New York dentists overcharged the state's dental plan $1.6 million for scaling and root planing (SRP), according to an audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
New York State Department of Health guidelines limit SRP to two quadrants per visit and once every three years on the same quadrant. Charges for SRP in excess of these limits accounted for nearly one-third of the amount that Group Health, the state's dental benefit administrator, paid dentists for this procedure over a four-year period.
In addition, the audit found only 33% of dentists surveyed had completed the required periodontal charting for the procedure.
The comptroller recommended that the state attempt to recover the amounts overbilled by the dentists and institute tighter controls to ensure such lapses don't occur in the future.
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