Cutting Adult Dental Program From Medicaid A Proven Disaster

Springfield, IL (myPressManager.com) April 23, 2012

The Illinois State Dental Society recognizes that Governor Quinn and the Illinois legislature are facing intense budget pressures as they attempt to find $2.7 billion in savings from the Medicaid program. However, eliminating the adult dental program from the Medicaid budget will not produce any significant savings. Adults that experience pain and infection from dental conditions will be forced to seek treatment in hospital emergency rooms, where staff is unable to provide definitive treatment and costs to the Medicaid program skyrocket. In a dental office, an emergency exam and surgical extraction of a tooth would cost the dental Medicaid program $73.60, and could address the condition before it escalates into multiple emergency room visits and possible hospitalization. Dental problems will not resolve themselves, and in some cases, patients will develop severe systemic infections that require hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospitalizations. Retaining the adult program is the only cost effective and efficient option for treating dental problems.

Gov. Quinn has also proposed a reduction in Medicaid reimbursement rates for healthcare providers in an attempt to achieve even more savings. Additional rate cuts to the dentists who provide care to children covered by the Medicaid program would be devastating. For decades , Illinois has reimbursed dentists for restorative services, like fillings and crowns, at levels drastically below the costs of providing care. Illinois ranks 48th in the country for its Medicaid funding rates. Further cuts will drive even more dentists away from treating the children's Medicaid population.

The State of Illinois learned an expensive lesson about cutting adult Medicaid dental services when former Gov. Edgar took that action in FY 1996. By the next fiscal year, the adult program was restored. Let’s not repeat a past history of failure. The Illinois State Dental Society encourages a thorough review of those currently eligible to obtain services under the Medicaid program to ensure that scarce state funds are truly being used for the most vulnerable populations. The dentists of the Illinois State Dental Society will continue to work with Governor Quinn and the Illinois legislature to develop an appropriate solution that will not harm patients or falsely claim short-term savings.

About the Illinois State Dental Society
The Illinois State Dental Society is a professional association of over 6,400 member dentists in Illinois. Learn more about the Society at www.ISDS.org. Founded by dentists in Chicago in 1865, the Illinois State Dental Society continues to write an interesting history each year through achievements that not only improve the oral health of the public, but also enhance the profession of dentistry.

 

Medical Coding eBooks Help Firms Control ICD-10 Delay and Transition Expenses

The Billing Coding Library leverages eReader technology to empower medical practices and billing firms with references that save time and money.

Austin, TX (myPressManager.com) April 24, 2012

Policy Reference Press announces the launch of their medical Billing Coding Library subscription eBook service.

Policy Reference Press has been making a name for itself in the Amazon Kindle Store by creating eBooks with powerful navigation from statutes and other public policy documents. The Billing Coding Library is no different, Policy Reference Press delivers again with their first workflow enabled medical coding series SuperICD9. These books can capture the essence of ICD-9-CM coding while giving users the comfort of the full text they are accustomed to.

Medical coders speak to medicare and insurance companies through a complex mix of codes such as ICD-9-CM, HCPCS, DRG and CPT. Each of these requires a current code reference, many of them updated regularly each year. Soon ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS will replace ICD-9-CM, causing double expenditures throughout the transition period. This adds up quickly, coding firms often pay more than $1000 to equip each employee each year. With another ICD-10-CM delay, companies are on the hook for another year of buying expensive ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS references just for training purposes.

Finally medical billing and coding firms can outfit their entire organization with the current and upcoming annual code reference updates without spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars per employee each year. In addition, with a Billing Coding Library subscription, employees can feel free to install Policy Reference Press publications on all of their computing and mobile devices.

The supported devices list includes iPad/iPhone, Android phones and tablets, Kindle and Nook eReaders and of course PC and Apple desktop and laptop computers.

Student subscriptions are priced economically at $29.99 and individual subscriptions are available for only $49.99. Medical practices and medical billing and coding firms gain the most benefits. A practice can license all of their doctors and employees to install whichever books from the Billing Coding Library they wish on whichever devices they prefer for less than the cost of a single set of hard copy coding references.

Free evaluations of the Billing Coding Library and free evaluation downloads of the SuperICD9 series are available at the website.

Website: http://www.billingcodinglibrary.com/