Back to the table of contentsOfficers Meeting and New Life Membership Presentations || President's Message || MCDS Board of Trustees / Committee Reports
Treasurer's Report Detail || Announcements/Articles
For pictures and advertisements, see the newsletter in PDF format
Come hear the stories behind the legislative and legal battles won on your behalf by NJDA this year from the dedicated officers. This annual event is an opportunity to meet the NJDA Directors and General Counsel and to witness first hand their dedication to our members. You will never ask the question, “What is organized dentistry doing for me?” after this evening. It will provide you with the opportunity to learn how to use NJDA’s vast resources to get the most of your membership. In addition, a special presentation to our deserving New Life Members will be featured.
The following MCDS members have achieved life membership this year. They have shown a steadfast dedication to their profession and organized dentistry over their careers. They will be formally inducted as life members at this month’s dinner meeting. Each new life member was asked to submit biographical information that is included below, recognizing that such limited space cannot do justice to all of their professional and personal achievements. If members did not submit any information, their biographies were written using information available to the editors.
Peter L. Clemente
Dr. Peter Clemente was born in 1941 in Jackson Heights, Queens and earned a B.S in Pharmacy from UMDNJ in 1965. He is a registered pharmacist in the state of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. He graduated with a DMD degree from the same school in 1970 and went on to attend the post graduate certificate program in Orthodontics from UMDNJ, earning a specialty license in 1972. Dr. Clemente practiced with Dr. Bernard Swain in Morristown for 2 years and opened his private practice in Piscataway. Subsequently, he expanded his practice to New Brunswick and Bound Brook where he continues to practice until this day. He is a member of the ADA, NJDA, MCDS, AAO, MASO and the American Pharmaceutical Association. Dr. Clemente taught at Fairleigh Dickenson Dental School from 1987-89 as an associate professor in Orthodontics. He has been active in organized dentistry throughout his career being the past president of UMDNJ alumni association and the NJDA representative to the UMDNJ Foundation for the last ten years. He has served as the State Trustee for Middlesex County and is presently MCDS’s ADA Alternate Delegate. Dr. Clemente is a Rotarian and lives with his wife Joan in Belle Meade. He has two children and six grandchildren.
Edward Gewiss
Dr. Edward Gewiss graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ-New Jersey Dental School in 1969. He is an active member of the association, engaged in the practice of general dentistry in Old Bridge.
Carl Langbert
Dr Carl Langbert was born in New York City in 1941. He attended Colgate University in 1963 and earned his DMD from University of Pennsylvania in 1967. He served as a Captain in the US Army from 1967-1973 and was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his service in Vietnam in the 44th Medical Brigade. Upon his return from Vietnam in 1969, he went into private practice in Highland Park and still practices at the same location. He teaches at the department of Operative Dentistry at UMDNJ and has played an active role in dental advocacy. He chaired the ADA and the NJDA council on Governmental affairs and Federal Dental Services. He also chaired the NJ Dental Political Action Committee. Dr Langbert is a member of the ADA, NJDA and MCDS and is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists and the International Fellow of Dentists. He resides in East Brunswick with his wife Barbara who is a speech therapist with the New Brunswick Board of Education. He has two children and 4 grandchildren. He loves what he does and hopes to continue the practice of dentistry for as long as possible.
John D. Lawson, Jr.
Dr. Douglas Lawson was born in Staten Island in 1941 and attended Wagner College in 1963 for his BS degree. He earned his DDS from University of Maryland in 1967. He served the Army for two years between 1967 -69 and was stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky. He maintained a private practice as a partner with the North Brunswick Dental Group and is a member of the American Dental Association and the New Jersey Dental Association. He is currently retired and lives with his wife Carolyn in East Brunswick. They have three sons and one daughter. Dr Lawson and his wife enjoy spending time with their six grandchildren.
Joseph J. Lukacs, Jr.
