PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - MaineCare is no longer providing payments to a Lewiston oral surgeon who's fighting to keep his license in the face of allegations of incompetence and a lack of professionalism.
Dr. Jan Kippax said the decision by MaineCare is hurting his business because about half of his patients rely on the program.
The Sun Journal reports that patients have alleged that Kippax improperly restrained them, failed to control their pain, allowed bleeding to go untreated, and even refused to stop extractions when they pleaded with him to cease.
Kippax told the Maine Board of Dental Practice that part of the problem is that he was willing to take low-income, troubled patients. He said a quarter of them are current or former drug addicts who didn't react well to traditional pain medication.