The United States is suing Radnor, Pa.-based interventional cardiologist James McGuckin, MD, for an alleged $6.5 million in false claims.
From Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2019, Dr. McGuckin billed Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for medically unnecessary invasive peripheral artery procedures in patients' legs, according to a May 2 Justice Department news release.
The practice defendants include Peripheral Vascular Institute of Philadelphia, Main Line Vascular Institute in King of Prussia, Pa., Lehigh Valley Vascular Institute in Bethlehem, Pa., and PA Vascular Institute in East Stroudsburg, Pa.
Dr. McGuckin was sanctioned by the Washington Medical Quality Insurance Commission in 2015 for improperly performing unnecessary vascular procedures on hundreds of patients, the release said.
In 2018, Dr. McGuckin signed a False Claims Act settlement as the manager and owner of Vascular Access Centers, resolving multimillion-dollar lawsuits. Additionally, Dr. McGuckin caused the centers to file for bankruptcy in 2019, which a judge found was orchestrated in bad faith.