WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley, senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said the decision of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services to disqualify CSHM, LLC from the Medicaid program "will protect both taxpayers and vulnerable children receiving dental care in the Medicaid program."

The Inspector General delivered a Notice of Exclusion (click here to read the Notice) following a year-long investigation by Grassley and then-Chairman Max Baucus of Montana into allegations of abusive treatment of children in clinics controlled by corporate investors rather than dentists.  The senators issued a report and recommendations last July and urged the administration to ban dental clinics from participating in the Medicaid program if the dental clinics circumvent state laws designed to ensure only licensed dentists own dental practices to prevent substandard care.

"Our oversight found that when states can't hold owners accountable, then clinics are more likely to fail to meet standards that protect the children who should be helped," Grassley said.  "The actions of some dental practices strained the Medicaid program and put low-income children in traumatic, highly questionable situations."

The "Joint Staff Report on the Corporate Practice of Dentistry in the Medicaid Program" (click here to read the Report) released by Grassley and Baucus focused on dental management companies organized as a corporation or limited liability company that works with dentists in multiple states.  The investigation found a failure to meet quality and compliance standards including unnecessary treatment on children, improper administration of anesthesia, providing care without proper consent, and overcharging the Medicaid program.

According to the report, while many clinics technically meet state-level rules requiring their owners to be licensed dentists, some clinics nonetheless placed control of their operations in the hands of corporate investors with the results placing "profits above patient care."  Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia ban corporate dentistry.

The Grassley-Baucus report also recommended that Medicaid be allowed to reimburse mid-level dental providers, such as dental therapists.  Mid-level providers are in a position to provide much of the needed dental care at current Medicaid reimbursement rates.

"Access to dental services is a concern and empowering mid-level providers is a common sense solution," Grassley said.

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley will participate in 16 meetings in Iowa during the week of March 17 as part of his annual 99-county tour.

Grassley has visited each of Iowa's 99 counties at least once every year for a meeting since he was first elected to the U.S. Senate.

On March 17, 19, 20 and 21, Grassley will be in Waukon, Monona, Oelwein, Calmar, Cresco, Tama, Marengo, Coralville, Oskaloosa, Sigourney, Kalona, Le Claire, Maquoketa, Manchester, Dyersville and Anamosa.  The meetings in Oelwein, Calmar and Cresco were originally to be held on Feb. 17 but were rescheduled due to weather.

"Representative government is a two-way street.  It's strengthened by dialogue between elected officials and the people we represent," Grassley said.  "I appreciate the opportunity to hold town meetings, go directly to Iowans in their workplaces, and answer questions and take comments where people are gathered for civic group meetings.  I also enjoy meeting with high school students as they study current affairs and government."

Grassley will be available for 15 minutes before or after each meeting to answer questions from local reporters, except for the meeting in Monona.  Grassley's town meetings in Cresco, Maquoketa and Anamosa are open to the public and media.  Members of the media should contact individual organizations about attending other events, as Grassley is a guest of the organizations.

Grassley's schedule for the week of March 17 is as follows:_­

Monday, March 17

8:20-9 a.m.

Q&A with students at Waukon High School

1061 3^rd Ave. NW

Waukon

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes before the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

9:30-10:30 a.m.

Q&A with students at MFL MarMac High School

700 North Page Street

Monona

Noon-1 p.m.

Q&A with the Rotary Club of Oelwein
Luigi's Restaurant
1020 South Frederick Ave.
Oelwein

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

2:30-3:15 p.m.

Q&A with students at South Winneshiek High School

203 West South Street

Calmar

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes before the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

4-5 p.m.

Howard County Town Meeting

Cresco Bank & Trust, Community Room

126 Second Ave. Southeast

Cresco

*This Grassley town meeting is open to the public.  Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

Wednesday, March 19

8:15-9 a.m.

Q&A with students at South Tama County High School

1715 Harding Street

Tama

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

10:15-11:15 a.m.

Q&A with students at Iowa Valley High School

359 East Hilton Street

Marengo

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

Noon-1 p.m.

Q&A with North Corridor Rotary Club

Vesta Restaurant

849 Quarry Road

Coralville

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

Thursday, March 20

8-9 a.m.

Tour and Q&A with employees at Clow Valve Company

902 South Second Street

Oskaloosa

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

10-11 a.m.

Tour and Q&A with employees at Sigourney Tractor Company

1407 200^th Ave.

Sigourney

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

12:15-1:15 p.m.

