Virtual Dentist Day at the Capitol By: Makenzie Dean, ODA Programs & Operations Manager
Dentist Day at the Capitol is normally an evening where state legislators and ODA members come together to discuss policies that are important to Oklahoma dentists. But this year looked different: much like many of the events in the past year, we had to meet via Zoom. While the setting changed the mission remained the same. The ODA provided a forum for legislators to have conversations with ODA members in a face-to-face setting. Legislators heard stories and statistics from dentists and had the opportunity to ask questions and gain even more clarity on the subject that matters most this year: the possibility of a Medicaid managed care system. This year’s event took place virtually on two consecutive nights: Monday-Tuesday, January 25-26. On Monday, we heard stories from Drs. Robie Herman and Twana Duncan who are both Medicaid providers. Their practices and their patients would be greatly harmed if the state were to switch to a Medicaid managed care system. Herman said that “managed care is bad business for Oklahoma” and shared some statistics proving that switching to such a system would not actually save the state money. Currently, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority operates their SoonerCare program at an administrative cost of five
percent or less. Other states that have a managed care system operate at an average of 15 percent overhead. Duncan, a rural dentist in Antlers, shared that 75 percent of her patients are Medicaid children and stated that “under managed care, far less dentists will accept Medicaid and these patients will be left without options.” Tuesday night was spent listening to Drs. Brian Molloy and Doug Auld. Molloy, a pediatric dentist with a practice in south Oklahoma City, spoke about his personal experiences as both a pediatric dentist and former foster parent. He believes that the switch to a managed Medicaid system “will only make it harder for our most vulnerable children to receive the necessary dental care.” Auld, a general dentist from McAlester, agreed that children in the state would suffer, adding that “The current system may have flaws, but it needs to be improved upon from within, not taken over by out-of-state companies that profit while limiting necessary treatment for children in the SoonerCare system.” Both nights of our virtual event were extremely successful with a total of 68 ODA members, 28 Representatives, 13 Senators and nine additional staff joining the calls. Each night ended with questions from the Legislators that ODA members
had an opportunity to answer. Overall, this year’s event was rewarding to both members and Legislators. We look forward to seeing you next year at Dentist Day at the Capitol 2022! Contact Lynn Means, ODA Executive Director, at lmeans@okda.org or 405.848.8873 if you have questions about this important topic.
To help the ODA convince our lawmakers that managed care Medicaid is not what Oklahoma needs, please take time to connect with your State Representative and Senator. Many of our lawmakers are very active on Twitter and other social media platforms which is a great way to connect with them directly. Additionally, a personal phone call or letter to them shows that their constiutents are against this issue. Visit okda.org/members-only/advocacy for a complete list of Oklahoma Legislator social media accounts and contact information.
34 journal | March/April 2021
