence believes without question that the lack of Medicaid access for adults plays a tremendous role in the number of pa-tients that come to the KMOM dental clinic needing extensive dental work.“In my humble opinion, that is the number one reason why we have an ac-cess to care problem in Kansas,” she says. “I think the majority of children who are covered by Medicaid have the opportunity to be seen. But adults do not have a safety net and many of them have to suffer.” Sherwood says she sees patients, particularly those to her west, who may drive fifty miles to her practice. “But they are also coming to Independence to go grocery shopping or to buy a pair of shoes because those services aren’t available where they live. In most of these little towns, there is a con-

continued on page 13

continued from page 1

KMOM A Success

Kenneth Gay (left) is the first patient in line for the Kansas Mission of Mercy in Kansas City having arrived at 6:00 PM the evening prior to the clinic opening on Friday.

Dr. Mark Herzog (right) gives Governor Sam Brownback (center) a tour of the KMOM clinic in Kansas City stopping to talk to Olathe pediatric dentist, Dr. John Fales (left).

The patient waiting area filled as patients filed in to be treated at the Kansas Mission of Mercy in Kansas City.

Rows of tables, dental chairs and lights filled the old Wal-Mart build-ing ad 65th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Ks for the eleventh Kansas Mission of Mercy dental clinic.

A mother and her children wait for treatment at the Kansas Mission of Mercy in Kansas City.

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KdCF UPdaTe

Greg Hill, JDKDCF Executive Director

Connecting in a Fun and Creative WayIf you use social media, then by now, you have prob-ably at least heard of Pinterest. If not, Pinterest essen-tially is one of the fastest growing social media websites designed to connect people based on shared tastes and interest. Many not-for-profits are using the social site to connect with people and to leverage social good.The Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation has joined

the Pinterest craze as a way to share things that we find interesting. Of course, our primary purpose is to increase interest in our foundation; but at the same time, share things we think might benefit oral health edu-cation. We’ve discovered creative ideas for tooth cupcakes and health snacks as well as a collection of old dental cabinets and signs. We think the opportunity to connect with potential volunteers and donors in a new, exciting, and engaging way shouldn’t be discounted. More than 10 million users have

already began “pinning” con-tent and the site remains invita-tion only, 87% of which are women and the average age is between 25 and 54. Recognizing this, we think there is a tremendous opportunity to connect with people who share the interest of oral health in an exciting and creative way. To connect with us, visit www.pinterest.com/ksden-talfound or if you need an invitation, drop me an email at [email protected].

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Non-Dentist Providerscontinued from page 3

Human Services eventually held hearings and passed that bill favorably. HB 2631 is currently making its way through the Kansas Legislature (see related article). There have been no other committee hearings or debates about the Regis-tered Dental Practitioner non-dentist provider concept, but efforts con-tinue to promote the idea by the Kellogg-backed advocates as the Kansas Health Foundation has recently introduced its “Truth About Teeth” cam-paign and “Fill the Gap” billboards can be found along most major high-ways in Kansas. At this point, no state other than Minnesota has passed a mid-level law, though the idea is now being discussed in several states.

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Although many investors manage their 401(k)s themselves, others may seek a more “hands-on” approach and seek ongoing advice for their personal 401(k) portfolio. Many dentists and their staff may not have the time or the interest in handling their own portfolio and therefore seek the advice of a professional advisor. Why seek advice in your 401(k)? We know the

stock market has been volatile and there can be many drawbacks to leaving your portfolio alone and not adjusting asset allocations to take advantage of current market and economic conditions. Many participants do not adjust their investment mix for years at a time. While “buy and hold” investing can be an effective strat-egy, it also can be equally problematic during volatile times. Core problems with using a reactive approach to investing. Often a participant’s investment changes are a reaction to a bad quarter or even a bad year. Such an approach can lead to missing out on substantial market gains by not being invested. Having a profes-sional advisor to consult with can help avoid this “knee jerk” reaction and maintain a more consistent level of performance. The “do-it-yourself” approach has potential pitfalls. First, most participants lack a comprehensive knowledge base that a profes-sional advisor has. Investing without a proper plan or failing to consistently review a plan and the investment allocation in place may result in unwanted portfolio risk. Second, many participants may not have the time or interest in managing their 401(k) as-sets. The stock and bond markets do not move once per quarter; they are constantly moving. A reactive approach to changes in the market can lead to undesirable results. Plan participants may choose investment options that move with the market. Many 401(k) plans offer diversified target-date funds and asset allocation funds. However, their performance and risk generally track the broad market and may not be the best place to be for your personal situation or in highly volatile times. How can professional advice help? If your goal is to minimize losses in a down or volatile market and enjoy gains in an up market, seeking professional 401(k) advice may be an appealing option. As we begin 2012 with the market off to a strong start, 2011 was essentially a flat market that experienced periods of extreme volatility. A “passive” approach has little attraction in these types of markets. Utilizing asset and sector allocations, consistently monitoring, reallocating, and rebalancing a portfolio may reduce