Dr. Joseph J. Lukacs. Jr. was born in 1941 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. After attending college at the University of Delaware, he earned his DMD from NJ College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1967. He served the US Army for 2 years as Captain of the US Army Dental Corp 10th Dental Detachment in Korea and thereafter at the Walston Army Hospital, Fort Dix. He went into private practice in 1969 and relocated his practice to Milltown in 1981 when he joined his brother Dr. Martin A. Lukacs. During this time, he was involved in community service as a member of the Highland Park Boro Council and was elected to the Board of Directors of Magyar Bank. He was also actively involved as the director of Dental Services at Roosevelt hospital for over 20 years. Dr Lukacs retired from private practice in 2001 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Magyar Bank. He continues to serve his community as Chairman of the Milltown Board of Health. He resides in Milltown with his wife Patricia and has a daughter Kathleen Tober. He is the proud grandfather of John Peter Tober.
George C. McLaughlin
Dr. McLaughlin received his DMD degree from UMDNJ in 1975. He is Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists. He maintains a private general practice in New Brunswick, NJ.
He serves as Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry and Community Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. McLaughlin is president of the New Jersey Dental School Academic Assembly, where he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Office of Minority Affairs. He is the current dental school representative to the Affirmative Action Council, which reports directly to the UMDNJ Board of Trustees. He serves on Delta Dental’s Dental Advisory and Policy Committee. He is past president of two statewide dental organizations: Commonwealth Dental Society of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Academy of General Dentistry. In addition, he has chaired the New Jersey Dental Association Council on Dental Education, the New Jersey Academy of General Dentistry Committee on Constitution and Bylaws and, in his community, serves on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and Board of Trustees of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, NJ. He was honored at the Black History Month Celebration “Keeping The Dream Alive” on February 22, 2005. Co-sponsored by the Newark Municipal Council and UMDNJ, the ceremony was held at the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ.
Vincent C. Noonan
Dr. Noonan was born in 1941 in Passaic, NJ and graduated with a B.S from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1963. He earned his DDS from the University of Maryland in 1966 and went on to serve two years in the Air Force. He started his practice in North Brunswick in 1968 and his partner, Dr. Kevin Dembinski joined him in 1986. They continue to practice together until the present time.
Besides belonging to the ADA, NJDA and the Middlesex County Dental Society, Dr. Noonan was a member of the Academy of General Dentistry for over twenty-five years and a member and past president of the Brunswick Dental Study Club for over twenty years.
Dr. Noonan and his wife Janice have been married for forty-two years and live in Princeton. They have three children and six grandchildren. He has always enjoyed sports especially squash and tennis and has competed in many marathons and triathlons.
In approaching the end of his dental career, Dr. Noonan looks back fondly on many of the associations he has had with his dental colleagues.
David G. Rabinowitz
Dr. David Rabinowitz was born in Brooklyn in 1941. He attended Yeshiva University and earned his DDS from Baltimore College of Dentistry, University of Maryland in 1966. He served the US Army between 1966 - 68 and was the acting Jewish chaplain for a year during that time. He provided dental services in Fort Riley, Kansas, for 2 years. He went into private practice in 1968 and has been working in his current location of Monroe Township since 1985. He now has an associate Dr. Sarah Klerer. His practice primarily caters to the geriatric population and Dr. Rabinowitz has lectured extensively on geriatric dentistry to local study clubs, dental hygienists and the annual NJDA meetings at Atlantic city. He is a member of ADA, NJDA and MCDS organizations. He also holds membership to the New Jersey Oral Health Coalition as well as the Sjogrens Syndrome organization. He was the co-founder and the first president of the Brunswick Dental Study Club.
At the community level, Dr Rabinowitz served on the Board of Directors of Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva and the East Brunswick Jewish Center. He was the co-founder and first president of the Young Israel of East Brunswick.
How resides in East Brunswick with his wife Ellen. He has 7 children ( Shari, Ben, Lisa, Stephen, Michael, Scott and Eric) and nine grandchildren. A soon-to-be –born grandchild is excitedly awaited! Dave can be reached at [email protected].
Michael Schemick, Jr.
