A 53-year-old Texas man has agreed to pay $2,095,946 to resolve allegations he submitted false claims for the placement of electro-acupuncture devices. Dr. Rajesh Bindal used the entity Texas Spine & Neurosurgery Center PA to conduct his medical practice. From March 16, 2021, to April 22, 2022, Bindal billed Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) for the surgical implantation of neurostimulator electrodes. These are invasive procedures usually requiring use of an operating room. As a result, Medicare and the FEHBP pay thousands of dollars per procedure. However, neither Bindal nor his staff performed these surgical procedures, according to the allegations. Instead, patients allegedly received devices used for electro-acupuncture, which only involved inserting monofilament wire a few millimeters into patients’ ears and taping the device behind the ear with an adhesive. In some instances, a device sales representative or a physician assistant allegedly performed these placements, which were then billed as surgeries. All device placements took place in Bindal’s clinic, not a hospital or surgical center, and no incision was made on a patient. Most patients claimed the adhesive came loose and the device fell off on its own accord within a few days.
