1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,879 Hello. This is Arianna Portallatin with the Becker's 2 00:00:02,879 --> 00:00:05,359 Dental and Dias overview podcast. I'm thrilled to 3 00:00:05,359 --> 00:00:07,599 be joined today by doctor Robert Traeger, a 4 00:00:07,599 --> 00:00:10,419 dentist in JFK Airport in New York City. 5 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:11,919 Doctor Traeger, thank you so much for being 6 00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:13,119 here today. It's great to have you on 7 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:13,779 our podcast. 8 00:00:14,964 --> 00:00:15,705 My pleasure. 9 00:00:16,564 --> 00:00:18,804 To start us off, can you introduce yourself 10 00:00:18,804 --> 00:00:20,324 for our listeners and tell us a little 11 00:00:20,324 --> 00:00:21,304 bit about your background? 12 00:00:23,285 --> 00:00:26,164 My name is Robert Traeger, and I'm a 13 00:00:26,164 --> 00:00:27,785 dentist. I've been here 14 00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:31,380 in JFK for about forty years. Before me, 15 00:00:31,380 --> 00:00:32,840 there was always a dental 16 00:00:33,219 --> 00:00:36,820 department here, and it's been basically about sixty 17 00:00:36,820 --> 00:00:39,640 years. I'm originally from the Boston area 18 00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:41,219 and did my, 19 00:00:41,700 --> 00:00:44,204 residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. 20 00:00:44,204 --> 00:00:46,925 Stayed here in all these years. Figured if 21 00:00:46,925 --> 00:00:48,605 they're gonna make it anywhere, it has to 22 00:00:48,605 --> 00:00:50,045 be in New York. So that's where I 23 00:00:50,045 --> 00:00:52,065 still am, but I still root for my 24 00:00:52,125 --> 00:00:52,785 New England 25 00:00:53,484 --> 00:00:55,265 sports teams. But in the meantime, 26 00:00:55,725 --> 00:00:57,505 being in the airport is a fascinating 27 00:00:57,885 --> 00:00:58,109 situation. I'm 28 00:00:59,390 --> 00:01:01,502 situation. I'm physically, as I say, in the 29 00:01:01,502 --> 00:01:03,149 airport. I used to be in the terminals, 30 00:01:03,149 --> 00:01:04,870 and then they tore it down. And I've 31 00:01:04,870 --> 00:01:07,170 been in the Port Authority Administrative 32 00:01:07,469 --> 00:01:10,189 Building now for about twenty five years, and 33 00:01:10,189 --> 00:01:13,104 it's just a fascinating type of dental practice 34 00:01:13,104 --> 00:01:14,704 in the location that no one else in 35 00:01:14,704 --> 00:01:16,465 the country has. And, 36 00:01:16,944 --> 00:01:18,644 it's just something that's really 37 00:01:19,104 --> 00:01:21,344 enlightens what you do because you see people 38 00:01:21,344 --> 00:01:22,644 from all over the world. 39 00:01:23,025 --> 00:01:24,864 These are the patients who work in the 40 00:01:24,864 --> 00:01:27,765 airport because you got 30,000 people work here, 41 00:01:27,950 --> 00:01:29,569 and then you got people from 42 00:01:29,870 --> 00:01:32,530 fly in. So in my case, it's wonderful 43 00:01:32,590 --> 00:01:34,930 for me to learn different languages, not fluently, 44 00:01:34,990 --> 00:01:37,549 obviously, but enough to make the patients happy 45 00:01:37,549 --> 00:01:39,310 and to respect you, and it makes it 46 00:01:39,310 --> 00:01:40,689 for a much easier transition. 47 00:01:42,174 --> 00:01:43,715 Alright. Thank you for that. 48 00:01:44,094 --> 00:01:45,855 First question for you here. What are some 49 00:01:45,855 --> 00:01:47,695 of the biggest issues that you're following in 50 00:01:47,695 --> 00:01:49,314 the dental industry this year? 51 00:01:50,734 --> 00:01:52,115 Oh, I read Becca's, 52 00:01:53,375 --> 00:01:55,454 every day. I read what goes on, and 53 00:01:55,454 --> 00:01:58,259 there's just so much problems out there. 