Thornton eye care clinic to pay $250,000 over illegal Medicaid billing in settlement with Attorney General Phil Weiser

Thornton eye care clinic to pay $250,000 over illegal Medicaid billing in settlement with Attorney General Phil Weiser

Sept. 16, 2025 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced a settlement with Vista Eye Care, a Thornton-based eye clinic, to resolve allegations that the clinic illegally billed the state's Medicaid program for thousands of corrective lenses for children and young adults. The clinic will pay a fine totaling $250,000 under the agreement.

"We all pay the costs of Medicaid fraud as taxpayers, but the people who are hurt most by Medicaid fraud are the Coloradans who lean on the program to pay for things like prescription lenses for their kids," said Attorney General Weiser. "In this case, the defendants cooperated throughout the investigation and reached a settlement that will ensure the state is not harmed financially. I will continue to hold accountable any providers that fail to follow Colorado's Medicaid laws."

Medicaid provides eligible Coloradans and their dependents with health care coverage, including vision coverage for children and young adults under the age of 20. Vision benefits include one pair of frames and two lenses. This includes lower-cost spherical lenses, which are for people with relatively lower prescriptions, and more expensive aspherical lenses, which are prescribed for those with higher prescriptions.

The investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Abuse and Neglect Unit within the Colorado Attorney General's Office found that, from 2019-2025, Vista Eye Care billed the state for two sets of lenses for nearly 3,000 claims but provided only one set to patients. While the clinic did provide aspherical lenses for children, it also billed the state for unnecessary spherical lenses that were never created.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Vista will pay the state $100,000 immediately and then follow up with two $75,000 payments on the first and second anniversaries of the agreement.

Read a copy of the settlement agreement (PDF).

The Colorado Medicaid Fraud Abuse and Neglect Unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $3,858,544 for federal fiscal year 2024. The remaining 25%, totaling $1,286,181, is funded by the state of Colorado for the federal fiscal year.

Those who have knowledge of or suspect Medicaid fraud are encouraged to file a complaint with the attorney general at StopFraudColorado.gov.

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Media Contact: Elliot Goldbaum Community Education and Communications Manager (720) 508-6769 office [email protected]