Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1212192
6 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 1 FEB 2020 Dental jobs among highest paying in healthcare: U.S. News By Mackenzie Garrity J obs in the dental field are some of the highest paying, with oral and maxillofacial surgeons averaging $242,370 annual- ly, according to U.S. News & World Report, which released its Best Paying Jobs list Jan. 7. For the ranking, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Bureau of La- bor Statistics to identify jobs with the greatest projected hiring demand from 2018-28. From there, researchers compared each job's median salary to determine a list of the highest-paying jobs in 2020. Here are 10 of the highest paying healthcare jobs, based on me- dian salary: 1. Anesthesiologist: $267,000 2. Surgeon: $255,100 3. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon: $242,370 4. Obstetrician and gynecologist: $238,320 5. Orthodontist: $225,760 6. Psychiatrist: $220,380 7. Physician: $196,490 8. Prosthodontist: $191,400 9. Pediatrician: $183,240 10. Dentist: $175,840 n Billing discrepancies at Las Vegas dental school raise suspicions of upcoding By Gabrielle Masson T he University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine may have overbilled patients and insurance companies by thousands, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Phillip Devore, DDS, former leader of the UNLV Dental Faculty Practice, allegedly billed patients for expensive surgical tooth extractions three times more often than simple extractions, according to a Review-Journal analysis. UNLV paid a law firm $366,000 to investigate the billing practices, but did not pub- licize the findings. Billing irregularities from the dental school date back to 2012. Former staff members, most of whom spoke to the Re- view-Journal on the condition of anonymity, said billing irreg- ularities were widely known. UNLV data showed Dr. Devore only performed two surgical extractions and about 500 simple extractions in his four years at the school. However, billing data revealed Dr. Devore's pa- tients were charged for at least 790 surgical extractions and about 270 simple extractions, the Review-Journal analysis found. In 2017, more than $400,000 of the dentist's nearly $600,000 income came from patient billings. "I absolutely did not upcode anything," Dr. Devore, who now works in private practice, told the Review-Journal. "Just provid- ing good service was enough to generate plenty of revenue." The dental school is in compliance with Medicaid, but re- quests any patient who believes they have been overcharged to contact the school, Cindy Brown, UNLV spokesperson, told the Review-Journal. n Maryland dental practice settles overbilling allegations with attorney general By Mackenzie Garrity L aurel, Md.-based Dr. Batz & Weiner Family Dentistry settled al- legations Jan. 22 that it overbilled patients and did not provide accurate information about treatment costs with the Maryland At- torney General's Office, according to e Baltimore Sun. e Maryland Consumer Protection Division claimed that the dental practice did not submit timely and accurate insurance claims, billed pa- tients amounts that should have been covered by insurance, failed to ac- count for any payments received and instead rebilled patients. Addition- ally, the division alleged the practice didn't include all anticipated charges in estimated bills and didn't inform patients that they would be treated by out of network providers. As part of the settlement, Dr. Batz & Weiner Family Dentistry will waive outstanding charges for services provided between Jan. 1, 2014, and March 3, 2016. e practice will also notify all patients who may have been over- charged, informing them that they can review their accounts. Dr. Batz & Weiner Family Dentistry will also pay $48,000 in penalties and investigative costs, reported e Baltimore Sun. e dental practice also agreed to make improvements to its billing process, including providing accurate treatment estimates, hiring a third-party biller, billing patients in a timely manner and notifying patients if a provider is out of network. "Today's settlement will help prevent overbilling of patients and allow pa- tients to make informed decisions about their own dental care and treat- ment," said Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh in a statement, e Baltimore Sun reported. n DENTAL PROFESSIONALS