54 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,039 And I am a solo practitioner. There's a 55 00:02:01,039 --> 00:02:03,379 big difference. When I came to Chicago 56 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,159 for the panels, I was the only solo 57 00:02:06,159 --> 00:02:08,819 practitioner. They're basically up against the DSOs. 58 00:02:09,485 --> 00:02:11,884 So my particular case, whether it's me or 59 00:02:11,884 --> 00:02:12,544 a DSO, 60 00:02:12,925 --> 00:02:16,205 the biggest problem that's facing us is the 61 00:02:16,205 --> 00:02:18,305 advent of AI. Is 62 00:02:18,604 --> 00:02:21,185 AI for all of us? In high case, 63 00:02:21,509 --> 00:02:23,509 I don't think so, only because of the 64 00:02:23,509 --> 00:02:26,310 fact that, I've been reading X rays and 65 00:02:26,310 --> 00:02:28,709 practicing as a solo for a number of 66 00:02:28,709 --> 00:02:30,569 years. I have a good business background, 67 00:02:30,949 --> 00:02:33,289 so I'm able to handle all these problems. 68 00:02:33,865 --> 00:02:36,264 Whereas the DSO goes, yes. This is an 69 00:02:36,264 --> 00:02:36,764 excellent 70 00:02:37,064 --> 00:02:39,085 situation for them to use for themselves. 71 00:02:39,544 --> 00:02:42,764 And your other big problems today, basically, are 72 00:02:43,384 --> 00:02:46,025 the dealing with insurance companies. So what's really 73 00:02:46,025 --> 00:02:47,085 interesting is 74 00:02:48,050 --> 00:02:48,550 California, 75 00:02:49,009 --> 00:02:51,489 news governor Newsom just passed a law telling 76 00:02:51,489 --> 00:02:52,709 these insurance companies 77 00:02:53,330 --> 00:02:55,110 that they can't force dentists 78 00:02:55,729 --> 00:02:57,110 to accept their payments 79 00:02:58,049 --> 00:03:00,370 on a credit card machine, and they can't 80 00:03:00,370 --> 00:03:01,590 force you into 81 00:03:02,805 --> 00:03:04,664 assisting and working with other 82 00:03:05,525 --> 00:03:06,504 insurance companies 83 00:03:07,444 --> 00:03:09,444 who go ahead and merge or buy out 84 00:03:09,444 --> 00:03:12,245 another company, enforcing you because you're on the 85 00:03:12,245 --> 00:03:14,264 panel to take them and their fees. 86 00:03:14,689 --> 00:03:16,689 So these are the things basically that I 87 00:03:16,689 --> 00:03:19,330 really see is bothering. Of course, there's always 88 00:03:19,330 --> 00:03:20,870 this problem with the shortage 89 00:03:21,250 --> 00:03:23,349 of good health as far as that goes. 90 00:03:23,969 --> 00:03:26,770 But these problems of running and maintaining an 91 00:03:26,770 --> 00:03:27,270 office 92 00:03:27,724 --> 00:03:30,125 with the bottom line being positive is the 93 00:03:30,125 --> 00:03:32,944 most important thing that I can see today 94 00:03:33,004 --> 00:03:35,085 as far as that goes. The fees and 95 00:03:35,085 --> 00:03:37,264 costs and overhead is going up constantly, 96 00:03:37,724 --> 00:03:40,685 and these are situations that affect everyone in 97 00:03:40,685 --> 00:03:42,784 dentistry and all the health fields. 98 00:03:44,599 --> 00:03:46,599 Yeah. Just a a follow-up question for you 99 00:03:46,599 --> 00:03:48,539 there. Where have you seen the biggest 100 00:03:49,239 --> 00:03:49,739 increase, 101 00:03:50,039 --> 00:03:52,300 as far as cost for running your practice? 