Arizona Cardiology Group to Pay $4.75 Million Over Unnecessary Vein Ablations
PHOENIX – A physician group based in the Phoenix metropolitan area and three individual doctors have agreed to pay $4.75 million to resolve allegations that they performed medically unnecessary vein ablations and billed federal health programs, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Tri-City Cardiology, P.C., along with Dr. Jaskamal Kahlon, Dr. Joshua D. Cohen, and Dr. M. Joshua Berkowitz, settled claims under the False Claims Act that from January 2017 through April 2022 they knowingly performed ablations on perforator veins that did not meet accepted medical standards for treatment.
Perforator veins are small vessels that connect deep and superficial leg veins and require treatment only under specific circumstances. Federal prosecutors alleged that the physicians incorrectly measured or documented the duration of outward blood flow, vein diameter, patient symptoms, and conservative therapy measures — creating the false appearance that the procedures were justified.
“Physicians should not prioritize profit over patient needs,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Medicare and other federal programs pay only for medical care that meets accepted standards, and the falsification of medical records undermines efforts to assess whether medical care was appropriate.”
The settlement resolves allegations that Tri-City Cardiology and the three doctors knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare and other federal health programs. No determination of liability has been made; the agreement resolves allegations only.
“Paying for unnecessary medical procedures reduces federal programs’ capacity to pay for truly necessary procedures,” said Timothy Courchaine, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. “When medical providers do not respect the difference between the two and bill in the interest of their own bottom line instead of their patients, the United States Attorney’s Office has pursued and will continue to pursue appropriate recoveries to protect taxpayer funds.”
Tri-City Settlement Agreement – Executed.pdf