AOS MEMBERSHIP NEWS Legislators Face Challenges; You Can Help Jordan J. Balvich, DMD, FAGD, DAOS AOS President A recent trip to Washington DC reminded me of the bless-ings we enjoy in this country and the awesome responsibility we place in the hands of our elected officials. Tom Chapman, our Executive Director, and I were invited to accompany the Academy of General Dentistry legislative team to the nation's Capital to work on behalf of all general dentists. What a thrill, and what an opportunity! To walk the halls that house our legisla-tors, to discuss key issues facing dentistry, and to sit in the House of Representatives while my own Congressman Pete Visclosky explained its history and daily operation was both educational and humbling. I found our lawmakers and their staffs to be attentive as we discussed key issues, and genuinely interested in supporting issues that would strengthen our profession. I also learned three important lessons. First, our Sena-tors and Representatives are overwhelmed in trying to construct laws for 300,000,000 citizens with all their diversity and critical issues. Secondly, because of this complexity, we in the dental profession must do an even better job of communicating with Washington. Thirdly, the “we” is you and me. ALL of us who care about our profession are responsible for speaking out and communi-cating. If we leave this important mission to a few willing soles, we risk having those issues important to each of us go unheard. The AGD and the AOS are doing a tremen-dous job for our members, but we ALL must recognize and act on our role. Speaking of communicating, I want to encourage each of you to attend our Annual Meeting in October. This is the finest educational and mentoring opportunity of the year and a great opportunity to bounce ideas and concerns off colleagues. There are many important reasons to attend our Houston meeting. However, the most important reason.....without YOU the meeting just won't be the same! Jordan Balvich, DMD, FAGD, DAOS AOS Leaders Advocate Dental Profession in Washington AOS President, Dr. Jordan Balvich, and AOS Executive Direc-tor, Tom Chapman, teamed with the Academy of General Dentistry in their national “Legislative Fly-In” to Washington, DC on April 19-20, 2010 in order to advocate for legislative issues that are before the U.S. Congress which impact the general dentist and the indus-try at large. The first day was an intensive all-day session that included a presentation on the legislative process, an update on pending legislation relating to our industry and an update on the new Health-care Reform Bill. On the second day, members of the joint team were welcomed on Capitol Hill by senators, congressmen, and their staffs to discuss and solicit their support for relevant legislation. They met with Congressman Pete Visclosky of Indiana and the legisla-tive staff of both Democratic Sena-tor Evan Bayh and Senior Republi-can, Richard Lugar. Legislators were asked to support several issues that are key to general dentistry practices, includ-ing defeat of the Dental Coverage Value and Transparency Act of 2010 that would allow dental insurers to impose caps by member providers on non-covered services. Support of the Red Flags Regulation was also discussed. This legislation would exempt dentists from being designated creditors under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, thereby eliminating dentists from complying with the cumber-some identity theft requirements of a creditor. Additionally, repeal of McCarran-Ferguson, which would place the insurance industry under the oversight of the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commis-sion, was also encouraged. The AOS is proud to have assisted in these efforts on behalf of its members. www.orthodontics.com July/August 2010 55
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society July-August 2010/Buyer's Guide: Page 55