102 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:54,860 Basically, 103 00:03:56,039 --> 00:03:58,280 I'd say your laboratory fees. I forget the 104 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,764 price of gold is $44,000, so all these 105 00:04:00,764 --> 00:04:01,664 precious metals 106 00:04:02,125 --> 00:04:05,004 are costing more. His supplies are costing more. 107 00:04:05,004 --> 00:04:07,805 Basically, they're gonna use excuses tariffs, but I'm 108 00:04:07,805 --> 00:04:10,685 sure there's other factors in raising the cost 109 00:04:10,685 --> 00:04:11,985 of just living today. 110 00:04:12,284 --> 00:04:13,185 A lot of companies 111 00:04:13,724 --> 00:04:16,240 are unionized, so the cost to produce, 112 00:04:16,620 --> 00:04:17,600 products obviously, 113 00:04:18,860 --> 00:04:19,600 are expensive. 114 00:04:20,060 --> 00:04:20,560 Transportation, 115 00:04:21,100 --> 00:04:21,600 everything, 116 00:04:22,779 --> 00:04:25,979 unfortunately, is going up, cost of living. So 117 00:04:25,979 --> 00:04:27,919 that you do find a lot of problems 118 00:04:28,139 --> 00:04:30,079 in maintaining and running a practice. 119 00:04:30,504 --> 00:04:32,745 A lot of the biggest problems is poor 120 00:04:32,745 --> 00:04:34,444 management. That's the problem. 121 00:04:34,904 --> 00:04:37,144 The younger dentists today don't wanna go into 122 00:04:37,144 --> 00:04:39,485 private practice. They have no business background, 123 00:04:39,944 --> 00:04:42,024 and they can't handle it. So what do 124 00:04:42,024 --> 00:04:43,725 they do? They go into a DSO. 125 00:04:44,439 --> 00:04:46,519 Wonderful. They get that paycheck each week. They 126 00:04:46,519 --> 00:04:48,839 have no problems. Problem is, they're gonna stay 127 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:51,899 there forever. No. But they're not learning business 128 00:04:51,959 --> 00:04:53,639 acumen. So when they get out on their 129 00:04:53,639 --> 00:04:55,639 own, this is what's gonna have a problem 130 00:04:55,639 --> 00:04:57,800 with. And don't you think that DSOs are 131 00:04:57,800 --> 00:04:59,019 having business problems? 132 00:04:59,495 --> 00:05:01,595 It's very difficult for them to run 133 00:05:02,055 --> 00:05:04,235 a business like that because these 134 00:05:04,935 --> 00:05:07,675 speculators out there with, money managers 135 00:05:08,055 --> 00:05:09,435 and putting up money 136 00:05:09,814 --> 00:05:11,735 to buy out these practices, they all think 137 00:05:11,735 --> 00:05:13,574 they're gonna do wonderful. But if you don't 138 00:05:13,574 --> 00:05:15,800 have a business background and you can't manage 139 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:17,980 it, you don't know how to manage health, 140 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:19,560 and you don't know where to buy your 141 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:21,339 supplies or get the best deals, 142 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,860 how to money market and manage your money, 143 00:05:25,399 --> 00:05:27,959 they're gonna fail. I'm looking recently just what 144 00:05:27,959 --> 00:05:30,044 happened. Rite Aid, one of the biggest 145 00:05:30,425 --> 00:05:32,685 drugstore chains pharmacies in the country, 146 00:05:33,224 --> 00:05:34,044 5,000 147 00:05:34,584 --> 00:05:37,144 stores which is closed. They went into chapter 148 00:05:37,144 --> 00:05:39,384 11. I mean, it's amazing, and this is 149 00:05:39,464 --> 00:05:41,644 sometimes it's happened with some of these DSOs. 150 00:05:42,264 --> 00:05:42,925 It's wonderful. 