A Houston physician has agreed to pay more than $2 million to resolve allegations that he submitted fraudulent claims to federally funded healthcare programs for implantation of neurostimulator electrodes.
What happened?
- Ajay Aggarwal, MD, 63, is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine doctor who owned a medical practice known as the Pain Relief & Wellness Center, according to a Justice Department news release.
- From Nov. 16, 2021, to March 28, 2023, Dr. Aggarwal billed government payers, such as Medicare and the Department of Labor’s Workers’ Compensation programs, for surgical procedures that neither he nor his staff performed.
- The Justice Department said that instead of surgical procedures, patients received devices used for electro-acupuncture, which involved inserting monofilament wire a few millimeters into patients’ ears and taping the neurostimulator behind the ear with an adhesive.
- The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability, according to the release.
