Xerox Corp. and several of its former subsidiaries has agreed to pay $239.5 million to the state of Texas in settling a lawsuit charging the Norwalk-headquartered company with violating the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act through fraudulent Medicaid payments made while the company was responsible for pre-authorizations for Texas Medicaid patients”™ dental work.
The state of Texas launched a formal investigation into the matter in April 2012 and filed its initial lawsuit in May 2014, charging Xerox, its then-subsidiaries Conduent and Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership, with improperly approving orthodontic prior-authorization requests for Medicaid coverage. The actions resulted in taxpayer-funded orthodontic work performed on thousands of children who either didn”™t meet the Medicaid standard for braces or didn”™t require treatment.
Last June, the Texas Supreme Court found Xerox responsible for $1 billion in fraudulent Medicaid payments made while the company was responsible for pre-authorizations for Texas Medicaid patients”™ dental work.
Xerox did not publicly comment on the settlement. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the settlement represents the largest single resolution in a case filed by the state for Medicaid-related claims.
“Misconduct by employees of Xerox and its related companies compromised the integrity of the Medicaid program ”“ the very program Texas hired the Xerox defendants to safeguard through the administration of a proper prior authorization review,” Paxton said. “We”™re proud of this recovery of taxpayer money. My office is committed to ensuring that Medicaid dollars are preserved for those who need it most.”
