Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) As used in this rule:
(1) "Full-time practice" means working a
minimum of forty hours per week for a minimum of forty-five weeks each service
year. Practice-related administrative activities and/or
teaching activities may not exceed eight hours per week.
(2) "Part-time practice" means working a
minimum of twenty hours and a maximum of thirty-nine hours per week for a
minimum of forty-five weeks each service year. Practice-related administrative
activities and/or teaching activities may not
exceed four hours per week.
(3)
"Provide dental services without regard to a patient's ability to pay" means
that persons with incomes below one hundred per cent of the federal poverty
guidelines may not be denied dental services by the dental practice site due to
the inability to pay for such services, assuring that any fees or payments
required by the practice site for such services will be reduced or
waived.
(4) "Teaching activities"
means providing clinical education to dental health professions students and
dental residents regarding the normal course of practice and expertise at the
dental practice site(s) specified in the contract.
In order to qualify as teaching, the dentist must be providing
clinical education and supervision of students or clinicians in the approved
dental practice site(s) as part of an accredited clinical training
program.
All teaching must be conducted at the dental practice site(s)
specified in the dentist's contract. If the supervising dentist provides dental
services while the student or clinician observes, the activity should be
treated as direct clinical care rather than teaching.
(5)
"Teledentistry"
means the delivery of dental services through the use of synchronous, real-time
communication and the delivery of services of a dental hygienist or expanded
function dental auxiliary pursuant to a dentist's authorization as defined in
section 4715.43 of the Revised
Code.
In order to qualify as teledentistry
activities, both the originating site(s) (location of the patient) and the
approved practice site(s) must be located in dental health resource shortage
areas.
All teledentistry activities must be
conducted at the practice site(s) specified in the dentist's
contract.
(B) A dentist who has signed a letter of
intent under paragraph (F) of the rule
3701-56-02 of the Administrative
Code and the department may enter into a contract providing for the dentist's
participation in the dentist loan repayment program. The dentist's employer or
another funder may also be a party to the contract.
(C) The contract shall include all of the
following obligations:
(1) Agreement by the
dentist to provide dental services in the dental health resource shortage
area(s) and practice site(s) approved by the department and agreed upon by the
dentist and director for the duration specified in the contract.
(2) Agreement by the dentist that, in
providing dental services in the dental health resource shortage area, he or
she will do all of the following:
(a) Provide
dental services in full-time practice or part-time
practice as specified in the contract;
(b) Provide dental services without regard to
a patient's ability to pay as defined under paragraph (A)(3) of this
rule;
(c) Meet the conditions
prescribed by the Social Security Act, 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C.A. as
amended (1981) and the Ohio department of medicaid for participation in the
medicaid program established under Chapter 5163. of the Revised Code and enter
into a contract with the Ohio department of medicaid and its contracting
managed care plans to provide comprehensive
dental services to recipients of the medicaid program at the approved dental practice site(s) as defined in
paragraph (C)(2)(d) of this rule;
(d)
Provide dental services at
the approved dental practice site(s) to a percentage of individuals
determined eligible for the medicaid program described in paragraph (C)(2)(c)
of this rule at least equal to the percentage of the general population in that
dental health resource shortage area which has been determined eligible for the
medicaid program.
(3)
Agreement by the department as provided in section
3702.91 of the Revised Code to
repay, so long as the dentist performs the service obligation to which he or
she has agreed under paragraph (C)(1) of this rule, all or part of the
dentist's educational expenses as defined in paragraph (H) of rule
3701-56-01 of the Administrative
Code.
(4) Agreement by the dentist
to pay the department the following as damages if he or she fails to complete
the service obligation to which he or she agreed under paragraph (C)(1) of this
rule:
(a) Three times the amount the
department has agreed to repay under paragraph (C)(3) of this rule;
or
(b) If funds from another source
are used to repay a portion of the dentist's loan, damages owed if the dentist
fails to complete the obligation will be the damages specified by the other
source of funds, or as outlined in paragraph (C)(4)(a) of this rule, whichever
is greater.
(5) If the
department assumes the dentist's duty to pay a portion of the loan, the
contract shall set forth the amount of each payment.
(D) The contract shall include the following
terms as agreed upon by the parties:
(1) The
dentist's required length of service in the dental health resource shortage
area which must be at least two years for an initial contract. Contracts may be
renewed for no more than two additional one-year periods;
(2) The dentist's
commitment to
full-time practice or part-time practice;
(3) The maximum amount that the department
will repay on behalf of the dentist;
(4) The extent to which the dentist's
teaching activities as defined under paragraph (A)(4) of this rule will be
counted toward the dentist's full-time or part-time practice hours under the
contract; and
(5)
The extent to which the dentist's teledentistry
activities as defined under paragraph (A)(5) of this rule will be counted
toward the dentist's full-time or part-time practice hours under the
contract.
(E) In
addition to the terms required under paragraphs (C) and (D) of this rule, the
contract may contain other terms agreed upon by the parties.
