A Colorado Springs-based pediatric vision and dental provider will repay the state roughly $8 million after officials accused it of billing Health First Colorado for tens of thousands of eyeglass lenses that children never received. Hero DVO allegedly billed for 123,990 extra lenses since March 2020, effectively charging Medicaid for twice as many corrective lenses as it actually made for patients. The company will make its first repayment of $125,000 next week, with the rest paid in quarterly installments spread across four years.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced the settlement, saying the action “held the company to account for its fraudulent conduct that harmed the state's Medicaid program,” according to The Denver Post. Weiser added that Hero DVO “perpetrated a scheme designed to bill for unneeded lenses that were never provided to patients.” The settlement works out to about $65 per lens the company is alleged to have double-billed. Hero DVO has denied any wrongdoing, and the Colorado Attorney General's Office has noted that the company provides vision services to underserved children.
The $8 million figure is a fraction of what the state could have pursued. Colorado could have sought up to $61 million, which was three times the maximum possible damages and the most the state could seek. If Hero DVO enters bankruptcy, the state has structured the deal so it could still reclaim up to that amount if the company fails to make good on the settlement terms.
A Provider Behind a Broader Practice-Services Organization
PitchBook identifies Hero Practice Services as a private company headquartered in Colorado Springs and lists investors, but the cited material does not establish its relationship to Hero DVO. The company was founded in 2006 and serves children in underserved communities. The settlement concerns Hero DVO, the provider named in the case.
Colorado's potential exposure figure was much larger than the settlement: the state could have pursued up to $61 million. Colorado's False Claims Act is discussed in a Colorado Access document. The $8 million figure reflects the structured settlement described in the case, rather than the full amount the state could have sought.
Part of a Broader Crackdown on Pediatric Vision Billing
The Hero DVO case fits into a sustained, multi-year enforcement push by the Colorado Attorney General's office targeting pediatric vision billing under Health First Colorado. In January, the state reached combined settlements of $520,000 with Greeley-based Apex Vision and Wellness and Fountain-based Just for Grins Vision over allegations the clinics double-billed Medicaid for children's corrective lenses. In September 2025, Thornton-based Vista Eye Care agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve similar improper billing allegations, per Stop Fraud Colorado.
More recently, in June, Weiser filed criminal charges against two Jefferson County men accused of defrauding Health First Colorado of more than $12 million by billing for thousands of pediatric eyeglass frames and vision services that were never provided. Hoodline separately covered New York eye-care operator Maksim Grinberg in an alleged $9 million Medicaid scheme in this report.
What Colorado Medicaid Actually Covers for Kids
Health First Colorado provides enrollees aged 20 and younger with routine eye examinations and prescription eyeglasses, including single- or multi-focus plastic lenses and one standard frame, according to Health First Colorado. The benefit structure describes the glasses coverage available to children, while the state's allegations concern the alleged extra-lens billing.
The enforcement pattern extends beyond dispensing clinics. In September 2022, Colorado received over $1 million as part of a multi-state settlement with optical lens manufacturer Essilor of America over allegations the company paid illegal kickbacks to eye care providers to induce Medicaid referrals, according to the HHS Office of Inspector General. That case showed state and federal investigators scrutinizing both ends of the pediatric vision supply chain.
A National Enforcement Trend With Real Payoffs
The Hero DVO settlement is presented here in the context of broader state healthcare fraud enforcement.
Beyond vision billing, Colorado's pediatric Medicaid program has drawn scrutiny in other therapy and care categories, as discussed in Hoodline's report on Colorado's autism therapy case. Together, the cases point to pressure on Colorado's administration of pediatric Medicaid reimbursements across multiple therapy and care categories.
