Gerald Iacovano is the managing dirctor of LLI Advisory Group and heads the Firm’s Healthcare division. For more than twenty years, Gerald has been specializing in accounting, taxation, estate and financial planning for healthcare practitioners. Licensed in both New York and New Jersey, Gerald is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the New York State Society of CPAs. He has served on the New York State Society’s Personal Financial Planning committee and written articles for the CPA Journal and the NJDA. He has lectured frequently to professional organizations, medical and dental schools on topics such as year-end tax planning , estate planning, practice transitions and practice start-ups.
This discussion will focus on various tactics designed to assist the dental practitioner with year-end tax issues related to their business as well as strategies to help them individually. We will also touch on basic retirement and estate planning and the current marketplace and tax implications of dental practice transitions.

The year at Middlesex County Dental Society is off to a great start. The first dinner meeting at the Pines Manor started with a great member turnout. The Lecture by Dr. Alan Meltzer, on immediate placement and loading of dental implants, was a great example of how much protocols in implant dentistry have changed over the last several years. Several new members were introduced as well as the residents from Robert Wood Johnson and JFK residency programs. Many corporate sponsors were also present and we greatly appreciate their support.
At the October Middlesex County Dental Society Board Meeting, we had two visitors from NJDA attend our meeting. Mr. Arthur Meisel and Nicole Schneekloth discussed the NJDA’s ideas to help work with component societies to improve marketing efforts. They enjoyed meeting with our component and had mentioned that we had very good ideas to help with this new program.
On September 25th 2013, I attended the third annual National Rural Health Day. The event was organized by the Zufall Health Center in Cooperation with Delta Dental of New Jersey and Warren County Community College. Free medical and dental screenings and services were provided to the rural population of northwest NJ. Their seem to be several events annually that involve volunteers to donate a small amount of time to help people in need. I urge everyone that when possible, to take the time to participate in these events. Another recent news article that I read on CNN, mentioned that the amount of emergency room visits from dental pain and infection, has increased form 1,000,000 visits to 2,300,000 visits over the course of 1 year. This demonstrates that the systems in place to deliver dental care to the general public, constantly needs to be reviewed and improved.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the November general membership meeting at the Pines Manor. At this time I would also like to wish everyone and their families a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving and holiday season. In January, the general membership meeting at the Pines Manor will include the NJDA Officer’s visit and the induction of Middlesex County Dental Society’s Life Members.

