October 22, 2014 — Dental Medicaid fraud may go unreported by dental clinic insiders who are forced by their financial circumstances to keep their heads down and hold onto their jobs. But when they are asked to take part in a Medicaid fraud scheme, many employees with private equity dental clinics decide to speak to a lawyer. When whistleblowers bring a lawsuit against unethical dental practices under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, they may receive a reward for their courage and share in any recovery by the government.
New York Dental Practices Previously Involved In Medicaid Billing Irregularities Now Monitored By Outside Program
The state of New York has recently reported that in 2013, it saved over $2 billion and recovered more than $875 million as a result of programs implemented to track Medicaid spending. The same year, New York’s Inspector General removed hundreds of providers from the Medicaid program, including dental practices implicated in dental Medicaid fraud schemes. In addition, 164 health care providers reportedly were referred for possible criminal prosecution.
In 2013, the cost of New York Medicaid-funded healthcare was $56 billion, provided by state and federal and local tax dollars. To reduce the incidence of Medicaid fraud, including dental Medicaid fraud, New York has initiated programs that require pre-payment billing reviews for all providers as well as targeted outside monitoring for providers involved with compliance issues in the past.
Insiders with a Conscience Collaborate to End Fraudulent Billing Schemes
Waters & Kraus is currently handling several dental Medicaid fraud cases in which we represent whistleblowers in lawsuits filed around the country. If you have fraudulent Medicaid claims against your employer, contact us or call our qui tam attorneys at 855.784.0268 to learn more about our practice and how we can work together to notify the government about fraudulent abuses of government-funded programs. Charles Siegel and Dan Hargrove, qui tam lawyers in Waters & Kraus’ Texas office, protect tipsters throughout the whistleblower lawsuit process.
