Heartland Dental, an Illinois company that manages dental practices in several states, has agreed to pay $1.65 million to resolve allegations that it falsely billed Illinois Medicaid. The whistleblower suit, brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, accused the company of defrauding Medicaid by miscoding uncovered procedures as though they were covered and upcoding simple procedures as though they were complex.
The company will also pay the U.S. $1.35 million to resolve allegations that newly hired dentists issued prescriptions prior to registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration as a means to generate revenue for Heartland, according to the April 11, 2008 press release from the US Attorney’s Office in Springfield,