Ala. bill to regulate nonprofit dental clinics moves forward

Proposed legislation that would exempt nonprofit clinics from the Alabama Dental Practice Act (DPA) and require the clinics to register with the Alabama Board of Dental Examiners was approved by a state committee today following a public hearing.

The bill (HB 451) -- proposed by Sarrell Dental, the largest provider of Medicaid services in the state -- would also require clinic employees to comply with dental licensing laws.

It was a defeat for the state dental board, which had planned to submit an alternative proposal that would have given the board oversight of nonprofit dental clinics, including Sarrell. But the proposal was withdrawn by the board prior to the hearing.

Transcripts from a 2010 meeting of the Alabama Dental Association (ALDA) introduced during the public hearing included comments by members who were trying to get Sarrell patients to say they had received poor treatment at the clinics, according to Frank Catalanotto, DMD, who attended the hearing.

Sarrell's measure was opposed by the dental board, which said that Sarrell should be subject to the rules and regulations of the DPA like every other Alabama dentist. Alabama nonprofits have been exempt from the act, which states that only licensed dentists can own dental clinics or operate dental equipment.

Dentists and hygienists who work at Sarrell's clinics are already subject to the act's requirements and the oversight of the dental board, according to Sarrell CEO Jeffrey Parker.

Following this morning's hearings, Parker said he is grateful that HB 451 passed, despite "very aggressive opposition" from the dental board.

"We are working hard to pass a bill that allows for increased access to care for our most vulnerable citizens, while keeping all Sarrell dentists and hygienists under the rules of the Dental Practice Act," he told DrBicuspid.com.

The board's alternative bill would have required nonprofits such as Sarrell to register with the board, pay annual fees, and be subject to the rules and regulations of the DPA, according to board president Thomas T. Willis, DMD. The group also wanted nonprofits to have a chief of staff who is in charge of all company clinics and to have such companies provide annual financial statements.

Dr. Willis was "slightly disappointed but not surprised" by the vote, he told DrBicuspid.com. But "there is still a crack in the foundation," he said, and he remains hopeful that legislators will allow more discussion on the matter before it goes before the state House of Representatives for a final vote.

"We wanted to make a good faith effort with Sarrell," he said.

Dr. Catalanotto, a professor in the department of community dentistry and behavioral science at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, spoke on behalf of Sarrell at today's hearing.

He called comments from the meeting's transcripts "pretty damning," noting that board members praised Sarrell during the hearing.

"They said they were worried about unknown or future nonprofits that might be abusive," he told DrBicuspid.com. "They wanted company management to be subject to the DPA."