Xerox Investigation: Texas Authorities Reportedly Probe Printing Equipment Company, Subsidiary Over Medicaid Charges

(Reuters) - Xerox Corp and one of its wholly owned subsidiaries that contracted with the U.S. state of Texas to process dental claim forms are being investigated by state authorities to see if they played any role in allowing dentists to submit higher-than-required bills under the state's Medicaid system, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Affiliated Computer Services Inc, fully owned by Xerox, did not dedicate sufficient trained staff to audit the Medicaid requests, letting dentists get paid for procedures not covered by the program, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the WSJ said.

The current scrutiny of Xerox is part of a wider state investigation into Medicaid abuse that has largely targeted dentists and orthodontists, who have been accused by state officials of improperly billing the state for unnecessary procedures.

The company is under a contract with Texas and other states to process forms submitted by dentists, who seek to determine whether procedures they intend to do are covered by Medicaid, a federal-state program that insures lower-income people, the WSJ said.

Xerox said it helps administer Medicaid programs in 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and processes $54 billion in annual Medicaid spending, the Journal reported.

"Xerox has more than 40 years of experience working with government health agencies to enhance the efficiency of health programs," company spokeswoman Jennifer Wasmer told the WSJ. Wasmer refused to comment on the Texas investigation.

Company officials could not be reached outside of U.S. office hours by Reuters.

(Reporting by Sunayan Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Matt Driskill)