The company operates under the kid-friendly name Big Smiles and promises access to valuable dental care for disadvantaged youths.
It dispatches dentists to dozens of Arizona schools after getting the schools’ permission. Once there, they take X-rays, perform root canals or fit crowns on low-income students.
Representatives of the company that operates the Big Smiles chain, ReachOut Healthcare America of Phoenix, say the chain performs a valuable service, providing dental care for underserved children enrolled in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program. The children may not have a regular dentist or may live in rural areas with limited access to care.
But critics say Big Smiles’ business model is designed to collect millions of dollars annually from the state’s Medicaid coffers by performing numerous, and sometimes unnecessary, X-rays or procedures with the aim of collecting the maximum payout from each of its young patients. ReachOut Healthcare’s dental practice was paid $12.5 million from AHCCCS over the past two years, according to records obtained by The Arizona Republic.
And some parents have accused the company of performing procedures without their permission.
Read full article here: Mobile Dental Clinics Drawing Scrutiny