The couple was inducted in June 2013 on dozens of felony charges
An Indian American physician from Johnson City, Tennessee, and his wife will pay $1.2 million to the federal government to settle state and federal False Claims Act allegations that they billed Medicare and Medicaid for drugs not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Dr Anindya Sen, who owns and operates East Tennessee Cancer & Blood Center and East Tennessee Hematology Oncology and Internal Medicine in Greenville and Johnson City, along with his wife Patricia Posey Sen billed Medicare and Tennessee Medicaid (TennCare) for anticancer and infusion drugs that were produced for sale in foreign countries, Department of Justice said in a press release on Tuesday.
“Billing for foreign drugs that are not approved by the FDA undermines federal health care programs and could potentially risk patient safety,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said. “The Department of Justice is committed to maintain the integrity of the health care system and ensuring that patient safety, not physician misconduct, determines health care decisions.”
Ms. Sen managed Dr. Sen’s medical practice from 2009 through 2012 and the couple was inducted in June 2013 on dozens of felony charges. The charges include purchasing and using misbranded cancer treatment medications. From the beginning, Sens said that they were unaware about medications were misbranded, Johnson City Press reported.
Reportedly, the unapproved drugs were not reimbursable under Medicare and TennCare programs and the Sens purchased them because they were less expensive than the drugs approved by FDA for marketing in the United States. The Sens thus allegedly profited by administrating the cheaper unapproved drugs.
“Medical providers and practitioners that distribute and disseminate unapproved and potentially unsafe drugs- especially those used in cancer treatment- put at risk the health and safety of the American consumer,” US Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr for the Eastern District of Tennessee said.
“This settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to safeguard the federal health care programs and vital care that they provide,” she said.