May 1999 Newsletter

President's Message

It is with great pleasure and personal pride that my president's message is being printed in this issue - the newest version of the Middlesex County Dental Society newsletter. It is through the tremendous efforts of our three editors - Dr. Robert Silverstein, Layout and Design Editor - Dr. Mitchell Weiner, Content Editor - Dr. Ross Kline, Business Editor - that the Middlesex County Dental Society is now printing our own newsletter. During our January general membership meeting upon the recommendation of the Board of Trustees, the members voted unanimously to approve the purchase of a printer that is capable of printing our newsletter. With a break-even point of less than 1 1/2 years, the society will save between $8,000 - 10,000 per year by printing our own newsletter. The quality of the newsletter speaks for itself - the enhanced photographs, improved detail and multiple colors are exceptional. I am very proud of this accomplishment and wish to publicly thank our three editors for all of their time and effort on our behalf.
Last month the Middlesex County Dental Society hosted two successful events. The first event was our Dinner Dance on Saturday evening, April 17th, 1999. Everyone present had a wonderful time - it was truly an evening of good food, drink, music, dancing and camaraderie. I hope that everyone will want to join us next time. Many thanks to Dr. Hugh Habas, chairman of the Dinner Dance committee, and all of the committee members for their time and effort on our behalf. Special thanks to Dr. Peter DeSciscio for entertaining us with his guitar and vocals!
The second event was our all-day continuing education course on Wednesday, April 21st, 1999. Gary Takacs was motivating, entertaining and informative. I want to thank Dr. Philip Engel, chairman of the Continuing Education committee, and everyone else that helped make this a successful event.
The final special event of the year will be our annual Staff Appreciation night on Tuesday evening, May 18th, 1999. This will be an evening of fine food and entertainment. The evening provides us with an extra opportunity to say "thank you" to those individuals that support us, assist us and enable us to practice dentistry - our staff members. Just a reminder - this event is open to all members, regardless of whether you bring staff members or not. Please send in your registration form and we hope to see you all there!
As this will be my last presidents' message I want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow officers and the members of the Board of Trustees for all of their support and incredible efforts during this past year. The Middlesex County Dental Society is exceptionally fortunate to have a very large, active volunteer board that cares so much about our profession and our society. I would also like to thank the membership for the opportunity to serve as your president - it was a challenging, rewarding and educational experience. Special thanks to my staff for all of their assistance and patience. Lastly, I would like to thank my family, and especially my wife Karen, for their love and support which enabled me to serve our dental society in this capacity.
Sincerely,
Ira S. Rosen, D.M.D.
President,
Middlesex County Dental Society

Back to the table of contents

Back to the Home Page

MCDS Board of Trustees Report

Attendance: Bloom, Brunsden, Chustckie, DeSciscio, Fahsbender, Fertig, Fromkin, Glickman, Habas, Kline, Krantz, Lawson, Livanos, McLaughlin, Perlmutter, Prabhu, Rosen, Schambra, Silverstein, Villa, Weiner

Acceptance of Minutes-3/9/99-Vote unanimous.

Treasurer's Report: Previous Balance $48,540.48
P. DeSciscio, Treasurer Income/Expenses + 4,422.65 Current Balance $52,963.13

President's Report-I. Rosen

The deadline for the ADA's Golden Apple Awards is June 1, 1999. MCDS was considering submitting a nomination for the Membership Committee because of their outstanding results in R&R. This was discussed with Erin Murphy from the ADA, who felt that although MCDS has had fine results in this area, the winner they would be looking for would have a "gimmick" that had an effect on membership. It was decided not to pursue the nomination this year.
MCDS has nominated both Dr. George McLaughlin and Dr. Arnold Rosenheck for the two available seats on the State Board of Dentistry.
The ADA has distributed five copies of their revised Constitution & Bylaws and Code of Professional Conduct to each local component society. Our copies have been distributed to each of the officers, but copies can be made available upon request.
The fee waiver committee must meet to decide upon three fee waiver requests.
Dr. Nancy Villa was asked to chair the NJDA Council on Membership, and has accepted the position. We will need to appoint a new representative to this council, as the Chairperson is not a voting member of the council.
Middlesex County College has informed us that three students are tied for the highest grade point average in this year's graduating class. We will provide three awards this year, but must find a member to present the award, as their ceremony is scheduled during the Annual Session.

Editor's Report-M. Weiner

The March newsletter is the last that will be done with Highland Printing. The editorship is now officially split: Dr. Weiner is the content editor, Dr. Kline is the business editor, and Dr. Silverstein is the layout editor (and will also be doing the printing and mailing).

