A health and wellness company, affiliated dental service organization (DSOs), and more agreed to resolve claims that they engaged in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Premier Dental Holdings, doing business as Sonrava Health, DSO Element Dental Partners, the Jersey Dental Group, a group of New Jersey dental practices managed by Element, and Mid-Atlantic Dental Services, have agreed to settle. They agreed to pay $540,000 to New Jersey and the U.S. to resolve allegations that it submitted or caused the submission of claims for reimbursement to the Medicare Part D program and the state Medicaid program between 2021 and 2023, according to a press release dated June 30 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Half of the settlement will be paid to the U.S., and the other half will be paid to New Jersey.
The fraudulent reimbursement claims were allegedly submitted for dental services that were performed by providers who were not credentialed or applicable managed care organizations but were billed using the National Provider Identifier of dentists who did not perform the services but who had the necessary credentials, according to the press release.
Sonrava Health is affiliated with 600 dental offices across 21 states. Some of its affiliated brands include Western Dental & Orthodontics, DentalWorks, Vital Smiles, Perfect Teeth, Brident Dental & Orthodontics, according to Sonrava’s website.
