Honestly it’s an OSHA reg now, they have no choice - that or be fined out the wazoo. Even my doc’s office has been forced to comply, and he used to have mask and no mask areas of the waiting area.
To be clear, OSHA's jurisdiction involves employees and employers only - not the public. Those "regulations" regarding the mandates for the public to wear masks are part of the local government's pandemic protocols and are enforced by the local authorities. Businesses can be fined by the county, city, or state, depending on the regulations and enforcement. The individual office can have requirements for the public to wear masks as part of the overall pandemic guidelines. They only thing they can do if a patient refuses to wear a mask is to deny service.
You are welcome and thank you for your service. Medical/dental is my wheelhouse. Things are never as simple as they may appear to be and people's perceptions do not necessarily reflect all sides to an issue. I pray you get your surgery and it all goes well with you - with or without a mask.
OSHA is just an excuse for these idiots. They don’t even have an enforcement policy in our state but muh OSHA. It’s either compliant morons or pro-covid activists.
OSHA only applies to employment and not the public. Mask enforcement in businesses that interact with with public are under local jurisdictions as part of their pandemic protocol mandates. Fines that happen during a mask mandate are from the local authorities and is enforced by them. OSHA cannot fine a business owner for a member of the public not wearing a mask - OSHA only gets involved if it involves an employee. As far as I am aware of, employment mask requirements are the decision of an employer and not part of any regulation by OSHA for non-heath care workers. Health care workers that require PPE as a function of the job must be provided that protection equipment by the employer - masks, gloves, gowns, respirators, shields, scrubs, etc. The employer must also insure its proper use.
The Federal government has tried to avoid making mandates incumbent upon the public - something I am not sure they can legally do. That is why they have handed that dirty work over to the state and private businesses.
That's great. Hats off to you. It starts with one business at a time.
Where I live things have been semi-tyrannical. Not quite as bad as CA. But definitely not as unrestricted and FL, TX, and SD. Health care has a whole additional layer of scrutiny piled on just because of the nature of the business.
More and more health care is controlled by corporate entities. That means the BS rolls down hill from a corporate ivory tower by individuals with business degrees instead of licenses in health care. I know of privately owned practices, some of the few left, that are not requiring masks as long as the local mandates are removed. Corporately owned practices however, don't get to make their own rules and have had to keep the masks for the public per the corporate dictators. While the mandates are in force, businesses where I live busted by the mask hall monitors could face fines anywhere from a couple thousand dollars upwards to 50K in the case of health care practices - and that is for a first offense.
Dental practices are still struggling from the lockdowns last year because they stayed open for emergency care only - they financially took in the shorts. They were promised Covid aide and most never received a dime. The last thing they can afford is to get hit with a government fine not to mention attention from the State Dental Board. A state licensing board only exists to protect the public in it's jurisdiction over a practitioner's license. Other than initial issuance of the license and renewal, interaction with a state licensing board is usually never good. One Karen picking up the phone and placing a call to complain can cause all kinds of grief.
My dental office has worn masks long before covid. When they added a $12 surcharge for PPE that they've been using for years under the guise of covid I told them to call me when the nonsense stops. THEN they say "Your insurance pays for most of it." and I reply "You're charging me for something that you've done for years under the guise of covid so no thank you and by the way, who exactly do you think PAYS for that insurance?" What a messed up world...
Your experience is also another example of just how fucked up our health care system is. Thousands of dollars in bullshit charges, all justified with, "Insurance pays for it."
And you don't have to guess where that leaves those of us who cannot or choose not to get insurance.
I had a dentist do the exact same thing. So I asked what is the new ppe you are wearing? They said no it’s all the same but we put in a air purifier on our air conditioner so that is the increase in fee. So said see ya!
It’s bc the cost of the supplies have sky rocketed due to demand. Legit went up 10x for gloves, gowns etc. sauce: best friend works in a dental office.
You are correct. The cost of all PPE has gone through the roof while insurance reimbursement, which was low to begin with, has not kept pace. The cost of dentistry has forced many into corporate structures in order to cost save - mostly on materials and staff needed to deal with insurance. The public does not understand that private insurance reimbursement rates for dentistry have not changed much in decades. That is why more is being required for a patient to pay out of pocket. At the same time, that same insurance is costing more in premiums for getting less. A dental office is giving away that yearly exam, x-rays, and general cleaning in the hopes of making some money on procedures. I cannot blame the office for attempting to get back some of what it is costing them just to have their doors open.
What's frustrating about your comment is knowing that the governor in my state is literally still hoarding PPE at a county fairgrounds. It's like he's intentionally contributing to the shortage.
Honestly it’s an OSHA reg now, they have no choice - that or be fined out the wazoo. Even my doc’s office has been forced to comply, and he used to have mask and no mask areas of the waiting area.