Attendance: Dr.’s Stein, Ashmen, Fernandes, Brunsden, Villa, Satwah, Silverstein, Mir-Madjlessi, Bernstein, Glickman, Kahn, Krantz, Modi, Brown and Marlene Glickman. Special guests-Art Meisel and Nicole Schneekloth from NJDA.
As a special order of business, Art and Nicole met with MCDS Board to discuss there is a decrease in membership nationally. They are meeting with various components to make a collaborative and collective marketing effort. Several constructive ideas were offered.
Acceptance of 9/10/13 Minutes- vote unanimous after the following correction: Dr. Bernstein name was accidentally omitted from the attendance.
President’s Report-David Stein
Staff night ideas are being considered.
Treasurer’s Report-Amit Vora
See detailed report on page 3.
Secretary’s Report-Devang Modi
Minutes of the meeting will be submitted to the Board for review and correction prior to newsletter going to print.
Educational Coordinator’s Report-Genevieve Fernandes
On October 15th, Dr. Vincent Ziccardi will be speaking on the Management of Trigeminal Nerve Injuries. At the November 19th general meeting, Mr. Gerard Iacovano, CPA will speak on various tactics designed to assist the dental practitioner with year-end tax issues related to their business as well as strategies to help them individually. He will also touch on basic retirement and estate planning and the current marketplace and tax implications of dental practice transitions.
Website Editors Report-Robert Silverstein
I am looking into having our web site hosted by a different host to lower these costs (about $20 per month vs $7).
ADA Delegate’s Report-Daniel Krantz
Former President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at this years ADA Annual meeting in New Orleans. 2014 meeting will take place in San Antonio and 2015 meeting in Washington D.C.
NJDA Trustee’s Report-Mitch Weiner
NJDA Board of Trustees Meeting Sept 25, 2013
-Dean Feldman from Rutgers School of Dental Medicine gave an update to the board on the dental school. The transition to Rutgers creates many possibilities for collaborative efforts including materials research with the engineering school, business school partnerships as well as a possible masters in forensics partnered with the school of criminal justice. These are just in the exploratory stages and are not being implemented at this time.
-After presentations from representatives of the NJ Association of Orthodontists and the NJ Academy of Pediatric Dentistry concerning their requests for amending the scope of their specialist auxiliaries’ duties, the board voted to TABLE a yea or nay vote on these matters.
-October 9th at NJDA will be a Business to Business Breakfast with our Endorsed Programs followed by a Leadership Conference. Jan 15, 2014 will be the next Leadership Conference.
-The tremendous financial savings afforded ADA members on Term Life Insurance through Great-West will be more prominently marketed as a tangible member-only benefit.
-Although all state Assembly and Senate seats as well as the Governor position are up for grabs in the upcoming election, PAC funding in this very important year is noticeably down, especially among ortho and OMFS specialists who have given at club levels in the past. The strength of our advocacy is in direct proportion to the funding of our PAC, which doesn’t buy votes but gives us access to make our case to the legislators who will decide our fate.
-Affordable Care Act: Health Insurance premiums for self-employed dentists (small employers) are going sky high. Some tax credits will be offered for providing health insurance for employees but these will be more than offset by the increase in taxes that practitioners with incomes over $200K single and $250K married will be subjected to.
-Dental Benefits: Open discussions with Horizon have yielded an effort to try to amend their system to allow the processing of a Panorex and 4 bitewings as the equivalent of a full mouth series. However, the continuous problems of processing electronically filed secondary claims with primary EOB’s as attachments cannot be fixed due to the limitations of their claims software system.
-The Beach Bum tanning lawsuit settlement permits Beach Bum to only sell pre-packaged whitening products OTC just like pharmacies do with no application of bleaching materials and no bleaching lights permitted on the premises.
-NJDA’s appeal on the overpayment recovery lawsuit is scheduled for argument in the Appellate Division on Nov 7th.
-Cone Beam issue with DEP: Arthur Meisel spoke to NJDEP last week and there is a body within DEP that can grant exemptions that would allow registered dental technicians (assistants with x-ray license) to operate CBCT machines in dental offices. This exemption will be filed on Oct. 16th but will have some training requirement attached to it as well as a stipulation requiring the testing of the equipment periodically. Regardless of this action and the Oct. 16th filing date, ONLY dentists and hygienists are permitted to operate CBCT machines until official word comes out from NJDA and DEP.
-Corporate Dentistry: There has been some penetration of what could be considered corporate dentistry in NJ even though there are strong laws in NJ that prohibit corporate practice. NJDA will soon be filing a notice of petition for rulemaking to the State Board with wording that protects NJ dentists from the proliferation of these corporate entities.
-Dr. Sheila Dashkow was elected the new President of the NJ State Board of Dentistry.
Executive Secretary Report-Marlene Glickman
12 people have registered so far for the upcoming OSHA course.
NJDA Council Reports:
Annual Session-Nainesh Desai
Leadership meeting was held on 10/9/13 at NJDA Headquaters.
Give Kids A Smile-Cavan Brunsden
GKAS day will take place on Friday, February 7, 2014. Letters were sent to school superintendants this year to gain better cooperation and participation instead of just principals and nurses. Minutes of the Sept. 11, kick off meeting were discussed. Registration to volunteer for GKAS day opened on October 1st. http://www.ada.org/givekidsasmile.aspx. You can also go to the njda.org website to register and request supplies. Next NJ GKAS day meetings will be on 10/16, 11/13, and 1/29/14 at NJDA. A promotional video funded by Delta Dental of NJ is available on GKAS web page.
