be adopted . Be it further resolved , that the Bylaws Committee craft the bylaws changes necessary to implement this model and present those bylaws changes in time for the initial workbook mailing of the 2014 meeting of the PDA House of Delegates .
Dr . Fred Johnson , chair of the Reference Committee on Organizational Affairs , delivers the report to the House of Delegates .
and Environmental Issues ) and create new advisory groups . The adoption of HD 13-08 made changes to the Bylaws that allowed the advisory group concept to be put into action immediately . Finally , the House needed to decide if we would redistrict . Was our current distribution of dentists across the state fair and current with the population today ? If you look at the representation by district you will see that Second District has increased in the past 50 years while First District has decreased , as many members have moved away from the big cities . If we are to have equal representation from our districts do we need to redraw the maps ? This was debated at length . There were many logical suggestions , each with merits and with drawbacks .
The final resolution approved by the HOD decided to leave the district structure of the PDA alone , but to combine some districts into Trustee Regions so that there would only be five district trustees . For example , First and Third districts would combined into Trustee Region 1 , represented by one trustee . The same would hold true for Fourth and Fifth districts , which would be Trustee Region 3 , Sixth , Seventh and Eighth districts would be Trustee Region 4 and Ninth and Tenth districts would be Trustee Region 5 .
Second District , being the largest district in the state would elect its own trustee . Effectively , we are going to create 5 trustee positions from the original 10 trustee model . This will be done by geography and not by skills .
The following resolution was approved by the HOD :
HD 13-10 : That the Reference Committee on Organizational Affairs ( RCOA ) governance model with 5 Trustee Regions
So , one can see that there were many challenges that faced the delegates to this year ’ s Annual Session . The reference committees were helpful for everyone . Many questions were asked and answered . I think that many had preconceived ideas that were changed based upon new information . Others strengthened their resolve through pushing their message to their colleagues . When the voting began at the Saturday House meeting the mood was upbeat that change was ahead .
In addition to the above referenced resolutions , the following were also passed :
HD 13-15 : The position of the PDA is that the auditor working on behalf of the third party payers reviewing dental claims possess the same degree of training and ADA recognized specialization as the health care provider being audited .
HD 13-16 : That the 2013 PDA budget in the amount of $ 2,895,867 be approved .
HD 13-15 was an attempt by the House to influence the way that insurance companies currently review claims . Member dentists have complained in the past that dental hygienists and other non-specialists are reviewing and denying claims that they don ’ t have expertise in deciding . Whether or not the insurance companies will change remains to be seen , but this was an example of PDA listening to members and taking action based upon what we can do . PDA can ’ t make changes to the dental law , legislative issues or insurance company policy . What we can do is make statements , push opinions and influence lawmakers , speak to those on the State Board of Dentistry and insurance leaders , and try to make recommendations that benefit all dentists in Pennsylvania .
The 145 th Annual Session concluded on Saturday evening with a lovely President ’ s Dinner . The tables were decorated with food baskets that would eventually be donated to the 2013 MOM-n-PA mission at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia .
Change is in the air . Please continue to read all of the information sent to you via print and email if you wish to be informed . Also , consider reaching out with your suggestions at this time of change . This is your PDA , and we would welcome your help and your support .
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