by By Lauren Rowley
The ADSO Government Affairs Committee was formed this summer. The committee, chaired by John Pantazis, Heartland’s vice president, general counsel and secretary, with representatives from six other ADSO member companies, meets monthly and is charged with providing the ADSO with strategic guidance on state and federal legislative and regulatory issues. Among the committee’s top priorities is promoting DSO-supported dentists for appointments to state dental boards.
Board appointments are a top priority for the ADSO government affairs team because many of the state issues the DSO industry faces grow out of dental board actions. We believe that having one or more DSO-supported dentists or strong public sector members on the board involved in discussions and rule-making will go a long way in mitigating state legislative and regulatory issues, like those the industry has faced in recent years.
With few exceptions, dental board appointments are made by the governor of the state. Dental boards generally consist of dentists, hygienists, public sector (non-dental-related) members and sometimes academics. All states have rules around the appointments and can include: how long the term of service lasts; requirements on how long the candidate has been a resident of the state; how long the dentist/hygienist has practiced in the state; what area of the state the appointee needs to be from; as well as many other possible requirements. Since the appointments are made by the governor of the state, often political preference will also apply to the candidate’s selection process. ADSO assists our members in understanding these requirements when requesting candidates for appointment.
While ADSO is happy to promote candidates in any state, we recognize that we are much more likely to have success in those states where we have a contract lobbyist on the ground to assist in shepherding the candidate(s) through the process. The lobbyists are able to meet with the governors’ appointment staff and follow up throughout the decision-making process. They can also assist the dentist in getting letters of support from state legislators or other recognized leaders in the state to support their nominations.
ADSO requests that our members make a committed effort when openings come up to reach out to their supported dentists for potential candidates. To make sure our members are informed, we include in our Government Affairs Weekly Round-up – distributed every Friday to our DSO members – the list of states with lobbyists where we need our members help to promote candidates. (For membership information, e-mail [email protected]).
In the past year, the ADSO has helped get DSO-supported dentists on the dental boards in Colorado, Iowa, Indiana and Florida, and is actively working on appointments in every other state where we have lobbyists.
Lauren Rawley is senior vice president of government affairs and COO, Association of Dental Support Organizations, a non-profit organization representing dental support organizations to the public, policymakers and the media. For more information, go to http://theadso.org
