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Indian-origin gynecologist in US found guilty of healthcare fraud, misuse of medical equipment
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, a Memphis gynecologist, was found guilty of 40 counts related to healthcare fraud and misuse of medical equipment.
Indian-origin Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, an oncologist specializing in gynecology in Memphis, Tennessee, has been convicted on 18 counts of adulterating medical devices, 16 counts of misbranding medical devices, and 6 counts of health care fraud, Fox13 reported.
Court documents reveal that Dr. Kumar submitted, and directed his staff to submit, fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for hysteroscopy with biopsy procedures that were neither medically necessary nor performed with properly sanitized devices, spanning the years 2019 to 2024.
In defense, Dr. Kumar's legal team argued that the assertion he failed to disinfect the devices is false. They claimed that the government disapproved of his disinfection method, which was in accordance with CDC recommendations.
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Dr Kumar conducted over 15,000 hysteroscopies
From 2019 to 2024, Dr. Kumar and his team conducted over 15,000 hysteroscopies with biopsy on 5,559 patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid. The hysteroscopy with biopsy is an in-office procedure in which a hysteroscope is inserted into the vagina, advanced through the cervix, and into the uterus. A grasper or pipelle is then inserted through the hysteroscope to collect a sample of the endometrial lining of the uterus. This procedure is employed to diagnose endometrial cancer.
Dr. Kumar acquired fewer than 200 new single-use hysteroscopes, and by April 2024, 3 out of the 6 single-use graspers of a specific type that he purchased in 2019 were still operational in the office.
Dr. Kumar billed over $41 million for the hysteroscopy with biopsy procedures between September 2019 and April 2024. According to court documents, he earned more than $4.8 million from this procedure from Medicare and Medicaid alone.
“The single-use devices were to be used once and then discarded. To correctly disinfect the devices cleared for reprocessing, Kumar had to strictly follow manufacturer instructions. Kumar routinely failed to subject the reusable devices to vital reprocessing steps between patient use, thereby, endangering patient safety,” the DOJ stated.
“The single-use devices, even if they had been correctly reprocessed, had to be labeled as such, and Kumar did not label them,” it added.
Dr. Kumar defends self
Following his conviction, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar asserted that his fight is far from concluded, yet he holds respect for the judicial process. “I served every patient like a family member, never turned anybody away. As far as science is concerned, we are confident that we are on the right side of the scientific facts,” he stated.
A federal jury convicted Dr. Kumar on 40 out of 46 charges. Regarding the remaining six charges, the jury was unable to reach a consensus and indicated that no further deliberation was required.
Dr. Kumar is permitted to remain free on bond, with his sentencing scheduled for April 9.