Dr. Michael Schemick was born in New Brunswick, NJ in 1941. He served in the US Naval Reserve between 1961 – 1969 and the US Army Reserve between 1979 – 1993. He retired as a Lt. Colonel from the US Army. Dr Schemick attended Duke University and obtained his DMD in 1965 from UMDNJ. He went into private practice in 1969 and continues to enjoy it part time. His practice is located in North Brunswick. He also worked as a staff dentist with the State of NJ, in the New Lisbon Developmental Center and is currently retired from that post. Dr Schemick is a member of the ADA, NJDA and the MCDS and was formerly a member of the Southern Association of Institutional Dentists (SAID) and the NJ Academy of Developmental Medicine (NJADM). He resides in North Brunswick with his wife Sarah and has two children, Carolyn and Andrew, and one grandchild.
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11/14/06
Attendance: Ashmen, Brunsden, Courey, Galkin, Glickman, Kahn, Leizer, Patel, Prabhu, Rosen, Savage, Shah, Silverstein, Simos, Stein, Villa, Vitale, Weiner
Acceptance of minutes: vote unanimous
President’s Report: Bob Silverstein
There are 7 dentists who were members in 2005 who have not renewed for 2006. Scott Galkin has this list and will follow up as necessary. Mitch Weiner and Dan Krantz will represent us on the NJDA Council of Nominations at the January 24, 2007 meeting to nominate the new NJDA officers.
Treasurer’s Report: Scott Galkin
See full report page 3.
Website Editor’s Report: Bob Silverstein
We now have about 500 mailings for each newsletter issue. For reference, in January 2004, the number of mailings was 431. So far, 4 people, including myself, have signed up to get the newsletter online. The more people that sign up for this, the less we will spend in postage, printing costs and secretarial work, and the less time it will take to get the printed version out to the rest of the membership. Currently, I am able to get the newsletter posted to the web site close to 2 weeks sooner than the printed version arrives in the mail.
Program Chairperson’s Report: Bob Ashmen
The all-day lecture presented by Dr. Damon Adams successfully
occurred on 11/8/06, sponsored by Excel/Berger Dental Laboratories. We had 60 people attend (including doctors and staff members).
ADA Delegate’s Report: Joel Leizer
See full report on page 8.
NJDA Trustee’s Report: Nancy Villa
See NJDA Noteworthy News on page 5.
NJDA Council Reports:
Governmental and Public Affairs: Mitch Weiner
See full report on page 5.
Membership: Scott Galkin
The membership committee is still enacting the new member welcoming program, which has been very well received. Also, the next new member study club meeting will be held in December. Lastly, we will be cosponsoring the NJDA weekend study club program that features three of our members that will speak; Drs. Brunsden, Habas, and Weiner. This program will take place on Saturday, December 9th at NJDA headquarters.
Membership-MCDS Study Club: Ethan Glickman
The MCDS Study Club met on Thursday evening, October 26, 2006 at the Clarion Hotel, Edison, NJ. This was our 3rd meeting. Nine MCDS members attended the round-table dinner discussion format. We all found this format to be very lively and informative. We scheduled our 4th meeting for Wednesday, December 13, 2006, and the 5th meeting will be held on Thursday, February 8, 2007. These next two meetings will be held at the Clarion Hotel, Edison, NJ and will start at 6:30 PM for dinner. We invite all MCDS members, who are interested, to join us for these next two meetings. Our plan is to start additional MCDS Study Clubs as the need arises. We will limit each MCDS Study Club to 15 MCDS members so that the round-table dinner discussion format is manageable. Please call Marlene Glickman, our MCDS Secretary at 732-238-1255, to sign up in advance to attend the next MCDS Study Club meetings.
Peer Review: John Fahsbender, Mark Vitale
NJDA peer review had its annual training on November 1st. The MCDS peer review members were in attendance. 2 cases were sent in for mediation. One was resolved and one is pending.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorships: Constantine Simos
Zila was considering sponsoring this month’s meeting but will defer until a meeting when Oral Cancer screening is the primary topic. Sunstar Butler will be sponsoring our speaker in February.
Mentor: Ethan Glickman
The OSHA Seminar was presented at St. Peter’s Medical Center on November 9, 2006. We had 36 Dentists and 58 staff in attendance. This program satisfied the OSHA standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens, which is required annually for dentists and staff. Each office person trained received certification that they have been properly instructed for this OSHA regulation on Infection Control. Two CEU credits were awarded to those attending this 2-hour seminar. This seminar is available to our members as a member benefit of MCDS. Our next OSHA Seminar will be held in June 2007- see future Newsletters
New Business:
• Dr. Silverstein made a motion to spend up to $5000 on a new printer for the Society. The current one has had numerous problems and needs to be replaced. The motion passed unanimously.
