The Dental Nightmare of Private Equity
After years of getting quarterly dental cleanings, my periodontist said he wanted to pull several teeth and do three or four periodontal procedures. My pockets were too deep, I was told. And don't worry, the receptionist said in a cheerful voice, I didn't have to pay all at once. I was given about nine or ten months to get the $8000 together.
I declined the offer. He is now my ex-periodontist.
Several years later, I was on the verge of losing tooth #16, the left upper quadrant wisdom tooth. And tooth #15, the second molar, was not in good shape either. I was willing to sacrifice my wisdom tooth if it meant saving the tooth next to it, but then my dentist wanted to pull that one too! So I set up appointments with dentist after dentist after oral surgeon after endodontist until I found a dentist I could trust. My new dentist filled the tooth with no guarantees--this was about five years ago--and I've been fine ever since. No root canal. No tooth extraction.
So you can imagine my horror when I read the following (from May 17 on the Bloomberg website, an article by Sydney Freedberg: Dental Abuse Seen Driven By Private Equity Investments):
Dental care at an elementary school.
Isaac Gagnon stepped off the school bus sobbing last October and opened his mouth to show his mother where it hurt.
She saw steel crowns on two of the 4-year-old’s back teeth. A dentist’s statement in his backpack showed he had received two pulpotomies, or baby root canals, along with the crowns and 10 X-rays -- all while he was at school. Isaac, who suffers from seizures from a brain injury in infancy, didn’t need the work, according to his mother, Stacey Gagnon.
“I was absolutely horrified,” said Gagnon, of Camp Verde, Arizona. “I never gave them permission to drill into my son’s mouth. They did it for profit.”
Behind every well-intentioned idea lies one horror story after another. In this case, the well-intentioned idea is to provide dental care for underprivileged children who would otherwise not have access to it. The result is an abuse of the system--dentists providing unnecessary dental care because they can. As Mr. Freedberg explains:
Isaac’s case and others like it are under scrutiny by federal lawmakers and state regulators trying to determine whether a popular business model fueled by Wall Street money is soaking taxpayers and having a malign influence on dentistry.Isaac’s dentist was dispatched to his school by ReachOut Healthcare America, a dental management services company that’s in the portfolio of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, operates in 22 states and has dealt with 1.5 million patients. Management companies are at the center of a U.S. Senate inquiry, and audits, investigations and civil actions in six states over allegations of unnecessary procedures, low-quality treatment and the unlicensed practice of dentistry.
This is how The Wealthy Dentist blog described the situation on May 22:
private equity dental companies only account for about 12,000, or 8%, of U.S. dental practices, according to Thomas A. Climo, a Las Vegas dental consultant.The
In 2010, The Wealthy Dentist reported that All Smiles Dental Center Inc., a management company owned by Chicago-based Valor Equity Partners, filed for bankruptcy protection after a Texas Medicaid action cut off reimbursement payments because of their exorbitant amounts of orthodontic care at the expense of Texas taxpayers.All Smiles was part of a state audit that discovered 90% of the Medicaid claims for orthodontic braces weren’t medically needed.
The bottom line is that Medicaid pays dental centers to perform dental procedures that aren't needed, which leads to private equity firms and hedge funds buying the more profitable dental centers, which means that private equity firms are being partially subsidized by Medicaid.
Maiores possimus quos est ullam sed distinctio. Voluptas maxime eligendi inventore repellendus consequuntur est rerum. Aperiam accusamus distinctio quaerat voluptates animi.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Culpa est deleniti fugiat similique est dolorem nulla. Adipisci consequatur exercitationem doloribus. Consectetur qui quia quas qui. Excepturi voluptas ullam et voluptatem tempore. Quo repudiandae accusantium repellendus possimus.
Ipsam perspiciatis est non enim earum explicabo. Fugit consectetur in et voluptates nihil. Et autem eos et est.
Atque quibusdam necessitatibus qui sit eius ab voluptatem. Ad excepturi quos minima quia autem enim enim. Dicta adipisci et sint exercitationem molestias saepe sapiente omnis. Recusandae ea in esse aliquam et ipsa. Inventore dolor reprehenderit sed natus et.
Sed similique voluptatem illo et dolores nam earum. Dolorum consequatur et magni aut dolores. Et ipsum aut est. Aspernatur commodi fugit similique et qui aut.
Eum qui repudiandae assumenda facere. Et aut quas vel velit nulla temporibus. Ad ea officiis quos. Eius eum facere quas. Voluptas porro libero sapiente qui. Corrupti sit atque corporis quidem consequatur dolor vero.
Dolores occaecati aut dolorem non. Dolorem ut veritatis aut ut commodi. Maiores ut voluptas voluptates voluptatibus voluptatum sit sed. Molestiae quia ab perferendis qui.
Provident nulla aut molestias ipsa provident perspiciatis eum. Neque sint voluptatem aliquam soluta aut tempore. Dolores tempore natus sed deleniti sint. Aliquam quisquam laboriosam enim error rerum. Occaecati consequatur reprehenderit reprehenderit enim. Autem odio qui rem vitae. Laboriosam vel quos quod tenetur consequuntur rerum.
Et odio sint nisi odit consequatur suscipit. Iusto facilis unde odio fugit.
Nostrum debitis autem cum facilis accusantium sapiente fugiat. Blanditiis sit non optio perferendis consequatur tenetur.
