Update (04/14) on moving away from DIDD 1915c Waivers

Hello! 

We received a lot of feedback in response to our email sent last Friday and want to update everyone. 

It is important to note that despite our recent announcement, we want to assure our patients that we will continue to provide dental care to individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). 

Our Mission Statement remains the same:  
“The mission of Michael D. Vaughan, D.D.S. (MDVDDS) is to provide comprehensive, competent dental services that meet the unique needs of our patients. We seek to develop a relationship of trust with those we treat, as well as their families and caregivers, making quality dental care accessible to all. We are a person-centered dentistry practice. “ 

All members of the DIDD Program also have dental coverage through the Adult Medicaid Program managed by DentaQuest. These members may also have Dental Coverage through MCOs (PPO dental insurance like BlueCross BlueShield, UHC, Amerigroup, etc.) and we still accept these plans.

Please feel free to utilize this website or email us at info@mdvdds.com to share any questions or comments you may have. 

Thank you! 
Michael D. Vaughan, D.D.S. Team 

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Moving away from DIDD 1915c Waivers (sent on 04/10)

Michael D. Vaughan, D.D.S. will no longer be a Dental Provider for TN DIDD. We will continue to provide services for the next 60 days (until June 9th, 2023).

Please read our public announcement below and leave comments.

Michael D. Vaughan, D.D.S.
04/10/2023

Ref:  1915c Waiver – Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

 Michael D. Vaughan D.D.S. is letting the public know that we will no longer be providing dental services under the DIDD 1915c waivers. We have been a DIDD dental provider for those in West, Middle, and East TN, and have been serving over 2,000 adults with special dental needs in TN since 2013. However, we have come to the difficult decision to drop the DIDD 1915c waivers due to the barriers in access to care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, due to the current conditions surrounding the approval process, it is no longer feasible to provide dentistry to the members of the 1915c Waivers.

We strongly believe that there should be accounting for the needs of IDD adults who rely on another person for their home oral health care, and there should be consideration for the special and unique accommodations that are made in treating the adult IDD population. Access to care should be equal for competent and non-competent adult patients. Unfortunately, the DIDD program does not currently meet these standards, and as a result, we can no longer continue to provide services under these waiver programs.

We will continue to happily see patients with special needs or those with special accommodations, with the only exception being that we will no longer be a DIDD provider after June 9th, 2023. 

We understand that this decision not only may impact our patients but also, the families, caregivers, conservators, providers and ISC agencies that have been working with us to ensure these individuals receive the necessary care. We encourage the IDD community and those that love and support them to advocate for the IDD population and communicate their concerns with DIDD, TennCare, and their State representatives.

We appreciate the opportunity to have worked with DIDD and the adult IDD population in the 1915c Waiver Program and wish you all the best in your efforts to improve access to care.

Sincerely,

 Michael D. Vaughan, D.D.S. Team