• Dr. Ashmen made a motion to purchase an LCD projector. The motion was tabled so that Dr. Silverstein can research different models for the Board’s consideration.
• The Executive Secretary requested and was granted a cost of living increase. This was unanimously approved.
Dr. Ashmen asked if staff should be invited to all CE courses unless specifically exempted by the speaker. This was tabled until the next meeting.
Good and Welfare:
The Board was pleased to have Dr. Shalin Shah, an RWJ resident, in attendance at this meeting. Volunteering your time to our society is encouraged because your opinions offer us a fresh perspective and are counted upon as valuable assets.
Respectfully submitted,
Maya Prabhu,
Secretary
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(9/30/06-10/31/06)
Checking 1,325.66 4,034.82
Savings 52,645.36 43,882.59
CD (5.25%) 25,000.00 25,000.00
(matures 3/16/07)
TOTAL: 78,971.02 72,917.41
P&L STATEMENT CHECKING ACCOUNT
(9/30/06-10/31/06)
INCOME
CONT.EDUC. 3,820.00
CORP SPON 1,000.00
DUES 625.00
INTEREST 1.11
MENTOR COMM 1,065.00
TOTAL INCOME 6,511.11
EXPENSES
BOARD MEMBER EXP 367.61
CONT. EDUC.-EXP 1,100.00
DINNER MEETINGS 9,123.96
DUES REFUND 150.00
EXECCOMDINNER 517.11
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY 525.00
NEWSLETTER 930.65
TELEPHONE 6.13
TOTAL EXPENSES 12,720.46
TRANSFERS
From Savings 14,918.51
To Savings -6,000.00
Total Transfers 8,918.51
OVERALL TOTAL 2,709.16
P&L SAVINGS ACCOUNT
(9/30/06-10/31/06)
INCOME
INTEREST 158.74
TOTAL INCOME 158.74
EXPENSES
BANK CHARGES 3.00
TOTAL EXPENSES 3.00
TRANSFERS
From Checking 6,000.00
To Checking -14,918.51
TOTAL TRANSFERS -8,918.51
OVERALL TOTAL -8,762.77
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ADA Annual Session
1- President-Elect 2006-2007 is Mark Feldman from New York
2- Vice-President election was won by Jane Grover from Michigan. She will serve a two year term on the Board of Trustees.
3- Dues for the current year will be $489
RESOLUTIONS:
PRIORITY ITEMS:
6RC- Election protocol for a tie vote for an elected officer position – Passed
41- Integrated Public Affairs Plan- a nationally coordinated, state targeted public affairs plan targeting the states that most need the help in dealing with advocacy issues such as environmental issues, scope of practice concerns, freedom to choose safe and effective restorative materials, community water fluoridation, access to care. The objective is to provide the best possible health care to the greatest number of people.
The resolution calls for the development of success measures and report back to the HOD each year with recommended changes.
Cost of the program is 3.8 million dollars.- Passed
3RC- Expanded Duties for Allied Dental Personnel- This is to be used as a model for states to implement whichever parts they fell that they want. This is a result of the work of the Workforce Task Force.
It calls for expanded duties of dental assistant, and hygienist. The creation of an Oral Prevention Assistant (OPA) and Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC)- These positions can be used to expand Treatment options to the underserved population.- Passed
25RC- Community Dental Health Coordinator Proposal- calls for the ADA to establish a National Coordinating and Development Committee to create a (CDHC) model training program.- Passed
COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP SERVICES:
26 – Amend ADA bylaws regarding the duties of the Council on Communications – Passed
27 S-1 – Calls for the Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations, Council on Scientific Affairs, and the Council on Dental Practice to invite and urge ADPAC to invite the Council on Communications to establish a formal liaison relationship through the 2008 HOD in order for these agencies to pilot the enhanced exchange of information on the external image and brand implications of their decisions.- Passed
29- Calls for the Council on Communications to develop success measures in 2007 for its new role and responsibilities- Passed
32RC- Membership Study Proposal- Passed the portion of the resolution which deals with the Dentist member ( Dentist, Graduate Student, Supporting Professional Member, Pre-doctoral Student ).
