Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Busy Wicker Dentist Adds Second Practice Catering to Medicaid, HMO Clients

By Alisa Hauser | December 23, 2014 5:18am
 Modern Dental is relocating its existing practice a few doors west and opening a second office in its original location that will cater to patients wth Medicaid and HMO insurance plans.
Modern Dental Expands Division Street Practice
View Full Caption

WICKER PARK — After receiving several phone calls from prospective patients inquiring if his office accepts Medicaid and HMO insurance, a busy Wicker Park dentist added a second practice exclusively devoted to folks with those health plans.

"We are booming and need more space," said Dr. Phillip Palella, founder of Modern Dental Chicago, at 2033 W. Division St., which is planning to relocate in February to a larger office just a few doors north, at 2037 W. Division St., at the base of a new six-unit luxury condo building.

A new practice, called Halo, which will serve folks with HMO or Medicaid plans, will take over Palella's existing storefront at 2033 W. Division St.

Palella, who previously served in Iraq and was a dentist there during his residency before opening his own practice five years ago, with locations in Wicker Park and Lincoln Park, has hired a few more workers to staff Halo.

Palella said his office received five or six calls every day asking if he accepted state-administered Medicaid or Health Maintenance Organization insurance.

"There is a big need to serve people that do not have PPO insurance," he said.

An online search on ZocDoc showed that there is just one other dentist in Wicker Park that accepts Medicaid.

Modern Dental's new office, scheduled to be completed in February, will have seven treatment rooms, up from four in the original spot.

On Monday, developer Brian Goldberg said that construction on the condos, ranging between $480,000 and $1.3 million, was wrapping up. The first residents are scheduled to move in this week, Goldberg said.

"Modern Dental having a second practice is a good thing for Division Street and the area in general," Goldberg said.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: