A national chain of vascular clinics based in the Phoenix area was accused in a federal civil complaint of paying illegal kickbacks and performing unnecessary medical procedures, AZ Central reports.
In recent years, Modern Vascular spread across the country from Mesa to 17 locations in 10 states, marketing minimally invasive treatments for a narrowing of the arteries in the legs known as peripheral artery disease.
In court documents unsealed by a judge Friday, two outside doctors made claims against Modern Vascular and its constellation of related entities:
- Modern Vascular sold shares to investing doctors and paid them “kickbacks” in the form of dividends.
- It was these investing doctors who provided the company’s clinics with most of their referrals.
- Modern Vascular founder and board chairman Yury Gampel pressured doctors at the clinics to “perform invasive procedures on as many referred patients as possible.”
- Gampel ensured the clinics treated patients “according to the procedures that received the highest Medicare reimbursement,” without regard to medical necessity, charging as much as $17,000 to $30,000 per procedure.
- The relationship with investors increased the amount spent by federal health care programs like Medicare, which is a violation of federal law. Read more.
