2 Washington state dentists to pay $1M Medicaid fraud settlement

Two Vancouver, Wash.-based dentists agreed to pay a $1 million to settle allegations that they submitted fraudulent claims to the state's Medicaid program, according to The Columbian.

Husband and wife team Liem Do, DDS, and Phuong-Oanh Tran, DDS, operated CareOne Dental, which comprised four dental offices in Washington and two in Oregon. The two are accused of routinely submitting false claims between January 2011 and June 2015, totaling $1 million.

The state attorney general's office claims the dentists would submit claims for services not performed at their clinic or noncovered services. Instead of submitting a claim for sealants, which are not covered by Medicaid, for example, the couple would file the claim as a restoration and filling, which is covered.

"Former CareOne employees verified these behaviors and confirmed that Dr. Do would alter billings submitted to Medicaid to reflect more lucrative services than had actually been performed," the attorney general said in a news release cited by The Columbian.

It was estimated that 12.6 percent of CareOne Dental's Medicaid claims were fraudulent, the state's Medicaid fraud control division found.

Drs. Do and Tran both still have their licenses to practice. The two now operate a single clinic in Vancouver, All Clear Dental.

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