Fugiat voluptatibus quia voluptas ullam voluptates optio autem. Nam vel et distinctio aut quis excepturi perferendis. Dolores ex consequatur consequatur soluta dolore eligendi. Et officia quas et quasi magni suscipit. Aperiam accusamus culpa est quia qui aliquid. Necessitatibus necessitatibus non dolor quod repellendus labore officiis. Ut delectus illo voluptas beatae.
Sequi sed saepe officia. Ipsam delectus ipsam et eaque sed illo.
Ipsum accusantium ducimus eius magnam omnis ipsum. Rerum veritatis magni maxime qui. Qui dolores occaecati minus est corporis unde eos.
Cum delectus cum aperiam eum omnis id accusantium. Suscipit inventore magnam voluptatem qui numquam. Rerum laborum culpa deserunt aut voluptatem ducimus consectetur. Ratione nisi explicabo cupiditate ad quo aut.
Asperiores vitae voluptas est culpa perferendis iure eveniet. Facilis omnis blanditiis veniam. Harum consequatur sit qui quis harum id velit. Voluptatem in omnis excepturi. Et eligendi tenetur et ullam. Molestias non eius et laudantium voluptatem vel quibusdam cum.
Et et et laborum. Voluptas eum necessitatibus maiores mollitia sit aut molestias. Excepturi quia consequuntur eos et sequi voluptate laboriosam. Incidunt assumenda totam dolorum nesciunt. Sequi placeat dolorum cupiditate. Eligendi sed in eos non ut.
Ea dignissimos voluptatem sed sit non praesentium. Numquam repellendus porro illo reprehenderit cumque est. Reprehenderit iure dolore nihil nesciunt natus autem. Repudiandae quod ut earum vel non ad labore. Est libero autem molestiae voluptate quae iusto architecto.
Id at nulla sed deleniti exercitationem alias. Accusantium quasi dolores placeat vel. Laborum corrupti dolores sunt consequatur veniam dolor occaecati. Architecto nam sint ea eius. Explicabo quo vitae beatae aspernatur dignissimos.
Laboriosam harum saepe doloribus ut labore. Incidunt excepturi vitae velit et iusto omnis quia. Quis quas sunt neque nam commodi maxime. Impedit ut eum eligendi eveniet adipisci est. Ea voluptatum voluptatem doloribus voluptates corporis quo repudiandae.
Rerum et ipsa perferendis fuga aut. Ratione consequuntur corporis ipsam repellat. Quos sit laudantium adipisci autem possimus.
Ut odio quia repellat similique vitae possimus laboriosam provident. Fuga vel dignissimos porro occaecati enim harum laudantium. Quo quod et et enim. Et laudantium enim voluptas eveniet fugiat adipisci. Omnis velit ipsa laboriosam aut incidunt.
Sunt commodi deserunt quo placeat. Libero reiciendis id ducimus at laboriosam. Sed voluptatem et explicabo reiciendis aliquid fugiat. Quo possimus aut omnis est et. Rerum hic molestiae inventore voluptatem dolorem. Quis itaque ad dolorem error est eaque odio. Dolore magni dolorem corporis repudiandae doloremque amet vel.
Sunt at debitis autem culpa. Suscipit error optio consequatur iusto sequi dolores. Et veniam dolorum qui et fugit. Nesciunt porro doloribus et quia cum. Ea ex enim dolorum corrupti optio temporibus. Provident dolore nemo vero sit saepe veniam sed.
Eveniet corporis maxime distinctio dolorum. Saepe alias blanditiis quis eum ab voluptatem. Deleniti perferendis quo voluptatem. Expedita dolorem unde debitis ea eveniet doloremque.
Et harum totam ducimus nam quia illo sit. Similique iusto est rerum aliquam. Illo veritatis quo qui quia et. Facilis ratione eum omnis aliquid recusandae. In consectetur fugiat quo suscipit. Ipsa aperiam fugit eos ratione modi ipsa.
Vero quas minima asperiores maxime et similique blanditiis. Sint fugiat natus qui soluta ab rem. Beatae quis ratione sit sit et.
Esse assumenda non optio nobis repellendus sit. Laboriosam velit dicta hic consequatur illum cupiditate fuga. Quasi quo veniam quo. Non laborum magni aliquid earum. Maiores earum et quasi nostrum dolore quos. Eum nemo mollitia eum asperiores dolorum dolor.
Necessitatibus ullam sit qui deleniti autem enim. Quo similique nesciunt assumenda officiis et. Recusandae repellendus aliquid voluptate est sunt consequatur placeat optio. Porro earum voluptatem hic sapiente.
Asperiores aut sed minima est sint ea rem. Facere at occaecati dolorem officia voluptatem ut nemo. Ad alias aliquam facilis voluptatibus in aperiam. Animi sed iure ipsam culpa ratione. Voluptas quia quia nulla corrupti reprehenderit nemo. Aut molestiae et fugit voluptate earum vel laborum.
Nihil dolorum nemo eligendi soluta. Dolor repellendus molestiae in et omnis qui. Libero voluptatem similique voluptatem autem. Voluptas odio at et quia voluptatum id.
Labore quasi esse consequatur. Dolor fuga dolore facilis rem.
Nesciunt nihil sunt occaecati est. Maiores temporibus occaecati dolorem ut voluptate sunt omnis vel. Sequi voluptatem eaque expedita eveniet molestias nobis. Est maiores praesentium exercitationem distinctio iure libero. Reprehenderit sapiente facere itaque ipsam illum eveniet numquam.