Referred back to council the portion of the resolution which would create membership categories for non-dentists (assistants, hygienist, etc.)
68- Duties of the Speaker of the House- Eliminated the portion of the duties which called for the speaker to cast a vote in the case of a tie vote in the house. – Passed
56 – Assistance to Foreign Dentists and the people in Iraq and Afghanistan- Called for the sending of dental goods and supplies to these countries- Referred back to council because of the difficulty in getting these goods into the countries as well as the duties charged when these goods enter the countries involved.
59B- BOT to provide HOD in 2007 a plan for the implementation of its issues management process. – Passed
64- Study of the Strategic Planning Process- Defeated
32-2005- Reduced dues for full-time dental school faculty- Defeated.
DENTAL BENEFITS, PRACTICE, SCIENCE AND Health
14c- Limited Oral Health Literacy in Adults- Calls for CAPIR and other ADA agencies to work together with the health care community to increase awareness that oral health literacy is limited in many adults.- Passed
17RC- Formation of a 3 year Ad Hoc Oral Health Literacy Committee, not to exceed 12 national health literacy experts appointed by the ADA President. This committee is to help CAPIR develop policy and educational strategies to address the issue.- Passed
5RC- Strategies to Address the Oral Health Issues of Vulnerable Elders- Intended to encourage legislators to make this issue a priority. Encourage constituents and Components to aid in this effort. BOT to report to the HOD in 2007 as to the status of this initiative- Passed
30- Adds $ 350,000.00 to the budget to further fund a DR Marketing Campaign. This is in addition to the $ 500,000.00 already budgeted for 2007.- Passed
45- Formation of a dental benefit electronic transaction card pilot program.- Defeated
44B- Dental Benefits for Dental Tourists- Those people going outside the USA for dental care – The ADA is to research the issues regarding service levels, quality, reimbursement and ethics, especially those associated with problems related to the payment of claims to non-U.S. practitioners.
ADA to speak to benefits administrators and representatives of the dental insurance industry- Report back to the 2007 HOD-Passed
60 RC- Develop a consensus statement by working together with national medical associations, dental specialty organizations and other organizations of interest representing a broad range of physicians and other health care experts, in order to support existing ADA policy that validates the need for medical insurance coverage for medically necessary services associated with dental treatment. This includes , but not limited to, care for infants, children, adolescents, elders and patients with disabilities.- Passed
58 RC- ADA seek federal and urge constituent societies to seek state statutory change to mandate that necessary dental treatment which is considered an integral part of the treatment of a diagnosed medical disease be offered coverage under third-party medical payees contract.- This was referred back to the appropriate agencies for study.
69- ADA investigate the feasibility of requesting Federal or State agencies to require that a subcontracting dental laboratory notify the dentist in advance when prosthetics, components or materials are to be manufactured or provided by a foreign dental lab or any ancillary dental lab. Report findings to the 2007 HOD.
24 RC- Principles for Pay for Performance (P4P) Program- The ADA has come up with 10 principles that they feel should be adhered to by any organization designing a P4p program. These principles try to maintain the quality of care, consideration of the needs of the patient, should be based on valid science, be accepted by the dental community.
The ADA will continue to monitor and evaluate P4P programs being implemented in dental benefit plans.- Passed.
43- The ADA favors all reasonable efforts that would ensure humane treatment of laboratory animals in research. It opposes the enactment of restrictive legislation that would hamper investigation or impede the progress of research.- Passed
DENTAL EDUCATION AND RELATED MATTERS
1- Policy statement on continuing education- Passed
9- Adds recognition of dental specialties as a duty of the Council on Dental Education and Licensure.
Defeated the clause which would give it power to recognize non-specialty interest areas in general dentistry.
12BS-1- Definition of Public Health Supervision of a Licensed Dental Hygienist- The hygienist works with general oversight of the program by a licensed dentist designated by the state.
34S-1- Definition of Curriculum Integrated Format- Referred to the appropriate agency with a mandate to develop a definition of curriculum integrated format and the necessary steps for the communities of interest to implement such an evaluation.
