Settlement With Rakesh Kansal, M.D. for Violations of the Stark Law Regarding Physician Self-Referrals

HAMMOND - United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson announced today a settlement of the United States’ claims against Rakesh Kansal, M.D., age 70, for submitting claims to Medicare for patients he referred for cardiovascular stress testing at a testing facility in which he had an ownership interest.  Dr. Kansal has agreed to pay $310,000 to the United States to settle the United States’ claim that he violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to Medicare in violation of the Stark Law.

The Stark Law provides that the government will not pay for designated health services if such services were furnished by an entity that had a financial relationship with the referring physician because such financial relationships can cause overutilization of those services and compromise the physician’s professional judgment. The cardiovascular stress tests for which Dr. Kansal billed Medicare are designated health services.  The False Claims Act prohibits a physician from knowingly submitting claims for payment to Medicare for such services.

The United States alleges that from January 1, 2010, to May 31, 2020, Dr. Kansal submitted claims to Medicare for patients he referred for cardiovascular stress tests to a testing facility where he had an ownership interest, in violation of the False Claims Act and the Stark Law.

“All medical decisions should be based on the best interests of patients and not on the personal financial interests of referring physicians,” said United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.  “My Office will continue to make it a high priority to avoid overutilization of health care services by enforcing the Stark Law prohibiting physician self-referrals.”

The settlement was reached as a result of an investigation of Dr. Kansal conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana.  The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Dirk D. De Lor.