'The Braces Place' Kept Kids In Braces Longer Than Needed: AG

ANDOVER, MA — The Massachusetts attorney general sued Monday an orthodontist with practices in Lawrence and Lowell and accused him of defrauding the state of millions of dollars, including by keeping kids in braces longer than necessary.

Attorney General Maura Healey's office filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against Dr. Mouhab Z. Rizkallah and his business The Braces Place. Healy said that since Nov. 2013, Rizkallah has put in place illegal policies in order to defraud MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program.

“For years, this orthodontist used his young patients as pawns to steal millions of dollars from the state,” Healey said in a statement. “This illegal behavior harmed families from low-income communities and communities of color who rely on MassHealth for health care coverage. We are suing to hold Dr. Rizkallah accountable for these exploitative practices that victimized vulnerable residents in Massachusetts.”

Healey's office investigated following a patient complaint and a related MassHealth referral.

The Braces Place has locations in Somerville, Boston, Lawrence, Lowell, Framingham and Lynn.

The complaint accuses Rizkallah of employing various methods to collect extra money from MassHealth, regardless of medical need.

"For example, Dr. Rizkallah allegedly kept his MassHealth patients, mostly children, in braces longer than medically necessary so he could bill MassHealth for more money," Healey's office said in a news release. "To do this, he often put braces only on a child’s top teeth at the beginning of comprehensive orthodontic treatment, even when there was no medical justification for delaying putting braces on the bottom teeth. This significantly extended the patient’s treatment time and increased the amount of money collected from MassHealth."

It also accuses him of billing for custom-fitted sports mouthguards in cases where patients did not request, need or receive mouth guards, or did not receive custom-fitted ones.

"In fact, when provided at all, the mouth guards given to patients were the type sold in retail stores for $9.99 and Dr. Rizkallah allegedly instructed his staff to cut the price off the packaging before giving it to the patient," the news release continues. "Dr. Rizkallah billed MassHealth between $85 and $95 for each mouthguard. During this time, the AG’s Office alleges that MassHealth paid Dr. Rizkallah’s orthodontic practices more than $1 million for these mouth guards."

Healey's office also accuses the orthodontist of circumventing regulations for ensuring prior approval for comprehensive treatment.

The lawsuit calls for triple damages and civil penalties against Rizkallah and his businesses.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.