49B- Res. 82H-1996 which established the composition of the continuing education subcommittee (ADA CERP Committee) be referred to the Council on Dental Education and Licensure for review. Get input from a focus group of meeting planners and report back to the 2007 HOD.- Passed
LEGAL AND LEGISLATIVE MATTERS
31RC- Appropriate agencies of the association should investigate, develop and support new or enhanced programs and incentives for post-dental school programs and clinical experiences for recent graduates of CODA accredited dental schools as well as CODA accredited recognized dental specialty programs, to work in remote American Indian/Alaska Native communities.
Support opportunities for retired dentists to work in these areas. Passed
79-2005B- ADA to make lobbying for adequate funds to provide oral health care to the Medicaid and other indigent care population the highest priority. Constituents and components are urged to do the same on a state and local level.
Educate the public and government agencies of the value of oral health care and the consequences of untreated dental disease to the overall health of our citizens and health care payment system.
The appropriate ADA agency should study how to improve accountability and responsibility of the recipients of the care.
46 RC- Reauthorization of Alaska Task Force- Defeated
47- Independent review of Alaska Dental Heath Aid Therapist issue- Defeated
48- Dissemination of Information Contrary to Science- ADA urges constituent and component societies to rely on peer-reviewed science, as relevant, when advocating positions with state and local government authorities.
NEW BUSINESS
70- ADA urges its members to give priority treatment times for veterans returning from deployment in a combat zone.
NJDA Noteworthy News
The Honorable Mike Leavitt Secretary of Health and Human Services gave a presentation at the ADA’s House of Delegates meeting. His concern is that our health care system is cost-blind and quality-deaf. He thinks that we need a system of competition in health care that is based on value -- which is a combination of quality and price. The four necessary cornerstones of this system that he described were:
1. Connected interoperable electronic health records
2. An independent assessment of the care a patient receives based on a standard set by medical specialists in the field
3. Information on the cost of care that is understandable and comparable
4. Competition incentives motivate. Given reliable information about quality and cost, patients, doctors, hospitals, and payers will make decisions that improve quality and reduce the cost overall.
Items voted on at the House of Delegates:
1. The Editor has been given the right to vote at board mtgs. (Most of the trustees were surprised that the Editor didn’t already have this right.)
2. Officers can now vote at the nomination meeting as substitute for the trustee and/or the designated representative (this leaves the same number of votes as before, but the most experienced members of the component on the board get to vote).
3. NJDA is writing a proposal for a limited license for insurance company consultants and also an additional position on the board for a NJ licensed DDS who is also a consultant. This new addition to the board would be omitted during any sensitive ins. co. decisions (the same as other board members). This proposed bill would not pass without being balanced as it is. The proposed change will better serve patients in the long run by making the consultants accountable for their decisions. When a claim is denied, the name and contact info for the consultant will be available.
4. Dentists who sign a Peer Review contract and do not abide by the final decision will be reported to the State Board.
5. The name of the Council on Governmental Affairs will be changed to the Council on Governmental and Public Affairs. The main reason for this change is that the legislators (and the public) are usually unaware of all the good things that dentists are doing. A positive public image will likely influence the direction of future legislation.
Membership & Committee on New Dentists
1. Membership is up again. We have 4727 members now and had 4663 at year end last year.
2. New dentists are most interested in spending their time with other new dentists. They are willing to meet, but do not want to spent the entire meeting with the more established dentists. A pilot project has been discussed for components to get all of the new dentists together with each other before the general meeting. NJDA will reimburse up to $100 for related expenses.
State Board of Dentistry—The Dental Hygiene Association is proposing three changes:
1. To add a second RDH position on the state board
2. To allow administration of local anesthesia by a RDH –may pass since 40 other states already allow this.
3. To allow the RDH to work in a dental office with general supervision. In other words, when the DDS is not present.
Council on Governmental and Public Affairs
- Dental Consultant Legislation (A.2134/S.1896): A compromise agreement between the dental insurers and the NJDA is being negotiated. Nonetheless, the bill will require that if any adverse determination regarding a NJ patient be made by either a licensed NJ dentist or a dentist with a license in good standing in another state that is registered with the NJ State Board of Dentistry. The term ‘adverse determination’ does not include policy related decisions regarding a claim (e.g.-a crown is not covered based on the terms of the plan) only diagnostic determinations. In addition, this legislation, if enacted, will only apply to insurance carriers (MetLife, Delta, Cigna, Aetna, Horizon, etc.) and third party administrators, but not self-funded plans. Those entities are not entities regulated state law but by federal law.
