Dr. Aarti Pandya Of Georgia Pays $1.85 Million For Healthcare Fraud

India-West News Desk

ATLANTA, GA – An Indian American doctor, Aarti D Pandya and her Pandya Practice Group based in Conyers, near here, has agreed to pay nearly $1,850,000 to resolve allegations that she billed the government for cataract surgeries and diagnostic tests that were not medically necessary for six years.

She violated the False Claims Act by also billing for incomplete or worthless tests and office visits that did not provide the level of service claimed, the Department of Justice said.

This settlement resolves allegations that between 2011 and 2016, Pandya knowingly submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary cataract extraction surgeries and YAG laser capsulotomies. 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.

“Physicians who perform procedures and tests without a legitimate medical need place profits ahead of patients and subject those patients to unnecessary risk,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan “This settlement represents our office’s commitment to ensuring accountability for physicians who subject patients to unwarranted medical care and waste taxpayer funds.”

This settlement, the DoJ said, resolves allegations that from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2016, Pandya knowingly submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary cataract extraction surgeries and YAG laser capsulotomies.  The government 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, the government alleged that Pandya falsely diagnosed patients with glaucoma to justify unnecessary diagnostic testing and treatment that was billed to Medicare.  The government alleged 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.

This settlement comes after a lawsuit that was filed by Laura Dildine, a former Pandya Practice Group employee, under the whistleblower act.