Journal of the Louisiana Dental Association

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LDAC. Richmond Corley, Jr., D.D.S.Senior Vice President/CEO, LDSlouisiana dental services, inc.The 2007 Year End ReportAs the year 2007 comes to a close, I thank you onbehalf of the LDS Board of Directors for yourcontinuing support of the LDA/LDS Endorsed Productsand Services Program.From a start-up authorization by the LDA House ofDelegates in 1991 followed by the incorporation of LDSas an LDA wholly owned subsidiary forprofitcorporation, this business venturehas become a major source of non-duesrevenue for the LDA Board of Directorsto use in support of membership benefitsand other related expenses in the day-todayoperations of the LDA.LDS, along with its wholly ownedsubsidiary for-profit corporation namedProfessional Dental Plans, Inc., and its revenue sourceCrescent Dental Plans Inc.®, will once again in 2007provide in the neighborhood of over $100,000 to theLDA in non-dues revenue for the benefit of themembership. LDA members who have supported theLDA/LDS endorsed products program with theirpurchases from endorsed vendors should beparticularly proud of this accomplishment that hasbenefited ALL of the membership.The LDS Board has worked over the passing years tokeep the Endorsed Product and Services Program at ahigh quality level. Each and every one of you thatparticipate in this program is reminded that LDS staff isready to be your advocate, if the need should everarise, over any issue of satisfaction between you andany endorsed vendor that is covered under the currentagreement between the vendor and LDS.During the year 2007, LDA/LDS dropped itsendorsement of Acadian Ambulance Medical Services(covering defibrillator equipment) and EBSCOIndustries (waiting room magazine subscriptionservices) because of non-revenue activity. Thedefibrillator equipment issue is well covered by twoother endorsed vendors, namely New Line Medical andSouthern Anesthesia and Surgical.Three newly endorsed companies have been addedin 2007, but one of these, CDA Select Choice LoanProgram is on an indefinite hold because of recentchanges in the Federal laws regarding college studentloan consolidation programs. The second of these,Bruner and Company, which is dedicated to Web sitedevelopment for the dental office is now in fulloperation to provide an off the shelf semi pre-designedbuild it yourself Web site package and also acustom designed dental office Web site packageat competitive pricing. The third companyadded to the endorsed products and serviceslist for this year is Southern Anesthesia andSurgical (SAS), which is a long-establishedcompany that many of you who are OralSurgeons are very familiar with. It is an adjunctcompany to our endorsed relationship with IMEPEmergency Response System. You have all receivedtheir LDS business relationship announcement letterand catalog in November. We urge you who practice inthe specialty of oral surgery to designate the LDA asyour professional organization of choice to receive anybenefits of your purchases from SAS.Three of our long-standing endorsed vendors haveshown significant increase of sales to LDA members inthis calendar year. These are CareCredit, NOVA andOffice Depot. One of our newer endorsed companies,Fortress Insurance Company, has also shownsubstantial growth.Some of you may also be aware that the ADA hasnow included the use of amalgam separators in itslisting of best practices for the safe disposal of amalgamwaste. The LDA/LDS Endorsed Products and ServicesProgram is pleased to remind you that Amalgaway, aleader in dental amalgam separation technology, hasbeen endorsed for several years. They are prepared tosupply you with the latest amalgam separators. AnotherLDA/LDS endorsed vendor, SolmeteX, is also availableto provide highly efficient mercury removal systems.Moving from LDS activities to those of its whollyowned subsidiary, Professional Dental Plans, Inc. andits endorsed relationship with Crescent Employee6 LDA Journal
Benefits, Inc. and Crescent Dental Plans, Inc.®, Iremind you that the LDA Board of Directors will becalled on at its January 2008 board meeting to givedirection to the LDS Board of Directors regardingallowing of the inclusion of a passive PPO option (to beavailable for use at the choice of the policy holder) inthe dental benefit plans underwritten by CompanionLife and marketed under the Crescent Dental Plans,Inc.® label.A major shift in demand by the groups activelypurchasing voluntary dental benefit plans in themarketplace has brought on this request by RobynBossum, vice president and director of marketing forCrescent Employee Benefits, Inc. (CEB). From a purelybusiness standpoint, there is no question that approvalof this request will make sure that there will becontinued growth of the Crescent Dental plans, Inc.®market share. All of the major competing dental plansare now offering this option and most, if not all, bidrequests received today by CEB require the inclusion ofthe passive PPO option in the response. Beyond thepurely business consideration, this issue becomes verycomplicated for the dental professional because of themany issues that have arisen over time regarding thirdparty payers, managed care and their intervention inthe traditional doctor/patient relationship.In this particular issue, as it involves the LDAmembership, the facts are these: no member of theLDA is being asked to contract with a PPO to be able torender care to anyone; non-contracting dentists mayrender care to the subscribers of these plans who electto choose the PPO option and be paid at the same rateas any PPO contract provider is paid for coveredservices rendered; the non-contract dentist can thenbalance bill the patient for the remainder of his/herregular fee and it is true that the LDA has for manyyears endorsed a major medical plan for itsmembership which includes a PPO so that thepremium dollars charged for the coverage affordedcould be kept within some semblance of reason, whichis exactly why this passive PPO option is needed in theCrescent Dental Plans, Inc.® program at this time.Some of you have responded to the various vehiclesLDA has tried to use to get a real response in totalnumber of members on this issue, but only a very smallpercentage of you have taken time to render a yes or noon whether the LDA should grant permission for theuse of this option in the passive form. Please take amoment in the next two weeks to let your component’sLDA board member know how the LDA shouldproceed if you have not already done so.As always, LDS appreciates your continued support,and our best to you and your family for a happy andprosperous NEW YEAR! t“I couldn’t be more pleased withRobert Ellis and Associates andmy business office policy. Theyhave been wonderful to work withand have always been availablewhen I’ve needed them. I wouldwithout question recommendRobert Ellis and Associates tomy fellow dentists.”– Dr. William “Bill” McColganWinter 2007 7
Page 1 and 2: JournalLDAVOL. 66, NO. 4 WINTER 200
Page 3 and 4: LDAJournalVOLUME 66 NUMBER 4 WINTER
Page 5: Winter 2007 3
Page 10: LDA Welcomes New Membership Directo
Page 13 and 14: 2008 Conference CliniciansTHURSDAY,
Page 15 and 16: LDAfeatureAt the LDA’s Game Day S
Page 17 and 18: Top left: Dr. Tom McCoy, Dr. Jeff H
Page 19: LDA Annual Sessionand New OrleansDe
Page 23 and 24: Chad Olivier (The Olivier Group), D
Page 25 and 26: LDAlsu school of dentistryEric J. H
Page 27: LDA Membership Fishing Rodeo Winner
Page 30 and 31: 2007ADA House of Delegates, San Fra
Page 32 and 33: LDAwealth managementChad Olivier, C
Page 34 and 35: LDAlouisiana state board of dentist
Page 37 and 38: LDAnewsbriefsUpdate on Medicaid Rei
Page 39 and 40: LDAclassifiedsPRODUCE $1,500 PER HO
Page 41 and 42: 2008 Course Schedule(All couses are
Page 44: PRIORITIESYour personal prioritiesc

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