NJDA Council Reports:

NJDA Board of Trustees-D. Krantz

See full report in the newsletter.

Dental Benefits Council-D. Krantz

The Council reviewed information from Delta Dental indicating that Delta PPO patients will now have access to the Delta Premier network of specialists, and those specialists treating PPO patients will be reimbursed at the Premier, rather than the PPO, level.
The Council reviewed a letter sent to Benefit Plan Administrators concerning its policy of non-payment for general anesthesia and stating that the fee is included the surgical procedure. NJDA is awaiting their response.
The Council reviewed Empire BC/BS's handling of a claim submitted by a periodontist for crown lengthening surgery. The patient's EOB simply stated that the procedure was not covered under the dental plan. However, upon further inquiry, Empire staff stated that the crown lengthening is usually billed as "part of the crown" and further stated that an "enormous" fee was charged. NJDA has not yet received a response to its request for an explanation of this incident.
Delta Dental recently provided new Dentist Handbooks which contain processing policies for Delta USA and Delta New Jersey groups to member dentists. Staff reported that Delta is now making a distinction between "denying" a procedure, in which case the fee may be collected from the patient, and "disallowing" a procedure, in which case neither Delta of the patient is liable for payment. Because the new policies are so extensive, the Council decided to review them thoroughly and send all comments to staff.

Dental Education Council-G. McLaughlin

The Council discussed a proposal by the Chairman and the NJDS Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Graduate Dental Education to develop and emergency loan program that would provide dental students with immediate assistance and a guarantee of repayment within three months. Loans would be in the amount not to exceed $1000, and would be repaid by the Office as soon as the school receives the student's financial aid. With each loan, the student would receive a letter from the Student Affairs office explaining that the loan was from NJDA. A resolution was made and approved by the NJDA Board of Trustees to take $10,000 from the NJDA Student Loan Fund in order to set up the short-term loan program at NJDS.
The Council had a long discussion on a state sponsored program that provides loan redemption to dental school graduates that are employed by a dental practice located in one of 39 New Jersey municipalities designated as medical/dental under served by the Commissioner of Health. Three important conditions for approval of the dental office are: (1) accept Medicaid as a form of reimbursement, (2) offer a sliding fee scale to families not eligible for Medicaid but below the poverty level, (3) provide a regular salary and fringe benefits package to the employee receiving forgiveness. To date five private offices and six public health dental clinics are approved as eligible job sites.
The Council reviewed a CE verification form that should be should be distributed after component CE courses and programs. The NJ State Board of Dentistry accepts the form as verification of meeting the requirements for relicensure.

Judicial Council-J. Fertig
The Judicial Council met and decided that both the Speaker of the House and the House of Delegates acted "responsibly" in passing the budget with the addition of the dues increase by better than a two-thirds majority.

Children's Dental Health Month-C. Brunsden
Forty schools participated in the poster contest. About 5000 posters were made, and 260 were honored at the awards ceremony on April 11, 1999.

MCDS Committee Reports:

Membership-N. Villa

We have twenty new members in MCDS this year.
Volunteers are needed to help with contacting members who have not yet paid their dues. Most of the people on the list have overlooked this responsibility and just need a gentle reminder from a friend.
The next meeting to invite nonmember prospects is September. These dentists will receive a newsletter in advance.

Peer Review-J. Fahsbender

There were six cases this month. All were settled in mediation.

Dinner Dance-H. Habas

There will be 102 members and spouses attending the dinner dance. There are more seats available that have already been paid for. A motion was made to offer those seats to the JFK and RWJUH dental residents at no charge. Vote unanimous. The committee will meet tonight to finalize the seating arrangements.

Continuing Education Committee-P. Engel

Sixty-two people are registered for the Gary Takacs course on April 21st. More registrations are expected.

Mentor Committee-E. Glickman

180 people are registered for the OSHA course on April 15th.
On June 22nd Collagenex will be sponsoring a course on FDA treatments for periodontal problems. Collagenex will be paying for the mailings, the food, etc. The course will be from 7-10pm and will be granted 3 CE credits.

New Business

Phil Cocuzza's grandson died. A motion was made to make a donation in his name to Deborah Hospital. Vote unanimous.