To be clear, OSHA's jurisdiction involves employees and employers only - not the public. Those "regulations" regarding the mandates for the public to wear masks are part of the local government's pandemic protocols and are enforced by the local authorities. Businesses can be fined by the county, city, or state, depending on the regulations and enforcement. The individual office can have requirements for the public to wear masks as part of the overall pandemic guidelines. They only thing they can do if a patient refuses to wear a mask is to deny service.
Ah interesting thanks for the education
You are welcome and thank you for your service. Medical/dental is my wheelhouse. Things are never as simple as they may appear to be and people's perceptions do not necessarily reflect all sides to an issue. I pray you get your surgery and it all goes well with you - with or without a mask.
Good response. Own a business and have never required employees or clients to wear masks.
OSHA is just an excuse for these idiots. They don’t even have an enforcement policy in our state but muh OSHA. It’s either compliant morons or pro-covid activists.
OSHA only applies to employment and not the public. Mask enforcement in businesses that interact with with public are under local jurisdictions as part of their pandemic protocol mandates. Fines that happen during a mask mandate are from the local authorities and is enforced by them. OSHA cannot fine a business owner for a member of the public not wearing a mask - OSHA only gets involved if it involves an employee. As far as I am aware of, employment mask requirements are the decision of an employer and not part of any regulation by OSHA for non-heath care workers. Health care workers that require PPE as a function of the job must be provided that protection equipment by the employer - masks, gloves, gowns, respirators, shields, scrubs, etc. The employer must also insure its proper use.
The Federal government has tried to avoid making mandates incumbent upon the public - something I am not sure they can legally do. That is why they have handed that dirty work over to the state and private businesses.
That's great. Hats off to you. It starts with one business at a time.
Where I live things have been semi-tyrannical. Not quite as bad as CA. But definitely not as unrestricted and FL, TX, and SD. Health care has a whole additional layer of scrutiny piled on just because of the nature of the business.
More and more health care is controlled by corporate entities. That means the BS rolls down hill from a corporate ivory tower by individuals with business degrees instead of licenses in health care. I know of privately owned practices, some of the few left, that are not requiring masks as long as the local mandates are removed. Corporately owned practices however, don't get to make their own rules and have had to keep the masks for the public per the corporate dictators. While the mandates are in force, businesses where I live busted by the mask hall monitors could face fines anywhere from a couple thousand dollars upwards to 50K in the case of health care practices - and that is for a first offense.
Dental practices are still struggling from the lockdowns last year because they stayed open for emergency care only - they financially took in the shorts. They were promised Covid aide and most never received a dime. The last thing they can afford is to get hit with a government fine not to mention attention from the State Dental Board. A state licensing board only exists to protect the public in it's jurisdiction over a practitioner's license. Other than initial issuance of the license and renewal, interaction with a state licensing board is usually never good. One Karen picking up the phone and placing a call to complain can cause all kinds of grief.
My dental office isn’t wearing masks. Neither the employees or the patients. No OSHA fines
My dental office has worn masks long before covid. When they added a $12 surcharge for PPE that they've been using for years under the guise of covid I told them to call me when the nonsense stops. THEN they say "Your insurance pays for most of it." and I reply "You're charging me for something that you've done for years under the guise of covid so no thank you and by the way, who exactly do you think PAYS for that insurance?" What a messed up world...
Your experience is also another example of just how fucked up our health care system is. Thousands of dollars in bullshit charges, all justified with, "Insurance pays for it."
And you don't have to guess where that leaves those of us who cannot or choose not to get insurance.
That's the worst part. If you tell them that you're paying cash and not using insurance, it's odd how much the fees drop.
Lol! You gotta be kidding me these broke dicks. Seriously? Charging for PPE. What losers
I had a dentist do the exact same thing. So I asked what is the new ppe you are wearing? They said no it’s all the same but we put in a air purifier on our air conditioner so that is the increase in fee. So said see ya!
That's the only way that they're going to figure it out. Can't see how an air purifier is going to do much in preventing a bioweapon.
It’s bc the cost of the supplies have sky rocketed due to demand. Legit went up 10x for gloves, gowns etc. sauce: best friend works in a dental office.
You are correct. The cost of all PPE has gone through the roof while insurance reimbursement, which was low to begin with, has not kept pace. The cost of dentistry has forced many into corporate structures in order to cost save - mostly on materials and staff needed to deal with insurance. The public does not understand that private insurance reimbursement rates for dentistry have not changed much in decades. That is why more is being required for a patient to pay out of pocket. At the same time, that same insurance is costing more in premiums for getting less. A dental office is giving away that yearly exam, x-rays, and general cleaning in the hopes of making some money on procedures. I cannot blame the office for attempting to get back some of what it is costing them just to have their doors open.
What's frustrating about your comment is knowing that the governor in my state is literally still hoarding PPE at a county fairgrounds. It's like he's intentionally contributing to the shortage.
Hmm
"No choice," my ass. People need to grow a spine and stop being cucks to rules that only serve the oligarchy.