Following six years of legal battle, US Attorney Michael Easley revealed that Fayetteville cardiologist Dr. Hari Saini and his current practice, Carolina Heart and Leg Center P.A., have reached an agreement to pay $5 million in civil lawsuit to the state and federal governments to settle allegations of making false Medicare and Medicaid claims.
Never allow your doctor to bill you for services that are not essential. Anyone who does so will be held responsible.
Pursuing Monetary Damages And Civil Lawsuit Penalties
“In cases where it is appropriate, our office will fiercely pursue monetary damages and civil penalties against medical providers,” Easley said in a news release.
According to the press release, Saini and his cardiology practice were accused by a whistleblower of performing unneeded atherectomy surgeries to treat patients modest with plaque blockages in their leg arteries.
The United States accused Saini, Carolina Heart and Leg Center, and Carolina Cape Fear Medical Group of routinely inflating the percentage of stenosis to support medically unnecessary atherectomies for as many procedures as possible for their patients.
In blatant disregard for patient safety and program billing requirements, the government claimed that Saini—whom the United States Attorney’s Office claimed was one of North Carolina’s highest billing cardiologists for this type of claim—conducted risky and invasive atherectomy procedures to remove plaque blockage that was, at best, only minimally present.
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Cardiologist Opts For Settlement In False Claims Act Case
Medicare and Medicaid paid millions for the surgeries based on billing and medical records, which the agency claimed was not supported by the maintained medical records for the services rendered and billed.
Ultimately, Saini and his firm decided to pay more than $5 million to resolve the False Claims Act charges after six years of discovery and litigation, with a trial looming.
According to the court record, Saini agreed to pay around half of the $5,051,554 amount within 60 days and the remainder over the course of three years.
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