Three dental practices in Washington state accused of engaging in fraudulent billing practices that resulted in overcharging Medicaid have reached settlements totaling more than $1 million, according to the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.
Toothdocs in Camas, WA, and Comfort Dental Vancouver and Dentist at Felida, both of which are in Vancouver, WA, reached settlements with the state’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division, according to a press release dated June 24 from the state attorney general’s office.
The practices agree to pay the following amounts to settle the allegations lodged against them:
- Toothdocs agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve claims that 100% of its billings for parenteral medicaments were for over-the-counter doses of ibuprofen. The miscoded billings that were submitted from October 2017 to March 2023 resulted in more than $370,000 in unjustified charges to Medicaid.
- Comfort Dental Vancouver agreed to pay $230,000 to resolve similar allegations that it billed Medicaid for parenteral medicaments when the services involved over-the-counter ibuprofen. Medicaid lost about $153,000 due to miscoding the bills.
- Dentist at Felida agreed to pay $360,300 to resolve claims that its improper billing led to about $212,000 in Medicaid losses. The dental practice reportedly submitted bills for emergency pain treatments and jawbone procedures without providing proper documentation or medical necessity.