151 00:05:43,709 --> 00:05:45,009 They have the people 152 00:05:45,389 --> 00:05:46,850 put up the money for this, 153 00:05:47,310 --> 00:05:49,350 and yet what happens is you don't have 154 00:05:49,350 --> 00:05:51,889 a good management. No matter how many offices 155 00:05:51,949 --> 00:05:53,790 and clinics you have and the amount of 156 00:05:53,790 --> 00:05:55,949 money that you're gonna save that you take 157 00:05:55,949 --> 00:05:57,709 in, what good does it do if you're 158 00:05:57,709 --> 00:06:00,764 gonna end up losing without having good management 159 00:06:00,764 --> 00:06:02,925 and well trained individuals? And this is what 160 00:06:02,925 --> 00:06:04,384 I see happening today. 161 00:06:05,965 --> 00:06:07,985 Okay. Thank you for sharing more about that. 162 00:06:08,764 --> 00:06:10,365 Next question for you here. What are you 163 00:06:10,365 --> 00:06:12,384 most excited about when it comes to dentistry 164 00:06:12,444 --> 00:06:14,305 right now, and what makes you nervous? 165 00:06:15,300 --> 00:06:15,800 Oh, 166 00:06:16,659 --> 00:06:17,159 excitement 167 00:06:17,779 --> 00:06:20,599 is, for most people, the AI, which obviously, 168 00:06:21,060 --> 00:06:23,159 if you use correctly, can help. 169 00:06:23,539 --> 00:06:26,259 But I because I'm a solo practitioner, and 170 00:06:26,259 --> 00:06:28,500 at my age, I'm still working five days 171 00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:29,159 a week. 172 00:06:29,574 --> 00:06:32,055 And, people don't believe it, but I wouldn't 173 00:06:32,055 --> 00:06:33,835 know what to do if I didn't. So 174 00:06:33,895 --> 00:06:37,355 what I love now is my implant restorative. 175 00:06:38,214 --> 00:06:40,314 See, now I use a three eye Zimmer, 176 00:06:40,535 --> 00:06:42,774 and I use the encode. I just have 177 00:06:42,774 --> 00:06:43,835 to take 178 00:06:44,610 --> 00:06:47,750 picture and scan of a, of a, 179 00:06:48,770 --> 00:06:51,250 implant. So I take an impression. Yeah. To 180 00:06:51,250 --> 00:06:53,170 clean off the top and see the code 181 00:06:53,170 --> 00:06:55,569 numbers. Because all you have to do is 182 00:06:55,569 --> 00:06:56,550 take an impression, 183 00:06:57,274 --> 00:06:58,555 send it to the lab, and there's not 184 00:06:58,555 --> 00:07:00,074 that many here in the New York area 185 00:07:00,074 --> 00:07:02,154 that do it, and they scan it, send 186 00:07:02,154 --> 00:07:03,375 it right to the laboratory 187 00:07:04,074 --> 00:07:06,574 in Florida, and you get back the completed 188 00:07:07,595 --> 00:07:08,095 implant 189 00:07:08,395 --> 00:07:11,115 restorative crown. That's all you have to do 190 00:07:11,115 --> 00:07:12,875 is go in if you use a customer 191 00:07:12,875 --> 00:07:15,080 bump cemented and go ahead or just, 192 00:07:16,259 --> 00:07:19,639 screw in the implant itself. So to me, 193 00:07:19,780 --> 00:07:22,280 in my particular case, this is what I'm 194 00:07:22,340 --> 00:07:24,680 very excited about as far as that goes. 195 00:07:25,540 --> 00:07:27,694 I'm just excited about the fact that I 196 00:07:27,694 --> 00:07:29,774 can manage a dental practice. I've had the 197 00:07:29,774 --> 00:07:32,895 background for over forty years. So this way 198 00:07:32,895 --> 00:07:33,955 here, I can 199 00:07:34,574 --> 00:07:36,654 navigate through all the problems that a lot 200 00:07:36,654 --> 00:07:38,995 of other people have, but dentistry is changing. 201 00:07:39,329 --> 00:07:42,229 There are more and more technologies being 202 00:07:42,689 --> 00:07:45,189 invented and used as far as that goes. 203 00:07:45,329 --> 00:07:47,969 But the biggest things today from most people 204 00:07:47,969 --> 00:07:51,250 is how to navigate with these insurance companies. 