professional 401(k) advice: Can it make a Difference?volatility and improve performance over the long term. What is the cost? On-site, professional advice may lead to overall higher plan costs but may be a small price to pay if performance can be improved. Often, costs associated with adding regular professional advice can remain similar to your current arrange-ment – meaning you may already be paying for the service but not receiving it. According to a 2011 report Help in Defined Contribution Plans: 2006-2010 conducted by Aon Hewitt and managed accounts provider Financial Engines, professional advice is worth seeking. Over a five year period, participants utilizing managed accounts, target date funds, or online advisory services earned an annual average of 2.92 percentage points more, net of fees, than those left to their own management.How can I add this service to my existing plan? If you are inter-ested in learning more about adding professional advice to your 401(k) or receiving a no-cost review of your current arrangement you can contact Tax Favored Benefits at your convenience. As we have heard before “past performance is no guarantee of future results” adding professional advice may offer you the po-tential to lower your investment volatility and improve your long term results. Tim Gaigals, CFP® is an investment professional, registered investment advisor and Certified Financial Planner™. Tim is associated with Tax Favored Benefits in Overland Park and an investment advisor represen-tative offering securities and advisory services solely through Ameritas Investment Corp. (AIC). Member FINRA/SIPC. AIC and Tax Favored Benefits are not affiliated. He has written numerous articles relating to qualified retirement plans, financial advising, and retirement planning. Tim was formerly a power trading expert and director for a nation-ally known energy company. Tim can be contacted at 913-648-5526 or [email protected].

I have only one yardstick by which I test every major problem - and that yardstick is: Is it good for America?

Dwight D. Eisenhower

We’ve all heard the stories: a night or two in a hotel and then telltale itching bites. Sometimes they even hitch a ride back home with you in your luggage. You guessed it: bedbugs. The only thing worse is how difficult it is to get rid of them. Fortu-nately, there’s a new way to bite back, as reported in “A new debugger,” from The Economist.The usual remedy for bedbugs is exhaustive cleaning and copious amounts of insecticide. Hotels have specially trained detection teams, and even use dogs trained to locate the pests. Despite all the effort, sometimes these measures are still unsuc-cessful. James Logan, Emma Weeks and colleagues at the Lon-don School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Rothamsted Research have come up with a novel idea, however, and it’s one of the oldest in the book. Instead of actively seeking bed-bugs they designed a trap “baited with something the bugs find irresistible-the smell of their own droppings.” Bedbugs use the smell of their droppings to find their way back to their hiding places after vampire-esque nights. “To develop the bait for the new trap, Dr. Weeks therefore analysed the chemicals given off by bed-bug faeces and attempted to work out which of the components were acting as sign-posts.” The exact results are still a secret, but the team has reported success. Hope-fully, hotels will be able to install small traps to aid in detection and eradication in the near future. Sleep tight!

Don’t let the Bedbugs Bite

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neW MeMBers

Fifth DistrictDr. Kenneth Frick, Leawood

Dr. Jeff Higgins, OlatheDr. Winnie Lam, Overland Park

Dr. Joe Moon, ShawneeDr. Julie Skidmore, Lenexa

First DistrictDr. Leonard Lausten, Westwood

Dr. Charles Pohl, Kansas City

NW/GB DistrictDr. Rawley Philpott, Manhattan

Topeka DistrictDr. David Wexler, Topeka

Wichita DistrictDr. Dawn Nguyen, Wichita

Do you know of a new dentist in your community, a recent graduate, or even a new colleague in your practice who is not on this list? Please contact the KDA at 785.272.7360 so we can invite them to become a member.

