Texas legislators have approved new regulations that allow the State Board of Dental Examiners to add staff to investigate complaints against dentists more efficiently.
HB 3201, which takes effect September 1, sets up a process to investigate complaints against dentists similar to the rigorous process used by the state Medical Board to investigate complaints against physicians, according to a story in the Monitor.
It also creates a $55 surcharge for dentists who are obtaining or renewing their licenses, allowing the dental board to hire new staff members and an expert panel of dentists to review certain complaints. Dentists will also be required to submit more information when they apply for a license.
Previously, the seven-member dental board reviewed each case individually with the help of volunteer experts. The board had been taking an average of more than a year to resolve complaints, the article noted. The new guidelines and increased funding should make the process more efficient, dental board officials said.
Under the new process, staff members including dentists, lawyers, investigators, licensing specialists and support staff will review complaints and conduct preliminary investigations to determine if violations occurred. Review must be completed within 60 days of when complaints are filed, the board said.
In cases in which an investigation is pursued, complaints involving standard of care will be referred to a new expert panel, including dentists and dental hygienists. All others investigations will be heard by the dental board, the story noted.
The board will make final decisions on all cases involving alleged violations and will review the staff's dismissal of other complaints, board officials said.
Under the new law, registration applicants must include more information on the license holder, whether the dentist is a provider under Medicare, and whether the licensee is affiliated with a dental service organization.
Texas has been rocked by allegations of fraud by dentists and orthodontists accused of bilking the state Medicaid program out of tens of millions of dollars. A report released in 2012 by the state Health and Human Services Commission revealed that Texas orthodontists charged Medicaid as much for services as the rest of the U.S. combined in 2010, and that the Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership, tasked with evaluating and approving claims, was rubber stamping them.
Last October, the Texas Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General formed a task force designed to target Medicaid dental fraud. The task force is working to improve investigations of fraudulent charges to the children's Medicaid program and recover losses more quickly.
