As private equity-backed groups continue to buy up dental and oral surgery practices, some independent owners say the gap is getting harder to close.
Lee Kojanis, DDS, is co-owner of Premier Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Group, which has three locations in New Jersey, is still independent. His practice’s answer has been to “go back to the basics” by building long-term relationships with patients.
He said the forces pushing practices toward consolidation won’t change without help from the top down, and he sees some movement on that front in the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act, a federal bill introduced in September that would limit corporate and private equity control of physician practices.
Dr. Kojanis recently joined the Becker’s Dental + DSO Review podcast to discuss how dental providers can retain their autonomy and independence.
Editor’s note: This response was lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What will independent providers need to stay independent and keep delivering the care they want over the next two to three years?
Dr. Lee Kojanis: I think there are three main points, and they’re going to have to happen from the top down. First, we have to lower the cost of health professional schools and advanced education. Young doctors are graduating with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Interest starts accruing the day after you take it out, and you often make very little during training. How are you supposed to enter the workforce and be honest, ethical and focused on the patient’s best interest when every day you’re thinking about this gorilla on your back? We’re not going to be able to address the other problems until that issue is addressed.
Second, and this is the elephant in the room, we need policymakers to completely reshape the medical and dental insurance landscape. Each year, patients pay more for insurance and doctors receive less in reimbursement. Denials are at all-time highs, which leads to delays and higher out-of-pocket costs for patients. Contracted rates rarely go up, and it’s extremely difficult to negotiate. Right now, the only ones benefiting are the insurance companies.
Lastly, I was glad to see the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act proposed, which seeks to limit outside corporate and private equity control of doctor-led practices. It wasn’t long ago that nobody knew what a DSO or an MSO was. Now lawmakers are writing bills that could move the pendulum back in favor of doctors and patients.