Respectfully submitted,

Bruce Huberman, DMD
Secretary

Back to the table of contents

Back to the Home Page

Treasurer's Report

Previous Balance (2/28/99)
48,540.48
Current Balance (3/31/99)
52,963.13

PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT
2/28/99 Through 3/31/99
INCOME:
Dues 2,260.00
Dinner Dance 5,300.00
Coporate Sponsorship-Dinner
Dance/Ad Journal 975.00
Corporate Sponsorship-Meetings 375.00
Corporate Sponsorthip-Newsletter 250.00
Total Income 9,160.00
EXPENSES:
Dinner Meetings 1,926.15
Newsletter 1,430.06
Lecture Fees 500.00
Executive Committee Dinner 247.09
Office Supplies 227.88
Staff Night 200.00
Plaques 84.72
Secretarial 77.00
Telephone 44.45
Total Expenses 4,737.35
Net 4,422.65

Back to the table of contents

Back to the Home Page

NJDA Board of Trustees Report

Components societies are not allowed to separately post minutes of the State Board of Trustees Report. You can now find the reports at http://www.njda.org/member/board_minutes/index.html.

Back to the table of contents

Back to the Home Page

Membership News

We have inducted 22 new members in MCDS thus far this year. Our four newest members are:
· Maged Ayad NYU Dental School '92, Eastman Dental Center-Periodontics and Biochemistry PhD '98. He practices on Rt. 27 in North Brunswick 732-940-0092.
· Mohinder Garg NYU Dental School '94, just opened a new office on Oak Tree Rd. in S. Plainfield 908-754-8881. He was previously an ADA member in Philadelphia.
· Kosmas Kasimatis UMDNJ Dental School '97 & GPR '98. He practices in Edison 732-393-1664.
· Essam Adly NYU Dental School '98, lives in Parlin and teaches at NYU. He is currently looking for a practice in NJ.
I was happy to be offered the position of Membership Council chair by Harris Colton and Howard Schwartz and gladly accepted the offer. Carmine LoMonaco will continue as chair of the statewide Outreach program in conjunction with the ADA.
Volunteers are needed to help with contacting members who have not yet paid their dues. Most of the people on the list have overlooked this responsibility and just need a gentle reminder from a friend.
The next meeting for us to invite nonmember prospects is September. These dentists will receive a newsletter in advance.

Back to the table of contents

Back to the Home Page

Articles

·Bill Prentice Esq. has left NJDA to join the ADA as a Senior Lobbyist. NJDA is currently interviewing for a replacement.
·The Blue Cross/Blue Shield settlement provides for the reinstatement of dentists previously excluded by a no cause clause by the elimination of the without cause termination provision from Blue Cross/ Blue Shield dentist participation agreements. Future terminations must be for cause with notice and a hearing at the option of the dentist.
·The NJDA Board of Trustees voted to nominate Philip J. Cocuzza for honorary membership. Mr. Cocuzza has served as Executive Director for 14 years. He will be retiring at the end of this year. (Editors Note: Mr. Cocuzza's grandson passed away as the newsletter was going to press. The Executive Council and all members of the MCDS extend their condolences to Mr. Cocuzza and his family)
·NJDA has been urged to write to ADA commenting on resolution 10-1998. This would allow foreign trained dentists to be licensed by credentials certified by another state, even if such state did not require graduation from an accredited dental school. We will offer an objection to this resolution.
·DELTA DENTAL PPO patients will now have access to the Delta Premier network of specialists, and those specialists treating PPO patients will be reimbursed at the Premier, rather than the PPO, level.
·Delta's Newly Issued "DENTIST HANDBOOK"- Staff reported that Delta is now making a distinction between "denying" a procedure, in which case the fee may be collected from the patient, and "disallowing" a procedure, in which case neither Delta nor the patient is liable for payment. For example, the fee for replacement of amalgam or composite restorations, same tooth and surface, is disallowed if done by the same dentist within 24 months of the original restoration. In some situations, the New Jersey Delta groups have less stringent limitations. In the restoration example cited, the replacement restoration would be disallowed if done within 12 months.
·Meeting with Medicaid Director- Staff reported on a meeting with the state's new Director of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. She appears to have little interest in the Medicaid dental program problems (either fee for service or under the managed care program), and echoed the previous Director's comments of "working it out with the HMO". Subsequent to the meeting, NJDA sent a letter requesting certain specific information regarding access to care and utilization.
·The Council on Dental Education brought forth a motion to the NJDA Board of Trustees that was adopted to appropriate $10,000 from the NJDA Emergency Student Loan Fund to create the program and fund at UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School entitled the NJDA Short Term Emergency Student Loan Fund. This will provide emergency funding to students during the approximately 2-3 months that it takes for their financial aid to come through.
·The Judicial Council met in April to look into an inquiry from Monmouth-Ocean County component that the $20 dues increase instituted by NJDA for 1999 was done with procedural errors and that the NJDA House violated the NJDA Bylaws. For the record the Judicial Council advisory opinion read as follows:
The Judicial Council finds that the House of Delegates acted reasonably when it passed a $20 dues increase as part of its budget approval process for the 1999 Budget. It finds further that there are ambiguities in the NJDA Bylaws concerning the budget and dues approval procedures and powers of the House and that the Committee on Rules and Order should address these ambiguities by proposing amendments to those sections of the Bylaws that deal with the 60 day notice provision as it pertains to the budget and dues, to those sections that deal with the House's ability to amend the Budget and/or dues without subsequent 60 day notice periods, and to such other sections as it seems appropriate.

