EXTRA CONTENT: Corbin dentist accused of Medicaid fraud

Read previous documents regarding Dr. Hungerbuhler’s denatal license, click here.

A Whitley County Grand Jury indicted a Corbin dentist Monday morning for allegedly defrauding the state over the last seven years of more than $13,000.

The grand jury indicted Ronald H. Hungerbuhler, 55, of Corbin, on seven counts of devising or engaging in a scheme to defraud the Kentucky Medical Assistance Program (KMAP) of $300 or more.

Shelley Catharine Johnson, a deputy communications director with the attorney general’s office, said that the investigation began this past August.

"The total amount that we believe the doctor defrauded the Kentucky Medicaid Program of was more than $13,000," Johnson said. "We were contacted by a Medicaid recipient on an unrelated matter in reference to doctor Hungerbuhler. Looking into that matter led us to the charges that are outlined in this indictment."

The indictment alleges that each January, beginning in 2003, Hungerbuhler billed for services he did not render by submitting fictitious and fraudulent claims valued at $300 or more.

It is alleged that Hungerbuhler received a list of Medicaid recipients residing at Christian Health Care Nursing Home in Corbin and billed for oral exams on each individual without performing the exams, according to a press release by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office.

Investigators and prosecutors from Attorney General Jack Conway’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control investigated and are handling the prosecution of the case.

Hungerbuhler is set to be arraigned Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. in Whitley Circuit Court before Judge Dan Ballou.

A summons will be issued for Hungerbuhler to appear at that time, according to the attorney general’s office.

The crime is a class ‘D’ felony punishable by one to five years in prison on each count, and a fine between $1,000 and $10,000, or double the gain, whichever is greater.

Brian Bishop, executive director of the Kentucky Dentistry Board, said that the board would follow its procedures and open up a complaint based upon the indictment and follow the case through court process until its conclusion.

Once the case has concluded, the board could take any number of actions, including the possible revocation of Hungerbuhler’s license to practice dentistry.

According to the Kentucky Board of Dentistry, Hungerbuhler has been a licensed dentist in Kentucky since June 16, 1980.
His practice type is listed as a general dentist, and his current license is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2009.
The board’s website notes that Hungerbuhler has had one action taken regarding his license on Aug. 8, 1998.

According to the settlement agreement Hungerbuhler signed, which the News Journal obtained through an open records request, Hungerbuhler failed to keep written dental records that justified his course of treatment and prescribed "schedule narcotics in inappropriate amounts or quantities not in the best interest of the patients."

For the purpose of the settlement agreement, Hungerbuhler admitted violating the regulation without a written accusation, notice of administrative hearing or order by the board, according to the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hungerbuhler’s license to practice dentistry was placed on probation for two years.
"It is also stipulated that the respondent shall permanently voluntarily surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration certificate to prescribe scheduled drugs and respondent shall not seek to be issued such certificate for as long as respondent holds a license to practice dentistry in the Commonwealth of Kentucky," the agreement stated.

As of press time, Hungerbuhler had not returned a message left on the answering machine at his office seeking comment.