Indian-American doc pays $1,850,000 for performing unnecessary tests, surgeries
Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Jan, 2023 01:38 PM
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."
Sunak and Murty's combined fortune is estimated to be 730 million pounds, double the estimated 300 million-350 million pounds wealth of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort.
With a population of more than 4.5 million, Indian-Americans make up 1.4% of the US population and are the largest group of South Asian-Americans. Biden, along with First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, thanked the South Asian community across America for their optimism, courage, and empathy.
Fashion Designer Prabal Gurung was one of the hosts of Diwali New York, a glitzy soiree held Saturday at The Pierre, fittingly a Taj Hotel. The party, now in its third year, highlights Diwali by bringing together high-powered South Asians with other New York luminaries — people who “the world saw as leaders and role models,” said host Anita Chatterjee, CEO of A-Game Public Relations.
Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan's High Commission in Kenya were ascertaining information from the authorities, Dawn news reported. Condolences poured in from politicians and colleagues on the journalist's death.
It was another former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who gave Sunak his first major government role when he first appointed him as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2019, and as the Chancellor in 2020. Sunak won popularity during the early weeks of the pandemic when he unveiled an extensive support plan for those unable to work during lockdown.
Diwali will be a public school holiday in New York City starting next year, Mayor Eric Adams announced at a press conference on Thursday with state assembly woman Jenifer Rajkumar. They were joined by Department of Education chancellor David Banks. The announcement comes two days before the festival of lights, which falls on October 24.