205 00:07:51,250 --> 00:07:53,269 They're the ones that are hurting. In fact, 206 00:07:53,485 --> 00:07:54,545 today on your, 207 00:07:55,245 --> 00:07:57,105 podcast or on your daily, 208 00:07:57,725 --> 00:07:59,985 twenty five percent of dentists now, 209 00:08:00,845 --> 00:08:03,564 not accepting insurance, they're leaving it because of 210 00:08:03,564 --> 00:08:05,965 the problems that they have. And it's just 211 00:08:05,965 --> 00:08:08,040 terrible because they don't know how to deal 212 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:09,959 with these insurance companies. I know how to 213 00:08:09,959 --> 00:08:11,160 deal with it because I've been doing it 214 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,639 for years, and you try to outsmart us. 215 00:08:13,639 --> 00:08:15,560 Trouble is I haven't been around long enough 216 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:17,879 to outsmart them. So as much as they 217 00:08:17,879 --> 00:08:20,035 try to mess around with me, I go 218 00:08:20,035 --> 00:08:21,795 ahead and beat them at their own game 219 00:08:21,795 --> 00:08:23,714 because I know what to do. And what 220 00:08:23,714 --> 00:08:25,895 I try to do is tell these individuals, 221 00:08:26,115 --> 00:08:28,134 companies, whoever has to deal with them, 222 00:08:28,595 --> 00:08:31,014 they offshore everything to The Philippines 223 00:08:31,475 --> 00:08:33,980 or to Canada or basically, if it's not 224 00:08:33,980 --> 00:08:36,559 The Philippines, it's India or Costa Rica. 225 00:08:37,019 --> 00:08:40,860 Always ask for a US supervisor. Don't let 226 00:08:40,860 --> 00:08:42,299 them try to help you because they don't 227 00:08:42,299 --> 00:08:44,059 know what they're doing, and they're poorly trained 228 00:08:44,059 --> 00:08:45,360 and they'll admit it. 229 00:08:45,845 --> 00:08:48,425 So always ask us to say, basically, 230 00:08:48,805 --> 00:08:50,925 no offense against you, but what I have 231 00:08:50,925 --> 00:08:52,345 to have done has to be 232 00:08:52,725 --> 00:08:56,165 certified and agreed upon by somebody administration. So 233 00:08:56,165 --> 00:08:58,345 please transfer me to a US supervisor, 234 00:08:58,929 --> 00:09:00,850 and believe me, you'll get things done much 235 00:09:00,850 --> 00:09:03,170 faster. But let them know the game that 236 00:09:03,170 --> 00:09:05,649 they're playing, that you're aware of it. And 237 00:09:05,649 --> 00:09:08,450 when they go ahead and try to force 238 00:09:08,450 --> 00:09:10,129 you to take a credit card, where they 239 00:09:10,129 --> 00:09:12,149 take off two and a half percent more, 240 00:09:12,370 --> 00:09:15,225 or they downcode the fees, you just tell 241 00:09:15,225 --> 00:09:16,825 them like I do. I'm in the airport. 242 00:09:16,825 --> 00:09:18,904 There's 30,000 people there, and a number of 243 00:09:18,904 --> 00:09:21,304 these airlines and companies use your insurance. I 244 00:09:21,304 --> 00:09:23,565 will speak to the HR people and tell 245 00:09:24,024 --> 00:09:26,105 them this particular company is not doing a 246 00:09:26,105 --> 00:09:27,164 good service for 247 00:09:27,779 --> 00:09:31,399 their employees, and they're gonna, hopefully, so switch 248 00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:33,639 somebody else. They don't wanna lose 249 00:09:34,419 --> 00:09:36,980 subscribers. Alright? They ain't want that money. But 250 00:09:36,980 --> 00:09:38,500 you gotta let them know that they can't 251 00:09:38,500 --> 00:09:39,240 fool you, 252 00:09:39,634 --> 00:09:41,554 play games because they know most dentists don't 253 00:09:41,554 --> 00:09:43,634 have a business background. So you gotta go 254 00:09:43,634 --> 00:09:45,955 ahead and preempt everything and show them that 255 00:09:45,955 --> 00:09:47,414 you're smarter than them. 256 00:09:49,154 --> 00:09:49,654 Alright. 