All,
I hope this letter finds you well.
Just a quick update from our annual IAPD meeting on November 2nd. We had a great meeting, despite only 6 of us in attendance. Both Linda Swanstrom and Elisabeth Criner were able to join us to give updates on what is going on at the ISDA and Medicaid reimbursements. As you may be aware, there is an increase of 10% to the fees that will get proposed to the legislation this next year. We discussed this at length and they encouraged all of the pediatric dentists in the state to reach out to your local legislators and relay your financial challenges and difficulties in providing care for those on medicaid in your practices. They also asked that we provide them with the amount of money that each of us writes off with medicaid each year, and how the low reimbursement rates are hurting your bottom line and ability to run your practices, as most are experiencing the challenges of meeting the financial burdens of a small business while treating large numbers of medicaid patients. This 10% increase will not solve all the medicaid problems, but it is definitely a positive step in the right direction.
We spent a good amount of time discussing our roles around the state in leadership and service. Many of you have stepped into roles that pull you from your practices and families, but they are giving pediatric dentists a position at the table to discuss the future of dentistry in Idaho. I am thankful for your service and encourage you to continue to fill those necessary roles that often go unnoticed, but are truly making a difference. Just a quick update on who is serving in which positions with the IAPD leadership: President - Johnny Ukich, Vice President - Dallin Dance, Secretary - Trevor Smith, Treasurer - Paige Schmidt, WSPD Representative - Brad Barlow, Public Policy Advocate- Josh Jenkins.
The final information to pass along is that we voted to join the Annual ISDA Meeting in June for our next annual meeting. The IAPD meeting will be Friday June14th in Boise. We will be having CE in the morning and our annual business meeting in the afternoon. I would encourage all of you to save this date and make it a priority to attend. We will be sending more reminders and updates with what the CE will be for this meeting as we get closer. Watch for updates from the ISDA about the annual meeting as our meeting info should be in their announcements as well. Please plan on attending the ISDA Member Luncheon on Friday as well to show support for our fellow dentists across the state and our ISDA organization. One final piece of info is The Washington State Academy of Pediatric Dentistry is having a spring meeting this next year on April 26-28 at The Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla, Washington. You can learn more of this meeting and how to register at wsapd.org. Enjoy your holiday season and have a Happy New Year!
Johnny Ukich, DDS
Comments