Close X
Sunday, December 22, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian-American doc pays $1,850,000 for performing unnecessary tests, surgeries

Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Jan, 2023 01:38 PM
  • Indian-American doc pays $1,850,000 for performing unnecessary tests, surgeries

New York, Jan 11 (IANS) An Indian-American doctor has agreed to pay approximately $1,850,000 for allegedly billing the government for cataract surgeries and diagnostic tests that were not medically required.

Aarti D. Pandya and her Pandya Practice Group violated the False Claims Act by also performing and billing for tests that were incomplete or of worthless value, and office visits that did not provide the level of service claimed.

"Physicians who perform procedures and tests without a legitimate medical need place profits ahead of patients and subject those patients to unnecessary risk," said US Attorney Ryan K Buchanan in a statement released on Monday.

"This settlement represents our office's commitment to ensuring accountability for physicians who subject patients to unwarranted medical care and waste taxpayer funds," Buchanan said.

From January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016, Pandya knowingly submitted false claims to federal healthcare programmes for medically unnecessary cataract extraction surgeries and YAG laser capsulotomies, according to a Justice Department release.

The prosecution alleged that Pandya performed these procedures on patients that did not qualify for the procedure under accepted standards of medical practice and, in some cases, caused injury to her patients.

Additionally, it accused Pandya of falsely diagnosing patients with glaucoma to justify unnecessary diagnostic testing and treatment that was billed to Medicare.

The prosecution also said that many of the diagnostic tests that Pandya ordered were not properly performed, were performed on a broken machine, or were not interpreted in the medical record, as required by Medicare.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) imposed in 2019 a payment suspension on the Pandya Practice Group that precluded it from receiving any reimbursement from Medicare for Part B claims.

As part of the settlement of the government's claims in this case, the Pandya Practice Group agreed to forfeit the suspension amount to the government.

The payment suspension will also be lifted as part of the settlement.

To protect federal healthcare programmes and beneficiaries going forward, Pandya and the Pandya Practice Group have entered into a detailed, multi-year Integrity Agreement and Conditional Exclusion Release (IA) with the Office of Inspector General.

"We must assure patients and taxpayers that healthcare is dictated by clinical needs, not fiscal greed," said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "This settlement should serve as a reminder that the FBI will not tolerate healthcare providers who engage in schemes that defraud the industry and put innocent patients at risk."

MORE International ARTICLES

Iconic Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons opens in the capital of India

Iconic Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons opens in the capital of India
Canada's iconic coffee and baked goods brand established in 1964, Tim Hortons, opens its first outlet in India today, August 11. The coffee shops at Select Citywalk Mall (Saket) and DLF Cyberhub (Gurugram) will feature warm and comfortable interiors and a welcoming environment inspired by the brands Canadian origins. 

Iconic Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons opens in the capital of India

Trump remains mum during deposition on 'tax frauds'

Trump remains mum during deposition on 'tax frauds'
Trump, who was summoned by the AG soon after the FBI raid on his Mar a Lago Florida residence to unearth official and classified documents he took home after presidency, is facing a civil suit against him for misstating and inflating accounts and valuations on his properties and realties to secure bank loans to enhance his business and tax breaks to aggregate his profits. 

Trump remains mum during deposition on 'tax frauds'

Ex US president Donald Trump's Florida residence raided by the FBI.

Ex US president Donald Trump's Florida residence raided by the FBI.
Former US Secretary of State and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton trolled ex-President Donald Trump, implicitly reminding people of some of the reportedly brazenly destructive impacts of Trump's time in the public spotlight. 

Ex US president Donald Trump's Florida residence raided by the FBI.

US declares public health emergency over monkeypox

US declares public health emergency over monkeypox
New York, California and Illinois, the top three states in terms of confirmed monkeypox cases in the country, have already declared state of emergencies in response to the outbreak. Some cities, including New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, have also made their own emergency declarations.

US declares public health emergency over monkeypox

US probes reports of Sikh turbans being confiscated at Mexico border

US probes reports of Sikh turbans being confiscated at Mexico border
US authorities have said investigations were underway into reports that turbans of Sikh asylum seekers were confiscated after they were detained at the country's border with Mexico, the media reported.  According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nearly 50 Sikh migrants have had their turbans taken away, the BBC reported.

US probes reports of Sikh turbans being confiscated at Mexico border

At least 41 structures destroyed in California's largest wildfire of 2022

At least 41 structures destroyed in California's largest wildfire of 2022
The fast-moving wildfire that began on Friday afternoon near the Yosemite National Park in central California's Mariposa County scorched 18,087 acre (73.2 square km) with 26 per cent containment as of Tuesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). 

At least 41 structures destroyed in California's largest wildfire of 2022