Houston-based National Interventional Radiology Partners and its physician CEO Andrew Gomes, MD, have agreed to pay $8.8 million to resolve allegations they illegally paid physicians kickbacks for clinic and ASC referrals.
Beginning in 2015, Dr. Gomes allegedly established a number of clinics throughout Texas to treat peripheral arterial disease. He raised capital for these clinics from physicians with practices that would provide a strong Medicare referral patient base, the Justice Department said.
Dr. Goes pitched to the physician investors that they could ensure high returns on their ASC investments from referring significant numbers of patients, adding that more patient referrals would lead to more revascularization surgeries and higher profits. Dr. Gomes also told the physicians that once the ASCs were open and profitable, they could be sold.
The whistleblower in the suit, who filed his complaint in 2018, will receive nearly $1.7 million in the recovery.