Dr. Ashok Jain Of TX Pressured Patients Into Getting Unnecessary Brain Treatments  

Photo: provider.kareo.com

India-West News Desk

An Indian American doctor pressured his patients into getting unnecessary brain stimulation treatments and then billed Medicare for it.

Dr. Ashok Jain, 61, and the psychiatric companies he owned and operated have agreed to pay $3 million to settle claims of improperly billing Medicare, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas.

“This office will actively pursue and prosecute those who take advantage of our aged population and those who seek psychiatric care and counseling. It is particularly egregious when those citizens who seek care are given unnecessary treatment and not the treatment that would benefit them. Providers who participate in federally funded programs like Medicare have a responsibility to the public to provide legitimate, safe care and treatment,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said.

In the agreement, authorities said Jain’s clinics — Psychiatric Solutions P.C., Longview Psychiatric Center PLLC and Longview Psychiatric Center LP — submitted claims for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation procedures that were either not actually performed or unnecessary. He also billed Medicare for physician assessments even when he didn’t see the patient, according to court records. Jain ran the scheme from Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2021, according to the settlement agreement.

“Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “TMS is typically used when other depression treatments haven’t been effective. This treatment for depression involves delivering repetitive magnetic pulses, so it’s called repetitive TMS or rTMS.”

In the settlement, the people who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the U.S. will receive $300,000 from the recovery, according to the release.