257 00:09:50,274 --> 00:09:52,595 And last question for you. What will the 258 00:09:52,595 --> 00:09:54,690 most effective health care leaders need to be 259 00:09:54,690 --> 00:09:56,550 successful in the next two to three years? 260 00:09:58,450 --> 00:10:01,170 The health care leaders cannot go ahead and 261 00:10:01,170 --> 00:10:03,750 buy up everything that they see that's available. 262 00:10:04,210 --> 00:10:06,210 When you get too big, too fast, and 263 00:10:06,210 --> 00:10:09,075 you can't manage it, it becomes a tremendous 264 00:10:09,134 --> 00:10:11,375 burden. That's what happened to Rite Aid as 265 00:10:11,375 --> 00:10:12,975 far as that goes. And there are other 266 00:10:12,975 --> 00:10:15,154 DSOs sometimes that are having 267 00:10:15,615 --> 00:10:18,115 money problems as far as that goes. And 268 00:10:18,174 --> 00:10:19,934 these are the things that they could be 269 00:10:19,934 --> 00:10:21,535 be aware of. And, of course, you have 270 00:10:21,535 --> 00:10:23,440 to have the right help, the right type 271 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,160 of individuals who are loyal to you and 272 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:27,840 wanna stay there and learn. And when you 273 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:29,840 interview them, you should ask, what do you 274 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:31,840 plan to do in the next ten years? 275 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:33,679 What do you look forward into? What what 276 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:34,580 is your anticipation, 277 00:10:35,455 --> 00:10:37,134 as far as that goes? Because if you're 278 00:10:37,134 --> 00:10:39,394 running a big DSO and you're having 279 00:10:39,855 --> 00:10:42,254 all these patients come in, some have lousy 280 00:10:42,254 --> 00:10:44,335 plans, some have Medicaid, and so forth, you 281 00:10:44,335 --> 00:10:45,714 have to know how to navigate 282 00:10:46,414 --> 00:10:48,654 through the system in order to meet the 283 00:10:48,654 --> 00:10:50,914 bottom line. If you're gonna do fillings 284 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:52,460 for $25 285 00:10:52,519 --> 00:10:54,840 and another company or contract will pay a 286 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,320 100 like with me, it's just amazing. That's 287 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:00,120 why I make sure that I see the 288 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:01,960 the type of patients that I want that 289 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:03,639 have good plans, and I try to find 290 00:11:03,639 --> 00:11:06,120 out from HR the type of plans they 291 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:06,620 have 292 00:11:07,045 --> 00:11:08,804 and to know just what the bottom line 293 00:11:08,804 --> 00:11:10,644 is. You just can't take everyone that shows 294 00:11:10,644 --> 00:11:12,485 in the door, so you can brag and 295 00:11:12,485 --> 00:11:13,705 say that you've taken 296 00:11:14,165 --> 00:11:15,125 800,000, 297 00:11:15,125 --> 00:11:17,465 a million dollars. No. You wanna take in 298 00:11:17,605 --> 00:11:19,764 what you feel is the correct fees. And 299 00:11:19,764 --> 00:11:21,925 even with the insurance company, don't be afraid 300 00:11:21,925 --> 00:11:22,425 to 301 00:11:22,860 --> 00:11:24,700 negotiate with them as far as that goes. 302 00:11:24,700 --> 00:11:26,879 Let them know that you're a business person. 