Dental Bill Labeled Akin to 'Obamacare' Opposed by Obama Administration

The Obama administration is joining a list of big-name Republicans who oppose a North Carolina bill designed to tighten regulations on dental practices.

Federal Trade Commission staffers analyzed Senate bill 655 and determined it "may deny consumers of dental services the benefits of competition spurred by the efficiencies that (dental service organizations) can offer, including the potential for lower prices, improved access to care, and greater choice."

The message -- oddly -- echoes the spin from lobbyists and a political group aligned against the bill who label the regulations akin to "Obamacare."

And it puts the FTC in the company of Republicans Jeb Bush, Bill Frist, Haley Barbour and Tommy Thompson, all of which have contacted House Speaker Thom Tillis' office recently about the bill, according to a Bloomberg News report. As Dome reported earlier, the national Americans for Tax Reform is also taking a position against the measure.

All this comes on top of an intense lobbying effort at the state level to convince lawmakers to reject the legislation, which passed the Senate last year.

The bill, which is being pushed by the N.C. Dental Society and the state dental examiners board, puts tougher restrictions on dental management companies (also known as dental service organizations). Advocates suggest these corporate dental organizations are flouting a state law that says dentists must own and control their own practices and contend the law only codifies current administrative rules.

Federal lawmakers and state regulators are also looking at whether these dental companies are hurting dental care, as Bloomberg recently reported.

Dentists uses these Wall Street-backed companies to handle administrative functions, such as bookkeeping and supply orders. But some dentists are increasingly getting more help, that regulators worry it equates to ownership, taking powers away form the dentist to determine which patients to accept and the proper course of care.

In its May 25 letter, the FTC touted dental management companies and expressed concern that the regulations in the North Carolina legislation could reduce the number of dentists practicing in underserved communities -- a suggestion rejected by state regulators. 

It came in response to a request from Republican state Rep. Stephen LaRoque for an opinion. The FTC letter said the federal agency weighed into the state debate because it is charged with preventing unfair methods of competition or deceptive acts. 

But a footnote states the letter represents the views of only the office of policy planning and bureau of competition -- not the FTC as a whole or individual commissioners.

"The commission has challenged rules prohibiting professionals from entering into business relationships with non-professionals when such rules were imposed by an entity subject to the commission’s law enforcement jurisdiction." 

According to the Bloomberg report, Bush sent an email to Tillis asking him to review the bill and didn't take a position on the legislation. But a Bush spokeswoman told Bloomberg that Bush interceded on behalf of a state lawmaker who is a high-ranking office in the dental management trade group.

Tillis didn't speak to Barbour or Thompson, both of which tied to contact the speaker about the bill, according to the report. Frist sent Tillis an email saying he is interested in the "bill's potential to alter some innovative practice patterns."

Tillis apparently wrote back to Frist saying he is working with both sides. “I must say that my leaning is towards the free-market argument against increased regulation/control," the email states.