Greedy Dentists Make a Killing Stealing from Medi-Cal

“It’s all about the money,” was the operating creed of Hatch Dental, as described in a 42-count felony complaint filed by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer in September. The complaint describes how 20 defendants affiliated with three Hatch Dental clinics let greed rule their practice at the expense of patient health and safety.

(PRWEB) October 7, 2004

In spring of 2002, when Brian Kanarek, DDS asked defendant Kyon Maung Teo (the alleged ringleader) why he over-diagnosed treatment, Teo told him, “Something has to pay for this practice. “ After Kanarek diagnosed only 2 fillings for a patient whom Teo diagnosed with 26, Teo told him to leave Hatch Dental “and don’t come back.”

Kanarek was not the only dentist to question practices at Hatch. When Tarlochan Singh, DDS, questioned Teo’s diagnostic methods, Teo replied, “It is so hard to make a living by practicing dentistry these days.”

“You won’t make any money by noting ‘observe’ or ‘watch’ on the charts, or by recommending sealants,” Teo told another dentist.

The felony complaint (Attorney General Case Number SA2002MC5588- People v. Kyon Maung Teo, DDS, et al.) alleges that Hatch dentists enhanced their income by performing unnecessary services-–including as many as 28 fillings on a patient in a single visit, billing for services not provided, offering kickbacks to patients, and using unlicensed assistants to provide services. The complaint can be found online at http://caag.state.ca.us/newsalerts/2004/04-110_complaint.pdf

“This was not a sophisticated scam,” said Robin Mathias, principal of Mathias Consulting, a firm specializing in controlling healthcare fraud, “It is a case of dentists doing horrible things to people just to make more money.”

“Hatch Dental obviously thought they could get away with abusing their patients and defrauding the state and other insurers. What is scary is how long this abuse was allowed to continue,” said Mathias, “When a dental practice routinely bills for a large number of services per person, it should always raise a red flag for the insurer.”

“I wish this were an isolated case. Unfortunately, for every scam like this that insurers find,” continued Mathias, “there are ten more where the dentists are better at hiding their tracks. They aren’t quite as greedy. They’re a little more careful. Those scams may continue for years and never be uncovered.”

About Mathias Consulting

Mathias Consulting dramatically decreases the expenses caused by the fraud that is found in every healthcare system. We've identified hundreds of millions of dollars of suspect claims for our clients. For example, we identified four physicians who wrote prescriptions for $2 million of growth hormones for patients they had never examined.

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