MCDS Congratulates the following
members on recent milestones:

Dr. Arthur M. Greenwald-Honored by JFK Medical Center recently for 25 years of service.

Dr. George McLaughlin-George is stepping down form his position of State Chairman, NJDA Council on Dental Education after representing MCDS and NJDA with distinction. We thank George for his contributions to Dental Education on our behalf over the years.

Dr. Nancy Villa- Our own Membership Chairperson has been appointed NJDA Membership Chairperson. Nancy has brought creativity and innovation to the recruitment and retention of members in Middlesex with great success. We congratulate her and wish her luck in accomplishing the same goals on the State level.

When we examine our MCDS budget, next to our dinner meetings, the newsletter is our biggest consistent annual expense. Whereas our dinner meeting costs will only increase in time, we have seized the opportunity to lower the operating costs of the newsletter through a proposal that was unanimously approved by the MCDS Executive Council and the membership at our January meeting.
Maintaining the quality and consistency of the newsletter as we go into the next century, while cutting costs and turn around time, was the goal of this proposal. Due to technological advances and the decreasing costs of hardware and software, we have begun to fabricate our newsletter in house. As a result, we have reorganized and redistributed the editors' responsibilities so as to not leave this arduous task for only one person.
Effective this issue, we have 3 editors. I am remaining as Content Editor and continue to put the newsletter together as I have been doing. As Business Editor, Ross Kline handles the burgeoning task of advertiser relations and ad allocations. Finally, Bob Silverstein assumes the role of Layout and Design Editor, taking on the responsibilities previously held by our printer. Although Bob has been the founder and editor of our web site for several years, we have not efficiently utilized his vast knowledge of hardware and software systems...until now.
Through Bob's initiative, the purchase of our own MCDS high capacity, newsletter quality HP Color Laserjet Printer along with a service contract to assure uninterrupted use will bring the cost of printing our newsletter down to approximately $410/issue compared to the previous cost of $1500-1800/issue. Although the initial startup costs are high (approx. $9000 for hardware, software and printing supplies), these costs have not jeopardized MCDS's fiscal soundness; and at $1000-1400 savings per issue with 8 issues/year, our savings will be realized at the beginning of the second year of in house production. At that point our savings, based on previous costs, will be approx. $8-10,000 per year. This does not take into account additional income the newsletter receives from advertising revenue.
As you can see from the looks of this issue, the newsletter has added color photos and has not lost the professional quality that it established through its relationship with Highland Printing. Highland Printing deserves recognition for helping us put together a consistent quality product for many years and our decision to produce our newsletter in house was primarily a fiscal decision, not based on any dissatisfaction with our relationship with the printer. Wishing all of you and your families a happy and healthy summer,
Mitchell L. Weiner D.M.D.
Content Editor

Back to the table of contents

Back to the Articles Table of Contents

Announcements

MCDS members may attend general meetings of all component societies in the state and receive continuing education credit for the program (course) portion of the evening. Component Societies are providing this feature as a benefit Of membership. Individuals wishing to purchase dinner must reserve prior to the meeting by calling the contact person indicated. A complete listing of programs can be found in the members only CE section of the NJDA website (www.njda.org). Be advised that programs involving NJDA officers and staff may not be eligible for credit. Licensees may utilize 7 credits per licensing cycle in practice management courses.

The NJDA Council on New Dentists will be sponsoring a reduced fee course at the annual session in Atlantic City, Saturday, May 22nd. Featuring Dr. Karl Leinfelder: "Clinical Evaluation of Restorative Systems"

All members 10 years out of dental school or less can attend the full day course for only $90.

More details to come in future issues.

Don't Forget These Great Member Benefits

MCDS WEB SITE - (password and user name assigned by Diane Davis at NJDA: 732-821-9400).

MCDS VIDEO LIBRARY - at St. Peter's Hospital - all you need as a MCDS member is a valid ADA membership card to access the extensive video collection.

LAWLINE - Remember LAWLINE if you have a legal question related to your dental practice. As a continuing member benefit, NJDA's General Counsel, Arthur Meisel, Esq. is always available to confer, at no cost, with members.

If you have a question or need assistance, call Mr. Meisel at his direct-dial number (732) 422-2730 or (732) 821-9400 (NJDA).