India may be one of the fastest emerging economies in the world, but its inability to care for the majority of its population is becoming appar-ent just as quickly. A huge problem stems from the fact that millions of Indians are essentially identity-less, at least as far as government welfare programs are concerned. Due to corruption and mismanagement, many people never actually receive the aid allocated to them. The Economist article “Reform by numbers” addresses the largest attempt so far to solve the problem.The attempt to create an identity database began in 2010 and was headed by Nandan Nilekani. Using fingerprinting and iris scans to set up a “UID,” or “unique identity,” the “scheme is supposed to roll out trust-worthy, unduplicated identity numbers based on biometric and other data.” An immedi-ate benefit of having a system such as this in place would allow welfare funds to be placed in individual accounts rather than be allocated to community officials who take advantage of the situation.Despite a slow start to the program there have now been more than 110 million UID’s issued. Nilekani “expects to get 400m by the year’s end.” And if that isn’t promising think about this: “By 2014, the likely date of the next general election, over half of all Indians could be signed up. If welfare also starts flowing direct into their accounts, the electoral conse-quences could be profound.” The program has its potential setbacks- “the mandate for the UID author-ity will expire within weeks-once the 200 millionth resident is signed up.” There are also prominent political figures who oppose it, such as the home minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram. However, given its incred-ible success so far, it doesn’t seem likely that one of India’s brightest initiatives will be held back for long.

identity Crisis

It may seem like there’s yet another natural disaster in the news each day, but research actually shows they are no more prevalent now than they were in the past, and despite all the hype, they’re actually less deadly as well. What has unquestionably increased, however, is their cost. “Counting the cost of calamities,” printed in The Economist, tells us why.It turns out that even as protective measures against natural disasters become more advanced, more people have been putting themselves in harm’s way. “This is

because a grow-ing share of the world’s popula-tion and econom-ic activity is being concentrated in disaster-prone places: on tropical coasts and river

The state will create a contractual obligation to • maintain existing services and beneficiary protec-tions. Services for individuals residing in State ICF-MR • facilities will continue to be provided outside these contracts.

KanCare will include “off ramps” to transition to private insurance coverage for Kansans currently on Medicaid, including a COBRA-like option, and health savings accounts that can be used to pay private-sector health insurance premiums. These reforms will aid in the tran-sition from Medicaid to independence while preserving relationships with providers. Increasing opportunities to work, particularly for the more than 2,000 disabled Kansans on Medicaid who have told SRS they want to find employment, is a key element of reform. An enhanced Medicaid to Work pro-gram will include collaboration with the Department of Commerce to match potential workers with employers. Other elements include:

Reducing disincentives to work by enhancing • Working Healthy and WORK program. Creating a disability preference for state employ-• ment. Leveraging state purchasing and incentive policies • to encourage contractors to hire people with dis-abilities. Establishing cash incentives for businesses that hire • people with disabilities who are currently receiving state services. Increasing awareness of the Use Law. •

The Kansas solution includes long-range changes to the delivery system by aiding the transition away from in-stitutional care and toward services that can be provided in individuals’ homes and communities. Kansas cur-rently has the sixth highest percentage of seniors living in nursing homes in the country. Including institutional and long-term care in person-centered care coordina-tion means KanCare contractors will take on the risk and responsibility for ensuring that individuals are receiv-ing services in the most appropriate setting. Outcome measures will include lessening reliance on institutional care. The reforms also include helping nursing facilities build alternative HCBS capacity. KanCare will encourage providers to practice at the highest level of their licensed training, while reducing isolated, narrowly focused care provision. An example is engaging pharmacists to actively collaborate in manag-ing patient education, compliance and self-management, particularly for patients with medications from multiple prescribers.

KanCare Medicaid Reforms

continued from page 3

~ It turns out that even as protective measures against natural disasters become more advanced, more people have been putting themselves in harm’s way.

deltas, near forests and along earthquake fault lines.” This creates a cycle: people move into dangerous areas and more is spent on protecting these areas, which often degrades natural environmental protections. “As cities encroach on coasts, wetlands and rivers, natural barriers such as mangrove swamps and sand dunes are obliterated and artificial ones-dykes and sea walls-are erected to keep the water out. The result is to put more people and property in harm’s way if those barriers fail.” Thus, when defenses are overwhelmed the costs skyrocket. The Dutch, who have dealt with catastrophic flooding since time immemo-rial, have mixed impressive technology with natural fixes to prepare for disasters. Deepened riverbeds, optionally flooded farmland, floating build-ings and a 10,000-cubic-meter tank “built into a car park, big enough to catch roughly 25 percent of the water from a once-in-a-century flood.” All these are measures to prevent the inevitable.Can it ever be enough? Perhaps we’ll never completely be able to protect ourselves from the extremes of our environment. What is absolutely es-sential, however, after the earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, is to have the wherewithal to rebuild.

