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Half of dentists are ready for the profession to form a dental union, according to this dental survey.
Feeling squeezed by dental insurance companies and abandoned by the American Dental Association, many dentists are ready for a union of dentists. (One dentist even volunteered to organize it!)
read more: Many Dentists Ready for a New Dental Union
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September 19th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
[...] Dentists Ready for a Dental Union The Wealthy Dentist Blog recently surveyed a number of dentists to determine whether now is the [...]
September 20th, 2009 at 5:50 am
While I have my own “very independent” opinions, sadly I have to straddle the noncommittal fence on this one since all the dentists I represent (just like you Jim) are cut from so many different cloths, as this latest survey reveals.
John Barremore
Houston, TX
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:58 am
I reiterate what I commented when the survey first came out. This is a non-issue because dentists generally are not employees of insurance companies, but rather dentists and dental corporations are independent contractors in competition with each other. It is illegal for independent contractors to collude against an insurance company or for them to take concerted action that restrains free competition. A union of employed dentists and physicians has existed for decades, but it only has power to collectively bargain on behalf of its members who are employees and even then only against their employers. If two or more dentists for a so-called union and together they take some action such as boycotting an insurance company they don’t like, the dentists are vulnerable to prosecution for anti-trust violations. I recall that dental professional societies have been investigated for anti-trust activity in the past. There’s no need to go there again. When it comes to dealing with insurance, unfortunately dentists are in a “take it or leave it” situation. They can try to individually negotiate for better terms, but actions in concert among them are illegal.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Dr. Sokolow,
Your points are well taken. We’re not trying to suggest that dentists actually form a new “union,” and we’re not predicting that it will happen, either.
It is, however, quite a statement as to how disgruntled many dentists are with the current system — which is not just the ADA, but state boards and licensing exams and all that.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:18 pm
OK, so now that the idea that a union is not the answer to dentists’ complaints about insurance companies, what would be helpful are surveys that probe dentists’ to find out what problems they are commonly having with insurance companies. Maybe something could be done to solve problems, other than colluding in an anti-competitive manner.
September 25th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Here’s an example that I believe is prohibited behavior for an organization of dentists, even if they call themselves a union. It’s from the UK, but the principle applies to US dentists. The British Dental Association (BDA) has published in its journal (http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v207/n6/full/sj.bdj.2009.826.html) and on its web site (http://www.bda.org/news-centre/press-releases/24468-bda-advises-members-not-to-sign-current-draft-access-contracts.aspx) an advisory to its members not to sign contracts to provide general dentistry to National Health Service Primary Care Trusts (somewhat analogous to government-sponsored Health Maintenance Organizations) because the contracts are flawed. In the US, a dental organization could analyze and advise its members on flaws in contracts but could not tell its members not to sign them. That would be anti-competitive behavior prohibited by anti-trust laws. I think that US dental associations have been careful to avoid that kind of behavior.