Earlier this month, three Pennsylvania residents testified before the state House of Representatives Insurance Committee in support of a bill that would protect patients from dentists without insurance, according to a news story in the Reading Eagle.
SB 388, which was introduced by Republican Sen. Pat Vance last year and passed unanimously by the Senate, would require all 10,000 dentists in the state to carry malpractice insurance, according to the story.
The matter first surfaced in 2010 when the Reading Eagle published stories about unhappy patients of Gregory Pedro, DDS, who operated Fine Arts Dental in Wyomissing and charged tens of thousands of dollars for complex procedures he was incapable of performing.
The three patients who came forward to testify claim to be victims of Dr. Pedro and said that it is essential for the House to pass SB 388.
"Hopefully the passage of this legislation will close what is an obvious and glaring loophole wherein providers of dental services who are permitted to diagnose and treat diseases, prescribe medications, and perform surgery are not required to carry malpractice insurance," said one patient, Margaret Feinberg, in her testimony.
