A Houston neurologist has agreed to pay close to a million dollars to settle allegations of false billing for what was claimed to be surgical implantations but turned out to be much less invasive procedures. Dr. Basem Hamid, a 52-year-old physician based in Pearland, will pay the U.S. government $948,359.85 following accusations of billing Medicare for high-cost surgeries that actually equated to taping an electro-acupuncture device behind patients' ears, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to the allegations spanning from August 2019 to October 2022, the surgeries that Dr. Hamid charged for should have required an operating room and would naturally fetch thousands of dollars from Medicare. Instead, his clinic performed procedures that entailed inserting a thin wire into patients' ears without any incisions. Many patients reported that these devices often fell off within days, making a mockery of the high costs charged.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani emphasized the responsibility of healthcare professionals to provide honest services, particularly to those in chronic pain. "Individuals suffering from chronic pain put their faith in skilled medical professionals to help them find relief and improve their quality of life," Hamdani said in a release from the Justice Department. "Our federal health care system entrusts providers with the medical care of our country’s most vulnerable, and it is important for healthcare providers to give accurate information about the services they provide for reimbursement – not misrepresent those services in an attempt to increase their bottom line."
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (DHHS-OIG) took a strong stance against fraudulent activities. Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows emphasized the seriousness of the issue, saying, "When health care professionals submit false claims to federal health care programs like Medicare, they erode public trust and divert taxpayer-funded resources away from those who truly need them," according to a Justice Department release.
The investigation was concluded under the leadership of Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura E. Collins. Dr. Hamid's case was brought to a close without an admission of liability.
