Medicare Contractor Payments to Providers for Hospital Outpatient Dental Services in Jurisdiction H Generally Did Not Comply With Medicare Requirements

Medicare contractor payments made to providers in Jurisdiction H (Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) for hospital outpatient dental services generally did not comply with Medicare requirements. Of the 100 dental services in our stratified random sample, 91 did not comply with Medicare requirements. Using our sample results, we estimated that Medicare contractors improperly paid providers in Jurisdiction H at least $1.7 million from January 1, 2012, through August 31, 2014.