Mangesh Kanvinde, MD, of Batavia, Ohio, has paid $720,000 and agreed to be excluded from Federal healthcare programs for fifteen years for his role in a scheme to order unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) and genetic tests. The DME he ordered included commonly used braces for knees, ankles, shoulders, and the back and neck. The genetic tests he ordered included testing for the inherited genetic variants that are associated with a high to moderate increased risk of cancer. As part of the civil settlement with the United States, Dr. Kanvinde also agreed to make additional payments contingent upon his income over the next five years.
The United States alleged that, between December 5, 2016, through June 20, 2019, Dr. Kanvinde violated the False Claims Act by knowingly conspiring to submit and causing the submission of false claims to Medicare. The United States alleged that Dr. Kanvinde had improper financial arrangements with temporary physician staffing agencies and telehealth companies to furnish DME and genetic testing items and services and that he received illegal kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary DME and genetic tests and services. The United States further alleged that Dr. Kanvinde had no physician-patient relationship with the Medicare beneficiaries, often did not speak with the beneficiaries, and knew his prescribed goods and services were not medically necessary.