303 00:11:27,259 --> 00:11:29,100 You get your paycheck every two weeks, or 304 00:11:29,100 --> 00:11:31,179 I'd like to get mine the same way. 305 00:11:31,179 --> 00:11:33,419 And at the same time, what they have 306 00:11:33,419 --> 00:11:35,419 to learn is how to make sure that 307 00:11:35,419 --> 00:11:36,799 they don't delay payments. 308 00:11:37,134 --> 00:11:38,894 See, the game that they play now is 309 00:11:38,894 --> 00:11:41,375 just like today. We call up the insurance 310 00:11:41,375 --> 00:11:44,254 company, and they're telling us we use dental 311 00:11:44,254 --> 00:11:46,434 exchange. A lot of times, we file electronically. 312 00:11:47,294 --> 00:11:49,074 One of them is one of the deltas 313 00:11:49,214 --> 00:11:51,340 goes ahead and has the nerve. And this 314 00:11:51,340 --> 00:11:53,580 is the manager, and he tells my office 315 00:11:53,580 --> 00:11:56,700 manager, well, we don't accept electronic claims, only 316 00:11:56,700 --> 00:11:59,259 ADA forms. Is it are you sure now? 317 00:11:59,259 --> 00:11:59,919 She says, 318 00:12:00,299 --> 00:12:02,139 well, I wanna prove you wrong. And he 319 00:12:02,139 --> 00:12:03,659 said, what do you mean? Because I have 320 00:12:03,659 --> 00:12:06,059 other claims that you sent me electronically that 321 00:12:06,059 --> 00:12:08,165 you paid on. So I'm proving you wrong. 322 00:12:08,165 --> 00:12:09,684 He got so upset he just hung up 323 00:12:09,684 --> 00:12:11,924 on it. This is they don't like for 324 00:12:11,924 --> 00:12:13,845 you to know more than they do. But 325 00:12:13,845 --> 00:12:16,804 their main goal is to keep the float. 326 00:12:16,804 --> 00:12:19,205 They have all this money in reserve, collecting 327 00:12:19,205 --> 00:12:22,264 interest. Anything they can do to delay payments 328 00:12:22,639 --> 00:12:25,120 to all these big DSOs or any solo 329 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:27,759 dentist. That's the game that they play. And 330 00:12:27,759 --> 00:12:29,279 when you send in, they'll tell you they 331 00:12:29,279 --> 00:12:31,120 never got the x rays. They never got 332 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:31,779 the paperwork 333 00:12:32,159 --> 00:12:33,759 as far as that goes. So this is 334 00:12:33,759 --> 00:12:34,500 the scenario 335 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:36,820 that they use to go ahead 336 00:12:37,355 --> 00:12:39,914 and discredit the work that you do, not 337 00:12:39,914 --> 00:12:41,134 pay you on time, 338 00:12:41,434 --> 00:12:44,235 and go ahead and make it frustrating. In 339 00:12:44,235 --> 00:12:46,334 fact, I think they've caused because I redone 340 00:12:47,034 --> 00:12:49,294 the line. There's a lot of these places 341 00:12:49,595 --> 00:12:51,995 causing fraud in other words. I'm sure 342 00:12:53,279 --> 00:12:55,039 not completely at fault, but I see a 343 00:12:55,039 --> 00:12:57,779 lot of these individuals and companies now where 344 00:12:58,399 --> 00:13:00,480 the dentists are being sued and the companies 345 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:01,459 because of fraud. 346 00:13:01,759 --> 00:13:04,100 But then again, the honest small 347 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,279 individual wants to be honest, they're forcing them 348 00:13:07,279 --> 00:13:10,024 to find ways possibly commit fraud or do 349 00:13:10,024 --> 00:13:11,404 things they shouldn't do because 350 00:13:11,785 --> 00:13:12,924 of a way they're 351 00:13:14,745 --> 00:13:16,764 disrespecting the profession of dentistry 352 00:13:17,304 --> 00:13:19,705 and down coding and doing everything they can 353 00:13:19,705 --> 00:13:21,245 not to have to lay out money. 