Q&A with employees of Kalona Coop Telephone Company

Kalona Area Chamber of Commerce

514 B Ave.

Kalona

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

6-8 p.m.

Q&A with Le Claire Lions Club

Crane & Pelican Restaurant

127 South 2^nd Street

Le Claire

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes before the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

Friday, March 21

8-9 a.m.

Jackson County Town Meeting

Jackson County Courthouse, Community Room

201 West Platt Street

Maquoketa

*This Grassley town meeting is open to the public.  Grassley will be available for 15 minutes before the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

10:15-11:15 a.m.

Q&A with the Delaware County Farm Bureau

115 East Delaware Street

Manchester

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

Noon-1 p.m.

Q&A with the Dyersville Noon Lions Club

Country Junction Restaurant

913 15^th Ave. SE

Dyersville

*Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

2-3 p.m.

Jones County Town Meeting

Jones County Courthouse, Courtroom

500 West Main Street

Anamosa

*This Grassley town meeting is open to the public.  Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after the meeting to answer questions from local reporters.

The Wartburg College Wind Ensemble will stop at the Central Performing Arts Center in DeWitt Saturday, March 22, for a free-will concert as part of its annual spring tour of Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. The concert will be held in the auditorium at Central Community High School, beginning at 7 p.m.

The ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Craig A. Hancock, director of bands at the college, located in Waverly. The group tours the Midwest each spring and makes an international tour every third year during May Term.

In their college years, both Josh Greubel and Brittany Manning, Central's high school and middle school band directors, toured with the Wind Ensemble as did Central and Wartburg graduates Duane Bierman, Stephanie Wiese, Rachel Vickers, Melanie Saunders and Colleen Tague, among others.

Davenport, IA-The Quad City Symphony Orchestra and WVIK-Augustana Public Radio are presenting the Amadeus Trio, one of the foremost piano trios in the world, as the fourth installment of their Signature Series. The Amadeus Trio is recognized for their brilliant virtuosity and superb musicianship. The Los Angeles Times has proclaimed them "a world-class ensemble. Yes, world-class!" The Amadeus Trio, a Quad City Arts Visiting Artist, is comprised of Hiroko Sasaki, piano; Timothy Baker, violin; and David Teie, cello. The Amadeus Trio is performing works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Mendelssohn on Saturday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Wallenberg Hall in the Denkmann Memorial Building at Augustana College. This performance is sponsored by the Wheelan-Pressly Family of Funeral Homes.

Celebrating twenty-two seasons of rave review performances to overwhelmingly enthusiastic audiences, the Amadeus Trio is generally acknowledged as occupying a position among the foremost piano trios in the world. All three artists also enjoy award-winning solo careers. The Amadeus Trio has appeared with regularity in principal cultural centers including New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, Miami, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City. In addition to their formal concert season, the Trio is an established guest at summer chamber festivals throughout the United States and Europe. Numerous performances of the Amadeus Trio have been broadcast on National Public Radio's Performance Today and they have been hailed as "a powerhouse American chamber group!" by the Toronto Star.

The Amadeus Trio will be touring Quad City schools during the week as participants in the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist series. During their week-long residency, the Amadeus Trio will visit 15 schools and other outreach sites.

The Signature Series is presented by WVIK-Augustana Public Radio 90.3 FM in collaboration with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Augustana College. Performed in Augustana College's Wallenberg Hall and rebroadcast on WVIK, this versatile and intimate six-concert series features select members of the QCSO and visiting artists from across the nation. Under the artistic direction of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, the Signature Series is a testament to the vitality of the classical music community in the Quad Cities. This performance by the Amadeus Trio will be rebroadcast on WVIK-Augustana Public Radio 90.3 FM on Sunday, March 23, at 7:00 p.m.

featuring the Amadeus Trio
Quad City Arts Visiting Artist
Saturday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m.
Wallenberg Hall, Augustana College
This concert is sponsored by the Wheelan-Pressly Family of Funeral Homes

Wallenberg Hall is on the second floor of the Denkmann Memorial Building, 3520 7th Avenue, Rock Island. Elevator access is available. Parking is in Lot E adjacent to Centennial Hall lot or Lot H adjacent to Lutheran House, with handicapped parking immediately behind the Denkmann Memorial Building.

Tickets for the WVIK/QCSO Signature Series are $25, with a $10 student ticket available. Get your tickets today by calling 563.322.QCSO (7276) or visiting www.qcsymphony.com. Tickets will also be available at the door.

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