~~unDer Water~~

continued on page 14

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Left - Olathe pediatric dentist, Dr. John Fales and staff show their Jayhawk pride

Above - When it came to Mardi Gras, patients at Dr. John McQuillen’s office in Wamego just needed to flash a smile to get beads

Left - Dr. Michael Browning and his staff were all about the wild hair when it came to “Crazy Hair Day”

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venience store and a place to get gas and they pretty much have to travel for anything else they may want to do.”KMOM Helped Shape a Career PathDr. Melissa Kusiak, who works for a community health center in Pittsburg has participated in eight KMOM projects, but this was her first as a dentist. She attended her first project in high school when she thought she wanted to be a hygienist. “I came with my mentor dentist and all of her staff and fell in love with it,” Kusiak said. “I decided that I actually wanted to be a dentist so I went to dental school and have come back every year because I love it. I really feel like I’m doing something good.” “You can tell that the patients are really in need and don’t have another option. They want to be out of pain and to have a better life and feel like you are able to help them achieve that.”She says that many people are not aware of the services that are available including the Kansas Mission of Mercy and the community health clinics.“I think more are becoming aware of them. But many times, people will come to our clinic thinking there is no way they can even afford our services and we tell them that there are things we can do. They are always very surprised. Many of them don’t have insur-ance or any way of paying for dental care so they just put it off.”Support of the Community and Foundations Across KansasDoctors Glenn Hemberger and Lisa Gonzales served as KMOM co-chairs for the project in Kan-sas City. “It was amazing to see something so huge come together,” Gonzales said. “We are thankful for all the support we received from the community. We had phenomenal volunteers and they never stopped. I just don’t know how to say thank you to everyone.”Major support for KMOM KC came from the Kansas Health Foundation, Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation, the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Wyandotte Health Foundation, Assurant Employee Benefits, Kansas City Kansas Community college, Reach Healthcare Foun-dation, J.E. Dunn Construction, Central Christian Church of Kansas City, Kansas Foundation and Advanced Biocare.2013 Event in WichitaPlans are underway for KMOM 2013. The event will mark the ten year an-niversary of the KMOM project and the twelfth project overall. The project will again take place in the Pavilion II at the Kansas Coliseum. The date is set for March 1-2, 2013.

continued from page 8

KMOM A Success

As their numbers are called, waiting patients proceed to open dental chairs at the Kansas Mission of Mercy dental clinic in Kansas City

Right - KMOM patient and JCCC broadcast journalism student Marvita Oli-ver brought a video camera and talked to other patients as she waited for treatment

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The Kansas Dental Board staff is working to identify cost-saving mea-sures that are highly efficient and inexpensive to implement. One of these measures is an electronic newsletter. From this date forward, the Kansas Dental Board newsletter will only be delivered in electronic format. All of the newsletters will be posted to the Board’s website at www.kansas.gov/kdb. If you do not receive the newsletter, please check your spam folder and ensure that a current email address is on file with the Dental Board.Reprinted with permission of the Kansas Dental Board, March 2012 issue.

