The Texas Attorney General's (AG) office is investigating 31 orthodontists for possible Medicaid fraud, according to testimony by David Maxwell, deputy director of law enforcement for the AG's office, before the state's House Public Health Committee.
The controversy stems from the fact that spending on braces jumped from $102 million in 2008 to $185 million in 2010, and youngsters who typically see their orthodontist an average of 12 times a year saw them 22 times in fiscal 2010, reported the Dallas Morning News.
Some 24% of the nearly 80,000 children who last year received orthodontic services from Medicaid were younger than age 12. Starting in March, the minimum treatment age for children with severely misaligned teeth in Texas will be 13, according to dallasnews.com.
