United States of America v. Dr. Jaskamal Kahlon, et al.

Phoenix, Arizona, qui tam lawyers represented the United States on a whistle blower claim.

Tri-City Cardiology, P.C., and Dr. Jaskamal Kahlon, Dr. Joshua D. Cohen, and Dr. M. Joshua Berkowitz were accused of violating the the False Claims Act by performing medically unnecessary vein ablations

“Paying for unnecessary medical procedures reduces federal programs’ capacity to pay for truly necessary procedures,” said Timothy Courchaine, United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. “When medical providers do not respect the difference between the two and bill in the interest of their own bottom line instead of their patients, the United States Attorney’s Office has pursued and will continue to pursue appropriate recoveries to protect taxpayer funds.”
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It was alleged that, from January 1, 2017, to April 27, 2022, Dr. Jaskamal Kahlon, Dr. Joshua D. Cohen, and Dr. M. Joshua Berkowitz knowingly performed ablations on perforator veins that did not qualify for treatment under accepted standards of medical practice. Perforator veins are small veins that connect deep and superficial leg veins and require treatment only in certain circumstances. The United States contends that Tri-City and the physicians acted knowingly in incorrectly measuring or documenting in medical records the duration of outward blood flow, the diameter of veins, patient symptoms, and conservative therapy measures, which gave the appearance that the ablations met accepted medical standards and were justified.

Settled for $4.75 million.