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More on “Sleazy” Healthcare Stakeholders

[By Darrell K. Pruitt; DDS]

If the leaders of the American Dental Association have the power and stoic determination to casually sweep aside trouble-making members who might tarnish their image, one would think that they could certainly avoid associating with sleazy healthcare stakeholders; such as UnitedHealthcare.

The Insurance Giants 

Have you ever suspected that insurance giants like UnitedHealthcare, WellPoint, Aetna and Cigna (and other members of the National Association of Dental Plans) lie to patients when the say a dentist’s fees are above “usual, customary and reasonable” levels?  You could be correct.  NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says UnitedHealthcare, WellPoint, Aetna and Cigna lie to physicians’ patients – understating New York state physician’s fees up to 28 percent.  Why would the crooks treat dentists’ patients any differently?

Employing Tapeworms to Control Fat

Cuomo caught UHC and others cheating their customers with smoke, mirrors and Ingenix – its wholly-owned data mining and consulting subsidiary.  Who would have guessed that UHC would tweak Ingenix to manipulate claims data to favor UHC and other insurance companies who subscribe to their services?  These are the same parasites who want to run the nation’s Pay-For-Performance (P4P) mandate – a cornerstone of President Bush’s healthcare reform ideas.  They want to tweak professional reputations for healthcare reform and the common good. 

And of Ingenix 

Ingenix is a full-service consulting business for insurers, backed with the credibility of 14 years of accumulated health claims it is privy to.  The “friend in the business” not only cooks the data to produce profit-enhancing Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR) fee schedules, Ingenix is also active in “pay-for-performance program assessment, strategy, planning, design, implementation, evaluation and improvement.” 

http://www.ingenixconsulting.com/about_history.html

So if you like the way UnitedHealthcare dental consultants treat you now, just wait until they are given authority to determine your worth to society using Ingenix leveraging tools.

P-4-P 

I first read about pay-for-performance [P4P] in dentistry in February 2006 in an email from Patrick Cannady who is an employee in the ADA Department of Dental Informatics.  He told me that nation-wide quality control in dentistry is an important benefit of having a HIPAA-compliant, paperless dental practice – and that the Department of Dental Informatics is very excited about the opportunity to help prepare US dentists for the future.  A month or so later, I learned that the NPI number the ADA still pushes on membership is the crucial legal link to government-approved P4P data-mills like Ingenix – a wholly-owned UnitedHealthcare profit center.  Do you think it is odd that the NPI is “voluntary,” yet irreversible?

AMA’s Award 

In January, the AMA was awarded $350 million in a lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare and Ingenix on behalf of physicians, and they plan to sue other major insurance companies as well.  So what has the ADA done to discourage UnitedHealthcare’s and other NADP members’ atrocious behavior that undeniably harms dental patients?  You won’t believe it when I tell you. Here’s more:  In a recent Associated Press interview, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said UnitedHealthcare is nothing but a company of cheats.  He says, “They’re lowballing deliberately. They deliberately cut the numbers so the consumer has to pay more of the cost.”

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gL4XFckx9sah3eFEMuHYD3V2WGhQD97763800

So if Cannady’s department is all for P4P and other benefits from interoperable digital records, the question on most ADA members’ minds should be:  What does the ADA think of UnitedHealthcare?

ADA News Online

Two weeks ago the ADA News Online posted an advertisement that looks like an article (with no byline) for the spring meeting of the American Association of Dental Consultants (AADC) on May 7-9 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=3493

Since it is so well known that UnitedHealthcare is the major funding sponsor of the AADC, the word in the neighborhood says AADC, like Ingenix, is another UnitedHealthcare profit center awaiting the wrecking-ball.

Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gL4XFckx9sah3eFEMuHYD3V2WGhQD97763800

Assessment

Last year’s annual meeting of the dental consultants – who deny dental claims to protect the ethics in dentistry – featured ADA Senior Vice-President Dr. John Luther as a guest speaker.  Dr. Luther is Cannady’s boss.  He oversees the Department of Dental Informatics.  Yep.  The ADA is tight with UnitedHealthcare. One can tell a person’s character by the company he or she keeps. 

Conclusion

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Filed under: Breaking News, Career Development, Ethics, Health Insurance, Health Law & Policy, Managed Care, Op-Editorials | Tagged: AADC, ADA, Aetna and Cigna, AMA, American Association of Dental Consultants, Department of Dental Informatics, Ingenix, Jay Rockefeller, John Luther, National Association of Dental Plans, NPA, NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, P4P, Patrick Cannady, Science and Transportation Committee, Senate Commerce, UCR, UHC, UnitedHealthcare, WellPoint |