Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform - Fighting for Due Process Rights for Medicaid Providers

Lawyer, Former ADA President Dr. Robert Anderton Passes Away at 82

February 18, 2020

Dr. Robert Anderton passed away on February 14. An accomplished dentist and lawyer, Dr. Anderton represented a number of dentists and orthodontists that got shanghaied into the Xerox/HHSC orthodontic prior authorization scandal. He testified before the House Committee on Human Services in 2013 about the injustice. A memorial service is being held at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church 9810 La Prada Dr. in Dallas on February 28 at 2:00 pm. If you wish to receive notifications or leave a thought for the family, here is a link to do so. We are going to republish here in his honor, the … [Read More...]

Breaking News: Texas HHS Executive Director Resigns

February 12, 2020

Although it is not on the Texas HHS website yet, TDMR has received a copy of HHS Executive Director Dr. Courtney Phillips' resignation letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, dated today. She is leaving to take the position of Secretary of Health in Louisiana, her home state, to be closer to family. … [Read More...]

“Cover Your Ass” by State Officials About Medicaid Ortho Dentists Continues

February 3, 2020

The reason TDMR was formed back in 2012 was to put out facts and insist on due process for a large number of dentists and orthodontists accused of Medicaid fraud arising from the great Xerox/HHSC orthodontic debacle. Unfortunately, these issues are still with us today. The False narrative Let's recap the original scene. Media exposure in 2011 from … [Read More...]

OIG Presentation on Dental Solicitation

January 23, 2020

Back in June of 2019, a representative of HHSC-OIG did a presentation on dental solicitation of Medicaid patients to several dental associations. This was mentioned in their Quarterly Report - 4th Quarter report we reported on last October. However, we did not provide a copy of this presentation or provide details about it since OIG also … [Read More...]

OIG Now Opens Provider Investigations into Dentists and Doctors at 3x the Rate of Complaints

January 15, 2020

The recently released HHSC-OIG Quarterly Report for the 1st Quarter of 2020 shows that the rate of provider investigations opened into dentists and doctors is roughly three times the rate of the number of complaints received by the agency. The rate for dentists is slightly higher than that of doctors. This is roughly double the rate of … [Read More...]

UPDATE: In Memoriam

January 2, 2020

UPDATE: This past Saturday over 500 family, friends and individuals from the community came to pay their respects to Dr. Villarreal at Camp Perry in Rio Hondo. His many achievements and contributions are commemorated in an article published by the Valley Morning Star. As many in the south Texas dental community already know, Dr. … [Read More...]

Texas HHS 2020 Inaugural Business Plan Available

December 12, 2019

HHS Executive Director Courtney Phillips Texas HHS has published a business plan for 2020 outlining its goals. This came out a few months ago but we just became aware of it. The plan is contained in a 64-page PDF document which is available below. There is no mention of dental services but the document is a useful window into HHS and … [Read More...]

UPDATED with Survey- Medicaid Dentists: Lack of Use of D1352 Is Causing Audits and Recoupments

December 2, 2019

MEDICAID DENTISTS: Please take our confidential and anonymous five-question survey about D1352. It is basically a simple Yes-No questionnaire. It takes less than a minute. SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED. Back in late 2011, the ADA added several new codes to the CDT (Current Dental Terminology) manual. One of these codes was D1352 which is defined as a … [Read More...]