The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, and no matter where you sit on the politics of the ACA, as of now the changes are happening. The main goal of the ACA is simply to provide more people with health care coverage. As for the dental portion, there is a lot of (mis)information out there and the uncertainty behind the changes that are coming. It seems that the majority of questions I hear the most revolve around who will be covered, what will be covered, and how the changes will effect the general dentist's business. This is my attempt to help make it slightly more clear than mud.
One of the best articles I have read appeared in the October 2012 edition of First Impressions, a magazine for "dental sales professionals". Two of the main points involve the Government giving & taking away.

• The ACA has provided funding for certain health care providers that meet various criteria,one of which is a patient population of over 30% Medicaid. If eligible, the provider may receive a grant totaling over $60,000.
• And on the backside is the new Medical Device Tax of 2.3%. This covers all medical devices, as defined by the FDA, and covers most items from equipment & technology to composites & anesthetic. (Last I heard, the ADA is supporting a repeal of this provision)

One portion of the ACA that I would think would be hard for anyone to find fault with is the Oral Health Initiative. The OHI is supposed to improve children's access to oral health care& benefits. In a state as impoverished as Kentucky,and being a father of three,I can't help but feel for these children. They cannot help what type of environment they are born into.
As for the dentist,how these changes will effect reimbursements remains to be seen. The good news is, hopefully, that there will be a greater demand for dental care. The hope is that the supply of dentists can meet the demand. The ACA also includes a five year, national oral health prevention and education campaign targeting vulnerable populations. I assume that Kentucky is considered a "vulnerable" population. Perhaps with more education the belief that it is a rite of passage to lose one's teeth will become a thing of the past. One can hope at least.
This is certainly a topic that is not going away any time soon. I'd love to have some opinions. Next week's topic: OSHA! As always, please contact me with any questions. Go Cats!

    Is this a statement or a question?  There are a lot of changes and unknowns that are occurring heading into this year, and as we put the holiday season and 2012 behind us, how we navigate the changes can be a daunting task.  During these first couple of weeks of the new year, three changes have stood out for me and how they will impact the dental industry: the fiscal cliff bill, the ACA (Affordable Care Act), OSHA, and their effects on dental professionals.  All three are introducing significant changes to the dental landscape in 2013 and beyond.  I will be addressing the most important changes with each of these acts, and what I can do to help you prepare your dental practice.  The best part is, my advice will come from an unbiased non-politically charged stance.  In this day when everyone seems to have an opinion, maybe mine will stand out by just looking at the facts!
    The most immediate changes can be found in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, aka the fiscal cliff bill.  I love Wikipedia, and you will find that I get a lot of my information from there.  So, if you would like to read the summary of the bill according to Wikipedia, click here.  If you are more concerned as how it effects you as a dentist, the following information is more useful.
    Instead of going into all of the details, I plan on giving a cliff notes version.  After all, this is a blog, not Clintonpedia!  Most of my information came from an article entitled Fiscal cliff bill ready for signature: What dental professionals need to know on DentistryIQ.com, which I find to be an extremely useful site.  Obviously you should talk to your CPA about how these changes effect you, I'm only a messenger.  The following are the highlights of the bill, and I can't get my bullets or numbered lines to work, so if this looks generic, I apologize.

1.  The payroll tax holiday has NOT been extended meaning FICA taxes now rise back to the 7.65% we had prior to 2012. This means an immediate decrease in the net pay for your paycheck as well as your employees.  Your employees may want to fill out a new tax withholdings form.
    
2.  Depreciation and special depreciation extended. Use of the Section 179 depreciation deduction will remain at the high levels we have been used to for 2011 and 2012, indexed for inflation ($500,000).

3.  Business tax extenders. Tax breaks, including depreciation provisions, notably including bonus depreciation.

4.  Deduction limitations for individuals with income over $250,000. The Act would reinstate the Pep and Pease limitations on the personal exemption and itemized deductions for families with adjusted gross income over $300,000.

Hopefully, this paraphrased summary has helped one of you.  With an audience of one, that would give me a 100% success rate.  Alright!  In all seriousness, these are important changes, and I am here to help you and your business adapt to these changes.  As always, feel free to contact me with any questions.  Sty tuned for OSHA & ACA.  Go Cats!

    For those of you that missed my bio, but somehow made it here, welcome!  My name is Clinton Comley, and I am happy to have you!  I hope that I can provide some helpful information, mostly on the dental industry, and anything else that may come to mind.  I joined Henry Schein Dental two years ago, and in that time I believe I have undergone some of the best training in the industry, which provided a solid foundation for my contiued learning in this field.  My goal is to help my customers accomplish their goals.  It's as simple as that.
    This being an introductory piece, I'm not going to wax poetically about all things dental.  That would kind of falll under the whole "why buy the cow" theory.  I would ask for any visitors I may, or may not have to comment freely, as I think the best way for us all to learn is through an open forum.  E-mail me any time with questions.  I'm not going to have a set schedule on here, but when I hear, or see something I believe is important, you will see it on here.  In the meantime, you can follow me on twitter @clintoncomley.  Thank you for visiting!