Mich. AG Gets to Root of Problem with Dentist

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced that he has charged an Eaton County dentist with 23 felonies for filing false claims to Michigan’s Medicaid-funded Healthy Kids Dental Program.

Thomas James Cuda, 56, of Lansing was taken into custody by Attorney General investigators Thursday. Judge Harvey Hoffman arraigned Cuda on Thursday in Charlotte’s 56-A District Court on 23 counts of Medicaid False Claims, a four-year felony which also carries a maximum $50,000 fine. Cuda was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond and will be back in court Sept. 12 for a pre-exam conference.

The charges arise out of an investigation by Cox’s Health Care Fraud Division into Cuda’s dental practice located at 1467 S. Main Street in Eaton Rapids that reportedly revealed Cuda was billing for services he did not provide.

Cuda is reported to have sent claims to the Healthy Kids Dental Program for restoration work that was not provided, or was provided to a lesser degree than billed, on patients seen between October 10, 2001 and March 26, 2003.

Healthy Kids Dental, a public-private partnership between the State of Michigan and Delta Dental Plan of Michigan, is a dental benefits program for Medicaid beneficiaries under the age of 21. It is available in 37 counties and covers basic dental health benefits such as X-rays, cleanings, cavity fillings, root canals, tooth extractions and dentures. Approximately 130,000 Michigan children are served by this program.