354 00:13:21,590 --> 00:13:24,169 Now the loss ratio, a lot of states 355 00:13:24,230 --> 00:13:26,169 are now trying to get loss ratios 356 00:13:26,870 --> 00:13:27,370 instituted 357 00:13:27,990 --> 00:13:30,309 between 8385%, 358 00:13:30,309 --> 00:13:32,649 which is excellent, but you need the cooperation 359 00:13:32,870 --> 00:13:33,529 of politicians 360 00:13:34,070 --> 00:13:36,230 and you need everybody working together. And that's 361 00:13:36,230 --> 00:13:40,054 why the ADA, unfortunately, is losing membership and 362 00:13:40,054 --> 00:13:42,214 all of the dental societies because they're not 363 00:13:42,214 --> 00:13:44,375 getting the support that they really need. People 364 00:13:44,375 --> 00:13:44,875 can 365 00:13:45,495 --> 00:13:47,414 go open up an office and be in 366 00:13:47,414 --> 00:13:49,274 dentistry and don't need the support. 367 00:13:49,980 --> 00:13:52,779 And with bad management, this is what happens. 368 00:13:52,779 --> 00:13:54,860 In fact, the ADA, unfortunately, has lost a 369 00:13:54,860 --> 00:13:57,500 lot of money because of bad management in 370 00:13:57,500 --> 00:13:59,440 certain cases, and this happens in 371 00:14:00,139 --> 00:14:02,959 professional organizations. And people have to be aware 372 00:14:03,339 --> 00:14:04,720 that these things are happening. 373 00:14:05,245 --> 00:14:07,485 And no matter how big a operation you 374 00:14:07,485 --> 00:14:10,285 have or how small it is, you have 375 00:14:10,285 --> 00:14:12,845 to navigate the system, be aware of what's 376 00:14:12,845 --> 00:14:15,745 really happening out there. And that's why, unfortunately, 377 00:14:15,965 --> 00:14:17,024 these younger dentists 378 00:14:17,399 --> 00:14:19,480 who are mostly going into these type of 379 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,279 situations have no idea of background. Once they 380 00:14:22,279 --> 00:14:23,720 leave or if they try to open up 381 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:25,959 or even have a couple of friends open 382 00:14:25,959 --> 00:14:28,459 up an office, they're not gonna fail, unfortunately, 383 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,220 or they're not gonna have the ability 384 00:14:30,725 --> 00:14:32,485 to go ahead and run it as a 385 00:14:32,485 --> 00:14:35,125 business, which it is. And this is my 386 00:14:35,125 --> 00:14:35,625 problem. 387 00:14:36,004 --> 00:14:38,024 Looking forward to a lot of these individuals 388 00:14:38,085 --> 00:14:40,665 out there. They do not have the background. 389 00:14:42,980 --> 00:14:44,259 Well, that is all I have for you 390 00:14:44,259 --> 00:14:45,940 today, doctor Traeger. Thank you so much for 391 00:14:45,940 --> 00:14:48,019 joining us on our podcast. It's been great, 392 00:14:48,339 --> 00:14:50,579 speaking with you, learning more from you about 393 00:14:50,579 --> 00:14:52,899 your experiences in the industry, and I'm looking 394 00:14:52,899 --> 00:14:54,339 forward to connecting with you again in the 395 00:14:54,339 --> 00:14:55,319 future as well. 396 00:14:56,514 --> 00:14:57,794 Alright. Thank you, and have a good day, 397 00:14:57,794 --> 00:14:59,955 Adrian. It's been a pleasure. And anytime you 398 00:14:59,955 --> 00:15:01,794 need any input, I'm more than happy to 399 00:15:01,794 --> 00:15:02,695 give you my, 400 00:15:03,554 --> 00:15:05,315 input as far as that goes because as 401 00:15:05,315 --> 00:15:06,914 I said, I've been around long enough to 402 00:15:06,914 --> 00:15:08,695 at least have some decent ideas, 403 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:10,919 at least I hope so, to help people. 404 00:15:10,919 --> 00:15:12,919 Thank you, and have a good day. You 405 00:15:12,919 --> 00:15:14,139 too. Thank you. Bye.