A pediatric vision and dental provider will pay Colorado roughly $8 million after it allegedly billed for twice as many corrective lenses as it made for patients.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday that it had reached a after the Colorado Springs company allegedly billed for 123,990 extra lenses since March 2020. Hero DVO apparently didn’t double-bill for frames that would house the lenses.
“Hero DVO perpetrated a scheme designed to bill for unneeded lenses that were never provided to patients,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a news release. “Today’s action holds the company to account for its fraudulent conduct that harmed our state’s Medicaid program. We will continue to remain vigilant about protecting Colorado from fraudsters.”
In the settlement, Hero denied any wrongdoing. The company, which the AG’s office says provides vision services to underserved children, will repay the state in quarterly installments over four years. The first, worth $125,000, is due next week.
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The settlement comes out to about $65 per lens. If Hero were to go into bankruptcy, Colorado could try to reclaim about $61 million, which is three times the maximum possible damages and the most the state could seek.
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