A Corbin dentist pleaded not guilty Monday morning to charges that he allegedly defrauded the state of more than $13,000 over the last seven years.
Last month, a Whitley County 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.
Circuit Judge Paul Braden agreed to release Hungerbuhler on his own recognizance at the request of the special prosecutor in the case.
The case has been assigned to Special Judge Roderick Messer, and is scheduled for a hearing on Jan. 19.
Hungerbuhler’s attorney, David O. Smith, declined to comment on the case following court Monday.
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.