- Amalgam Separator Regulation- The Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has proposed new rules that will require any dental facility (including hospitals, clinics and private practices) that places and removes amalgam to follow a Best Management Practices (BMPs) for amalgam waste within one year of the adoption of the rule and place an amalgam separator in the facility within two years of the adoption of the rule. This regulation will mostly affect GP’s because a number of specialties have been exempted from the rule including endodontists, oral surgeons, periodontists and orthodontists. The deadline for installation in offices will likely be March 2009 and the deadline for adhering to the BMPs will likely be March 2008.
- NJDA has worked tirelessly to repeal the Cosmetic Medical Procedures Gross Receipts Tax law with a coalition of specialty physicians. Unfortunately, after gaining tremendous momentum in both houses of the NJ legislature, Governor Corzine signaled that he did not favor the repeal in this climate.
- The NJ Commissioner of Health, Fred Jacobs, stated at a Public Health Council meeting that smoking should be banned in Casinos and that fluoride should be added to NJ drinking water. This is an unprecedented statement by a NJ Commissioner of Health. Regardless, these comments have to meet with the Governor’s approval for things to move forward on a legislative or regulatory front.
- The Limited Teaching Certificate Legislation proposed by UMDNJ-NJDS is only in the very early stages and has a very long way to go in the legislative process. There is no Senate companion legislation. Moreover, to date, the bill has not been considered by any legislative committee.
- Some very anti-business legislative proposals are being ‘floated around’ by Governor Corzine and the Legislature with regard to the property tax reform initiative that is being discussed in Trenton. One proposal would impose a 2-½ percent gross receipts tax on service-oriented businesses such as accountants, architects, engineers, attorneys and possibly physicians and dentists. Another proposal being discussed is to changing a “Parity Clause” in state Constitution that requires municipalities to tax residential and commercial properties at the same rate when calculating property tax rates. The proposal would remove the “Parity Clause” to allow municipalities to charge a higher property tax rate in order to subsidize a residential property tax relief program. The NJDA is closely following both of these proposals and is prepared to join forces with other business organizations to fight back these ideas.
- NJDA President Bob Shekitka has proposed to reconstitute the Council on Governmental Affairs to the ‘Council on Public Affairs’ and expand its role by developing a more communicative and grassroots focus behind the lobbying activities.
Attention:
Volunteers needed for
local MCDS Community
Outreach Oral Cancer
Screenings.
If interested in helping with this
worthwhile cause,
call Marlene at 732-238-1255
MCDS member seeking part-time associate position in and around Woodbridge,NJ area.
Please contact:
Sumathi Chandrashekhar, DMD
Phone: 607-341-1172(Cell)
email: [email protected]
On Feb 7th 2007 PCDS will be running a CE seminar entitled Modern
Pedodontics for the General Practitioner and Staff. The seminar will be
at the Grand Chalet, Route 23S, Wayne and will run from 8am until noon.
The cost is $75pp for NJDA members and $35pp for their staff -
continental breakfast and 4 CE credits included! The brochure can be
obtained by calling PCDS at 973-812-1101 or e-mailing PCDS at
[email protected].
Free Day of Children’s Dental Care to Reach
5th year, 10,000th child and $2M Mark
The annual Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) day will take place on Friday, February 2, 2007. The program, which has treated more than 7,500 children in New Jersey since it began in 2003, offers one free day of dental care for the state’s underprivileged children. Services range from screenings to hygiene education to emergency dental treatment. Parents, schools, community and religious groups, Head Start programs and dental professionals looking to volunteer can visit the program’s website (www.njda.org/gkas) for information about sites in their geographic areas and volunteer opportunities. They can also call the GKAS hotline at (888) 576-9278, leave their information and an NJDA staff member will return the call within 48 hours.