Massachusetts Reaches $3.5 Million Settlement with Aspen Dental for Deceptive Advertising Claims

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced a $3.5 million settlement with Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (Aspen Dental) resolving claims that the dental chain cheated thousands of Massachusetts consumers through a series of bait-and-switch advertising campaigns. 

The consent judgment, entered in Suffolk Superior Court today, settles a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Maura Healey in December 2021 alleging that Aspen Dental violated the state Consumer Protection Law and the assurances Aspen Dental made to the AG’s Office in a 2014 settlement addressing similar conduct. According to the AG’s lawsuit, Aspen Dental engaged in numerous deceptive advertising and marketing practices, including charging patients for services it advertised as “free,” as well as advertising that it worked with “all” insurance when it did not accept MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid program that includes dental coverage. 

The consent judgment follows an April 2022 court order that prohibited Aspen Dental from running “all insurance” advertisements without adequate disclosures.  

Read the source article at mass.gov