Governor forces dentist off state regulatory board after company bilks Medicaid
For years, his company has been under fire over allegations its dentists performed painful, unnecessary work on children in a scheme to bilk Medicaid. Yet Kool Smiles’ chief dental officer, Dale G. Mayfield, since 2016 had a say in how dentists were being licensed and regulated all over Georgia.
Then Tuesday, Gov. Nathan Deal asked for and got Mayfield’s resignation. The action came as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked the governor’s office why Mayfield had remained on the Georgia Board of Dentistry after Kool Smiles agreed to settle a federal Medicaid fraud lawsuit for $23.9 million.
In that lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice accused the company of committing millions of dollars in Medicaid fraud in eight states, putting pressure on its dentists to rack up high-dollar claims, and subjecting children to excruciating procedures they didn’t need on baby teeth.
Kool Smiles clinics and their parent company, Marietta-based Benevis LLC, settled without acknowledging any wrongdoing.
Read more: https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional/governor-forces-dentist-off-state-regulatory-board/1zoc9hM2fmSQ66H0MGMMGL/