KDB electronic newsletter

select policy highlights Ensure statewide services by each KanCare con-• tractor so that every eligible Kansan on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program will have access to comparable services throughout the state. Expand provider-based systems such as PACE and • PACE-like programs as a dual enrollment option. Require the completion of a health risk appraisal to • identify health and service needs in order to de-velop care coordination and integration plans for each member. Require the provision of health homes to members • with complex needs, starting with members who have a mental illness or diabetes, or both. Require efforts to improve members’ health literacy • in order to make effective use of services and to share responsibility for their health. Request value-added services, at no additional cost • to the state, to incentivize members to lose weight, quit smoking, participate in chronic condition man-agement programs, and other health and wellness initiatives. Promote continuity by establishing one-year enroll-• ment lock after the choice period for individuals in plans. Require contractors to create member Advisory • Committees to receive regular feedback and to have Member Advocates to help members who have complaints and grievances. Establish contractual obligation to maintain exist-• ing services and beneficiary protections. Require contractors to work with existing and ad-• ditional provider networks and stakeholders. Establish significant monetary incentives and pen-• alties linked to quality and performance: 3-5% of total payments will be used as performance • incentives to motivate continuous quality improve-ment. Additional penalties are associated with low qual-• ity and insufficient reporting. Measures include prevention, health and social • outcomes. Minimize conflicts across assessment, case manage-• ment and service provision. Utilize Aging and Disability Resource Centers • (ADRCs) to determine functional eligibility deter-mination and provide information and assistance and options counseling. Solicit innovative solutions to incentivize healthy •

continued from page 11

KanCare Medicaid Reforms

When disaster strikes aid typically comes in the form of law enforcement officers, firefighters and medical personnel. In light of recent crises dentists have proved themselves integral in subsequent responses, so much so that their first-responder services are being expanded by a new bill. In an article from Mouth titled “The new-est first responders,” Maggie Law writes about the bill H.R.570 and what it means for those in the dental health profession. The Dental Emergency Responder Act of 2011, as it has become known, “amends the Public Health Service Act and gives dentists the capacity to lend a hand during Natural disasters or terrorist acts.” Especially in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, it has become clear that additional help is invaluable, and that dentists are particularly well equipped to provide it. For instance, after 9/11 “The forensic dental team was

Dentists taKing on larger Crisis-response roleable to successfully identify victims through dental remains.”In fact, New York City has already created a program to prepare dental students to respond in such cases, called the “catastrophe prepared-ness curriculum.” Students learn by “studying previous natural disasters, watching taped scenarios, and devel-oping catastrophe response plans for theoretical dental offices.” Effective response to public health emergencies has never been more important, and as Law states: “Add-ing dentists to the team of first responders will bolster the country’s infrastructure in disaster manage-

ment.” So the next time a calamity occurs, never fear: your dentist is on the way.

behavior – including obesity prevention, smoking cessation, and ben-efits for annual health screenings. Implement Medication Therapy Management to engage pharmacists in • a bridging and collaborative role in patient education, compliance and self-management. Develop and implement evidence-based guidelines for pharmaceuti-• cals, including behavioral health medications; enhance academic de-tailing and retrospective reviews. Strengthen anti-fraud efforts – including implementation of the Kansas • Eligibility Enforcement System (KEES). Use uniform provider credentialing form and timeline to reduce ad-• ministrative burdens on providers. Set provider reimbursement floor at 100% of fee for service rates inclu-• sive of options for quality and outcomes incentive payments. Preserve the benefit of existing add-on payments such as the hospital • and nursing home provider assessment, Disproportionate Share Hospi-tal (DSH), and Graduate Medical Education (GME). Enforce prompt payment requirements. • Establish a tiered functional eligibility system for the frail and elderly • that restricts access to the highest cost institutional settings only to those with the highest level of need in order to utilize appropriate al-ternative home and community based settings. Incentivize nursing facilities through a focused shared savings pro-• gram to diversify and build alternative HCBS capacity. Ensure access to mid-levels such as physician assistants and advanced • practice nurses through integrated care model. Align financial incentives for integrated care systems through blended • rates to re-balance and prevent premature nursing facility placement.

The following five companies submitted bids to be KanCare contractors. WellCare of Kansas – Tampa, FL 1.

Sunflower State Health Plan – Topeka, KS 2.

United Health Care – Minneapolis, MN 3.

Coventry Health Care of Kansas – Wichita, KS 4.

Amerigroup – Virginia Beach, VA5.

Delta Dental of Kansas, DentaQuest and Scion Dental have all submitted proposals to provide dental services for Medicaid recipients. The legislature is considering a bill to delay the implementation of KanCare for six months to July 1, 2013.

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AFTCO Transition Consultants - 4

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Blue Cross Blue Shield - 12

Dynamic Management Solutions (Classified) - 15

Edmonds Dental Lab - 13

Johnston Fiss Insurance - 2

McInnes Group, Inc. - 2

Medical Protective - 9

Modern Methods - 11

Paragon, Inc. - 7

Professional Transition Strategies - 12

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Opportunities Available: Kansas/Missouri-Dentists needed-Excellent opportunity for highly motivated practitioners. Patients and a well-trained team are waiting for you. Practice locations in Independence and Mt. Vernon, Missouri, St. Marys and Wichita, Kansas. Competitive commission plan plus excellent benefit package. Contact Robert Hildreth, 785-456-7083; fax 785-456-6520; e-mail: [email protected].