Anyone participating or non- participating in GKAS wishing to donate supplies or materials for GKAS event (especially bonding agent, composite, irm capsules for pulpotomy...) please contact NJDA or Dr. Brunsden.
Dental Benefits-Devang Modi, Jeff Chutskie
The CODB met on 9/18/13. Dr. Art Bilenker is the new Chairman. There are 76 CRP’s opened to date, 11 by MCDS. Most are against Horizon (29) for incomplete or inaccurate data because of transition from Newark to Minnesota. All participating dentist were sent a final notice of a claims processing change on 9/16/13 to comply and verify office information including address, associate information and credentials to ensure claims are processed correctly. Please contact Mary Moskal at NJDA if you are having any problems with dental claims or insurance policy questions.
Because of past lawsuit against Horizon BCBS, a Horizon Advisory Committee was created. It consists of 2 dentist selected by NJDA and 2 dentist by Horizon. A telephone meeting took place to discuss policies and procedures of Horizon. You can goto Horizon website/portal to obtain patient information. It was recommended to have the dentist profile on Horizon website as a benefit to being a provider.
CDT 2014 consists of 29 new codes, 18 revised codes and 4 deleted codes. Submission for 2015 codes is underway. A code for 2nd stage surgery to uncover implants is being considered. Also a change in terminology to consider extraoral and intraoral images for full mouth series.
Metlife went back 6 years and reprocessed COB claims totalling $763,000. If you qualified, you would of received a check from Metlife already. There is no way to check or back track how you qualified, if you qualified or for which patient.
If you provide sleep apnea appliance to Medicare patients, you need to enroll as a DME (durable medical equipment) provider and complete a 855-S form http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/downloads/cms855s.pdf
NJDA sends e-mail alerts every Monday morning. Please open them and review them. In September they informed you that your HIPAA policy may need to be amended with regards to oral-written communication.
Art Meisel reported on the Beach Bum settlement, lawsuit on recovery of overpayments, cone beam x-ray taking issue with EPA, and corporate dentistry infiltration (see BOT report). It is important that if you submit any dental claims or pre-authorization with “signature on file” that you actually have an original patient signature somewhere in your patient records authorizing this assignment of benefits. Without it, it maybe considered fraud or misrepresentation.
Next meeting on November 13, 2013.
Governmental and Public Affairs-Mitch Weiner
Licensure Streamlining Legislation: a recent amendment to this legislation leaves us with concerns that it goes away from a licensure by credentials direction towards a reciprocity direction. Another section that states a licensee that does not renew their license within a month past deadline gets an automatic suspension can be interpreted by the insurance companies as being engaged in the unlicensed practice of dentistry, making any claims submitted during this period ‘fraudulent’ and subject to recovery. This legislation has already passed in the Assembly so we are working on educating the legislators about our concerns before the Senate votes on the bill.
Prescription Monitoring Program Bill: We are concerned about mandating that dentists check an online database before prescribing/dispensing Schedule II narcotics. Many dentists receive emergency calls when out of the office and may not have access to the database or patient charts. In addition, many practitioners cover for other dentists and have no access to patients’ drug seeking habits or prescription history, leaving them very susceptible to not complying with the law when they are trying to help a colleague. These concerns are being communicated to our legislators through our Director of Governmental Affairs, Jim Schulz.
All-Payer Claims Database Legislation: This would mandate all healthcare providers submit their claims EOB data, with their fees charged and accepted to a government database in order to determine what our ‘real’ fees are. This is driven more by common medical practice of charging significantly higher for a service than what is accepted by insurance providers. As dentists usually charge what they collect with minimal write offs compared to physicians, we see noting good coming out of this other than an attempt to challenge our fee structure. Again, Jim Schulz will discuss our concerns with the legislators.
DEP and Cone Beam Usage: The Division of Radiologic Health wants to correct and solve the problem of dental radiography technologists being banned from operating cone beam machines. An exemption will be proposed to allow dental radiography technologists to use cone beam machines with some training provided by manufacturers at their November meeting. Another regulation requiring periodic testing of cone beam equipment will also be included.
Affordable Care Act: Members are encouraged to seek out the NJDA website and periodic e-mail alerts concerning employer information pertaining to the ACA. Call the association if you have any questions or need guidance.
Membership-Genevieve Fernandes, Nima Mir-Madjlessi
I. Marketing Update
* Nicole Schneekloth reported to the council on all marketing materials prepared since June, 2013. Copies of each item were given to the council members. Of particular importance is the new “member brochure” which will be ready in October.These materials will keep council members informed of all NJDA marketing efforts as well as provide the council members with talking points when recruitment and retention phone calls are made.
II. Quarter Year Dues Campaign
a. 15 for 12 mailer - This marketing campaign represents the zero dues offer for any eligible non-member joining for the remainder of 2013.
