As I’m sure all of you know the issue of a Mid-Level Provider has been brought up and is being seriously considered in this state. There are a seemingly unlimited number of reasons why this option needs to be studied and considered with great care in order to keep from allowing a lower standard of care for many people in this state. Elected officials need to hear opinions from the dental health professionals in this state, by email, by mail or in person. If they don't a decision to include Mid-Level Providers in our states oral health hierarchy will be made for us. Those of you that have personal relationships with your elected officials need to set up a quick meeting to say hello and convey your thoughts on Mid-level providers. For the rest of us that don’t, we need to be at fundraisers and hosted events where we can meet Senators, Representatives etc. and introduce ourselves. One of these types of events was held March 18th. Dr.Gary Oyster, Dr. Eve Brown, her husband Ted Mooney, Dr. Jill Sonner and myself attended a fundraiser for Senator Marc Basnight. If you are not able to attend a function such as this, consider a donation that will go a long way toward helping the NC-AGD or the NC Dental Society express our views on this matter. Donating your time at a clinic like Wake Smiles or MOM clinics is a great way to combat access to care without the state dictating it to us. With out your support our elected officials may only hear one side of the story and it may not be the side of the story that you agree with. Please let me know if you are interested in attending a function or want more information on how to contribute. Contact information for your elected officials can be found on the AGD website under advocacy tab. Please email me at angelinancsu@gmail.com for talking points, created by Drs. Oyster and Cheek that can be used when discussing with others.

Fee Capping will drastically affect the way you run your practice. Fee capping refers to the ability of an insurance company to dictate your fee’s for services that they do not cover. This would transfer all the risk to you or your patients while allowing the insurance company to advertise that their plan would help control the costs of all dental services. The problem is that if there is a negative risk benefit ratio of a procedure, it is unlikely that the practitioner will continue to offer this service or possibly drop this insurance all together. This in turn means lower access to care for the patients. This has been passed in 13 other states and we will be initiating this in our state as well. Again, we will need your help

This is an act that essentially exempts insurance companies from anti-trust laws. Overturning it should allow for more competition with in the insurance industry and ultimately lower premiums for our patients