Practices and Equipment for Sale: Kansas/Moundridge-Office for sale or lease. A beautiful, ten year old dental office (3,300 sq. ft.) with six operatories. Located in a growing community about a half hour North of Wichita. Move in ready. A “Must See”. Contact Diane, 785-456-7083; e-mail: [email protected].

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published a pro-posed rule on implementing a 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices as required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rule would apply the tax to dental devices as defined by the Food and Drug Administra-tion’s rules on devices. The ADA had argued that dental devices should be excluded.The IRS has noted that it will use the Food and Drug Administration’s definition of “medical device,” which would include x-ray equipment as well as prosthetics. (The complete list is in the U.S. Code of Federal Regula-tions.)Comments on the proposed rule are due no later than

irs preparing to implement medical Device excise tax

01/09/2011Dr. Dale Dickson

Camdenton, MOTopeka District

07/08/2011Dr. Robert D. Smith

Wichita, KSWichita District

08/15/2011Dr. Robert Strack

Medicine Lodge, KSSouthern District

10/14/2011Dr. Lyle Kimbrough

Topeka, KSTopeka District

deceased dentists

This past fall, the Kan-sas Board of Regents formed the “KBOR Oral Health Task Force.” The Task Force is exploring the num-ber of dentists that will be needed in Kansas in the future and the best way(s) to fill Kansas dentist workforce needs. Its charge is to study and make recommendations of im-provements needed in the delivery of oral health in Kansas including the feasibility of a dental school, placement of a branch campus in Kansas of an existing dental school outside of Kansas, securing ad-ditional slots at neighboring state dental schools and/or the utiliza-tion of a scholarship program to attract and retain dentists in Kan-sas. The task force is expected to make a recommendation to the full Board of Regents in June. Section 3 of the bill expands the umbrella that limits the liability for those dentists and dental hygien-ists who provide free dental care in a dental office. Currently, the Charitable Healthcare Provider Act provides legal immunity to dentists that provide free care in settings outside their office like

continued from page 5

Oral Health Initiative

a KMOM event, health clinic, FQHC, etc., but it has been our understand-ing that if those same dentists organize an event and deliver that care in the dental office, the licensed persons are not immune. By removing this barrier, the KDA believes dentists

and dental hygienists would be more likely to partici-pate in and/or organize such an event. Finally, section 4 creates a new category of dental license for retired dentists. Similar to the “exempt” license for Kansas physicians and patterned after an Oklahoma law, the special volunteer dental license would be made available to retired dentists who wish to maintain their license for the purpose of providing dental care in charitable settings with no remuneration to them. This year the KDA is not seeking special legislation to fund the Donated Dental Services (DDS) program. After a 2 ½ year absence, the Governor included $70,000 is his 2013 budget to fund dental lab fees and administration for the Donated Dental Services (DDS) Program. The DDS program provides over $500,000 in free dental services to elderly and disabled Kansans each year. The Kansas Health Policy Authority cut funding for the program in 2010. The KDA is work-ing with the legislature to see that this funding will be included in the state’s final approved FY 2013 Budget. The Kansas Legislature took its first adjournment on March 31 and is scheduled to return to Topeka on Wednesday, April 25 to complete its work during its wrap up or veto session.

May 7 and, undoubtedly, the final rule would be published in time to meet the ACA requirement that the tax become effective on Jan. 1, 2013. The ADA participated in a coalition of other dental organizations in pro-viding preliminary comments to the IRS in March 2011. ADA staff has begun the review of the proposed rule and will prepare comments. The association is also preparing to testify at an IRS hearing on May 16.Several bills in the House and Senate would repeal the tax provision, in-cluding S. 17, which has 18 cospon-sors (all Republican) and H.R. 436 with 190 bipartisan cosponsors. The ADA supports these bills.

After a 2 ½ year absence, the Governor included $70,000 is his 2013 budget to fund dental lab fees and administration for the Donated Dental Services (DDS) Program.

Page 16: JKDA Spring 2012

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