Now Wall Street is f**king with our teeth.......

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Isaac Gagnon stepped off the school bus sobbing last October and opened his mouth to show his mother where it hurt.

She saw steel crowns on two of the 4-year-old’s back teeth. A dentist’s statement in his backpack showed he had received two pulpotomies, or baby root canals, along with the crowns and 10 X-rays -- all while he was at school. Isaac, who suffers from seizures from a brain injury in infancy, didn’t need the work, according to his mother, Stacey Gagnon.

“I was absolutely horrified,” said Gagnon, of Camp Verde, Arizona. “I never gave them permission to drill into my son’s mouth. They did it for profit.”

Isaac’s case and others like it are under scrutiny by federal lawmakers and state regulators trying to determine whether a popular business model fueled by Wall Street money is soaking taxpayers and having a malign influence on dentistry. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/dental-abuse-seen-driven-by-private-equity-investments.html

[cali]

1. that's horrifying.

[treestar]

2. That sounds like an assault

There's not way that isn't against the law.

The "Wall Street" blame here is absurd. The one dentist had no right to do that without parental permission.

She should sue on her son's behalf.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. "Wall Street firms have been attracted to dental practices because they are less regulated

than physicians groups"

I see a horrific trend developing.

And by ripping off Medicaid, they are forcing the taxpayer to subsidize them
plus
driving up the cost of Medicaid.

[justabob]

4. do you know....

Did the regulations change recently? Or did They just notice a new place/way to drain money from folks? Over the last few years I have been noticing new dental chains/franchises all over the city and wondered what was up with that. They are like Starbucks.... two at every intersection.... just curious.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. I have no way of knowing since I live in a teeny rural town.

I think there is a private/corporate medical office here, but every time I have driven past it, it has been closed.

[HiPointDem]

8. Interesting. I think the rules vary from state to state. You might try googling to see if

something's changed recently in your state specifically.

http://www.wisegeek.com/does-medicaid-cover-dental.htm

[justabob]

11. my question was a little off topic

I wasn't really thinking of MedicAid (or even the OP) though many of the new clinics' signage says they accept it. I should spend the time and google it. I have been lazy. It is just one of those things I have noticed that doesn't make sense to me.... notes from the field. The sheer number of these clinics makes me suspicious. I can't imagine people have much money for dental things, even if they desperately need work.

[HiPointDem]

12. But i'm thinking if it's a sudden new development, there is probably some element of private

corps getting government money funneled their way, since people who can afford dental already have clinics catering to them. Medicaid was the main way I figured that could happen unless there's something in Obama's health care legislation.

the article says:


• ...Medicaid outlays on dentistry, which rose 63 percent to $7.4 billion between 2007 and 2010, outstripping the 4.9 percent growth in other dental spending.

[justabob]

13. true

I can't imagine Texas has given Medicaid patients more coverage, stingy bastards have slashed just about everything good for people, but they probably have privatized the services. IIRC this surge of dental stuff predates the health care legislation, but it could be part of the continued spread of the new dental facilities.

[B2G]

6. How is this not the school's fault?

How could they treat a child without parental permission?? I don't get this at all.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Somewhere in the story there was talk of permission slips being signed

it was suggested the slips were overly broad.
Parents quoted idicated they did not know what they were agreeing to,
but in some cases they also deny giving ANY permission.
If that had happened to my kid, I would sue their asses off till hell froze over.
Seriously.

[superpatriotman]

9. Bits from the article:

• ...Medicaid outlays on dentistry, which rose 63 percent to $7.4 billion between 2007 and 2010, outstripping the 4.9 percent growth in other dental spending.

• ReachOut is one of at least 25 dental management-services companies bought or backed by private-equity firms in the last decade.

• The companies account for about 12,000, or 8 percent, of U.S. dentists...

• A ReachOut recruiting ad last year promised “15+ patients/day” and “$120K/year (+ bonus opportunity)” by working “school hours 1-5 days per week.”

• Investigators are looking at allegations that dentists placed crowns on children needing only less-expensive fillings, or put needless braces on 12-year-olds with baby teeth -- at taxpayer expense...

• All Smiles and its founder, Richard Malouf, previously agreed to pay the U.S. and Texas $1.2 million to settle Medicaid fraud allegations between 2004 and 2007, without admitting wrongdoing.


End Medicaid fraud and abuse now. Governor Rick Scott, I'm looking at you.

[Initech]

10. Unregulated Wall Street is eventually going to kill us all.

[DonCoquixote]

14. These creeps prey on poor children

And then have the nerve to treat the 99% like scum. They belong with the paedophiles.

Note also the way they get Dentists who are in Student loan debt. This is a way of making sure that the young educated class tow the line, and tow it early, unless, of course, they come from the class that can afford to have daddy pay everything.

[RandiFan1290]

15. The Carlyle Group

I knew I'd see this name come up in the story.

[Arugula Latte]

16. America is All About Freedom! ... for corporations to do whatever the f@#$ they want to us.