Oklahoma-based Ocean Dental has agreed to pay $5.05 million to settle Medicaid fraud claims, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma and the state's attorney general.
The settlement resolves allegations that Ocean Dental submitted false Medicaid claims for dental work that was never performed or billed at a higher rate than allowed, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Stillwater-based company, which operates 28 clinics in seven states, did not admit liability.
The U.S. and Oklahoma contend that Ocean Dental submitted false claims for payment to the Oklahoma Medicaid program for dental restorations during the period from January 1, 2005, through September 30, 2010. Specifically, it is alleged that claims for dental restorations furnished to Medicaid beneficiaries by Ocean Dental's then-employee Robin Lockwood, DDS, were false because they were either upcoded by billing for more restored surfaces than were actually performed or not performed at all.
The settlement releases the company and owner Chad Hoecker, DDS, from civil liability in the case, but the company has also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General that requires additional record keeping, reporting, and compliance requirements.
In a separate case, Dr. Lockwood had pleaded guilty in July of 2012 to committing healthcare fraud for her role while employed at Ocean Dental. In 2012, she was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $375,672 in restitution.