b. Non-Members as of 2011-Eligible non-members who were last members of the Association in 2011 were divided among all council members and each council member will make calls to promote the 15 for 12 program.
III. 2012 Non-Renewals
* Each council member was provided with his or her component’s list of doctors that were members in 2012 and have not yet renewed in 2013. A dues invoice for each person on the list will be provided to the council members for his/her use when making calls to promote membership and obtain a 2013 dues payment.
IV. ADA Update
a. MPG –this is the Membership Program for Growth grant process administered by the ADA. The application will be sent by the ADA later this month. Maureen Barlow and Tricia DeCotiis will complete the application requesting funds for the 2014 New Dentist Conference and Members’ Day.
b. Center for Professional Success – the ADA has launched this new section of its website offering practice management resources.
c. Great West Life Insurance – Tricia DeCotiis will work with the ADA to obtain marketing materials and help the ADA promote this life insurance product. Members agree that the cost savings realized by purchasing this product in many cases “pays for” a member’s NJDA dues.
V. 2014 Recruitment Campaign
* The Council approved a campaign requiring a member joining in the first quarter of 2014 to pay his/her dues by March 31, 2014 in order to be eligible for significant prize packages connected to the dental conference in June 2014 and Members’ Day in October 2014. Tricia will begin working with Nicole to develop marketing for the campaign which will begin in December 2013.
VI. Member Day, October 2014
* This will be a one day conference encompassing CE, networking sessions, presentations by NJDA staff on the value of membership, ancillary practice management resources (e.g. Mobile shredding), exposure to endorsed business associates providing member benefits and services, and more. The date is October 1, 2014. A location is TBD. The conference is for the entire dental team. Non-members will be invited at a significantly higher price.
VII. New Dentist Conference, Spring 2014
* This conference is scheduled for March 22, 2014. The New Dentist Committee will be considering topics and speakers. The conference will be offered to member and non-member new dentists and will be supported by Bank of America. The location has not yet been determined, but will be in central Jersey.
VIII. Role of the Council
* The Council approved a statement of the Roles and Responsibilities of the NJDA Council on Membership
Peer Review-Sandy Goldstein
There was one case that was sucessfully mediated last month. The case involved a failed crown and bridge prosthetic outcome. There were no new cases assigned.
Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-Ira Rosen
All members attending the meeting are strongly encouraged to visit our sponsors at every meeting. Two $50 gift cards will be raffled. A ticket listing all of the vendors can be picked up from Marlene at the registration desk and must be stamped by every vendor to be considered eligible for the raffle.
Scientific Metals and Dentsply Tulsa will join Benco and 3i as sponsors at our October general meeting
Mentor-Nima Mir-Madjlessi
Our next bi-annual OSHA program that satisfies the OSHA standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens, which is required annually for dentists and staff, will be given on November 14, 2013 at St. Peter’s Medical Center, New Brunswick.Two CEU credits are awarded to the Dentists & staff members attending these 2-hour seminars. These seminars are available to our members & staff for $25/pp as a member benefit of MCDS.A very big “Thank You” to Dr. Joe Fertig, Director of Dental Services - St. Peter’s Medical Center, for arranging all our room accommodations for the MCDS OSHA-Mentor programs at St. Peter’s Medical Center in New Brunswick.There will be some upcoming courses coming in the fall and spring. Please look for the notifications in the very near future.Please see the insert in this newsletter for additional information and registration for the Mentor/OSHA program.
New Dentist Committee-Sanjeev Satwah, Genevieve Fernandes
The new dentist committee is planning a New Dentist Conference in Conjunction with Bank of America. We plan to have it on a Sunday this Spring. It will include an entire day of lectures and a social component for $50. Practice management and rotary endodontics are being considered as topics.
Budget and Finance-Ira Rosen
The budget was approved by the Board at tonight’s meeting and will be presented to general membership at the October meeting for consideration.
Hygiene Study Club-Alyssa Bernstein
The Central New Jersey Dental Hygiene [CNJDH] Study Club met on Wednesday September 25, 2013 at the New Jersey Dental Association Building. The lecture was presented by Dr. Hal Cohen on “Caring for your Pregnant Patient”. Two CEU credits were awarded to the 26 Hygienists that attend this meeting.
The next CNJDH meeting will be on Wednesday November 13, 2013 at the New Jersey Dental Association Building in North Brunswick. The speaker will be Dr. Richard Kahn and he will be lecturing on “Scaling and root planing: The hygienists role in periodontal therapy.” Two CEU credits will be awarded for this seminar. The schedule and registration form for the upcoming lecture series will be in the newsletter.
This CNJDH study club is available to our hygienists as a Dentist-member benefit of MCDS. Please see the registration form in the newsletter to register for next year.
Please contact Marlene Glickman, our Executive Secretary for MCDS, at 732-238-1255 for additional information and registration in advance for the program.
Old Business- The collegue program will be rehashed. All dentist are encouraged to welcome any new member and GPR program residents from RWJ and JFK at every meeting.
New Business- Dr. Debra Brown, a co-dental director with Dental Health Associates was welcomed and agreed to assist on the Membership Hospitatlity Committee.
Good and Welfare-Happy Birthday to Marlene Glickman.
Respectfully Submitted, Devang Modi, Secretary

