Report: Hundreds Of CA Dentists May Be Overbilling Medicaid

FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ) — Auditors for the U.S. Health and Human Services Department are questioning the billing practices of three-hundred-twenty-nine dentists, and six orthodontists.

In one case, a dentists billed Denti-Cal for more than one-thousand services per day, while in another instance, a dentist provided more than thirty procedures, including crowns and root canals, to a four-year-old.

The state average payment per child is $166, but one dentist managed to get nearly $700.

According to federal investigators, about 8% of California dentists treating children enrolled in Denti-Cal may be overcharging.

In response to the concerns, state officials say they’ll begin monitoring providers more closely.