October Updates from NJDA

Are you receiving NJDA Today?

NJDA has implemented a new weekly communication for our member dentists to keep you better informed of current events, and also to limit the amount of email you receive from us! If you are not receiving it and would like to, please contact AnnMarie Varga at [email protected] or at 732-821-9400.

Affordable Care Act Update

Click here to download a two-page FAQ document on what to expect from the Affordable Care Act PLUS a timeline of important implementation dates. For more information, visit www.healthcare.gov. For more information on provisions in the Affordable Care Act that affect you, visit this site: http://www.sba.gov/content/employers-with-fewer-25-employees

Sample Business Associate Agreement Provisions

A dental office should require any person (other than the members of the workforce of the dental office) who has access to protected health information to sign a business associate agreement. To access Sample agreement provisions and additional information about Business Associate Contracts published by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, visit: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/coveredentities/contractprov.html

Save the Date: June 27 & 28, 2014

Save the dates for the 2014 Garden State Dental Conference & Expo at Revel, Atlantic City's premier destination! Take advantage of NJDA's preferred room rates by booking online or via the hotel's 24/7 call center: 609-348-0500 with group code GND0614.

REGISTER: Give Kids a Smile!

Registration is now open for the 2014 Give Kids a Smile! day, which takes place Friday, February 7, 2014. Open your heart and your office to children ages 12 and younger in need of oral healthcare. Click here to register at the American Dental Association GKAS page. Want to learn more about what it takes to get involved? Watch the new NJDA Give Kids a Smile video, funded by Delta Dental here.

Upcoming NJDA CE:

11/5: 6:00pm-8:00pm

Going Chartless; See It Live! - Jeffrey Weiss, Michael H. Kirsch, DDS. Cost: $100 NJDA members + 1 “Team Member”, $200 nonmembers + 1 “Team Member” Location: NJ Center for Oral Surgery, 16 Smull Ave, Caldwell, NJ Email: [email protected] to register and for more information (Code: NJD12)

11/8: 9:00am-12:00pm

Starting or Purchasing a Dental Practice - Josh Contrucci, Jonathan Andrews and other finance specialists. Cost: $105 NJDA Members, $80 for members' staff Location: Virtua Hospital, 100 Bowman Drive, Voorhees, NJ 08043 Email: [email protected] to register and for more information (Code: NJD2BOA) CE

11/16: 9:00am-12:00pm Getting the Bugs Out: The Evidenced-Based Use of Antimicrobial Solutions and Antibiotics in Endodontic Treatment - Shalini Tewary & Les Elfenbein, DMD. Cost: $25 (EXCLUSIVELY for members) Location: NJDA Headquarters, North Brunswick, NJ Email: [email protected] to register and for more information (Code: WE2) CE

12/7: 9:00am-12:00pm

Old Wisdom New Science - Barry Polansky, DMD, & Joshua Polansky, MDC. Cost: $25 (EXCLUSIVELY for members) Location: NJDA Headquarters, North Brunswick, NJ Email: [email protected] to register and for more information (Code: WE3)

Attention Orthodontists!

Join 96 other NJ ortho’s that have treated 115 children for absolutely nothing but the feeling in your heart
when you know it’s right.
Visit www.njbraces.org for more information.

Provide MCDS with your email address!

As those of you who have registered your email addresses with us know, the Board is becoming more pro-active in notifying you with timely unformation, such as upcoming early registration deadlines, reminders about the change in date for the April General Meeting, course reminders, etc. By having your email address, we can get such vital and timely information to you. Please register here.