Indian-origin doctor gets 9 years jail for health care fraud in US
New York: An Indian-origin doctor has been sentenced to nine years in prison by a US court for committing health care fraud and illegally distributing prescription painkillers.
Pawankumar Jain, 66, a former physician, was sentenced in federal court in Las Cruces, New Mexico to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and health care fraud, US Attorney John Anderson said.
Jain previously entered guilty pleas in February 2016 to one count of unlawfully dispensing a controlled substance and one count of health care fraud. In his plea agreement, Jain admitted that he previously was licensed to practice medicine in the State of New Mexico and was registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe controlled substances, including pain medication.
He admitted that for several years he operated a high-volume pain management practice in Las Cruces, and frequently performed only cursory examinations of his patients before prescribing narcotics to them without documenting any therapeutic benefit for those drugs in his records.
He specifically admitted examining one patient in November 2009 and that he conducted only a superficial examination of the patient before writing him two prescriptions for methadone that were outside the usual course of medical practice and not for any legitimate medical purpose.
Each prescription was for 270 tablets of 10 mg methadone. Jain further admitted that he committed health care fraud because he knew these unlawful prescriptions would be submitted to federal health insurance Medicare for payment and that he intended for Medicare to pay for the prescriptions.
Jain also acknowledged that the patient died two days after filling the second methadone prescription. According to evidence at the sentencing hearing, the patient died of respiratory depression due to the methadone Jain prescribed. The New Mexico Medical Board suspended Jain's license in June 2012, and revoked his license in December 2012.
Anderson said US law enforcement agencies are committed to working to aggressively target and hold drug traffickers accountable both those who distribute on the street, and those who traffic as physicians writing prescriptions for no legitimate medical purpose.
Doctors who betray our trust and put their own financial gain ahead of the well-being of their patients by prescribing narcotics without medical justification are directly fueling our nation's opioid crisis, he said.
Special Agent in Charge Kyle Williamson of the DEA's El Paso Division said that Jain ignored the oath they take to treat and care for patients who come to them for help, and continued to overprescribe, which eventually resulted in the deaths of four patients.
His sentencing today will send a message to other doctors that they are not above the law and DEA will continue to forcefully pursue and hold them accountable.
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BLR airport sees 34 int'l flight cancellations amid Middle East crisis
Bengaluru (PTI): As many as 34 international flights were cancelled at Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday as airline operations were disrupted due to the Middle East conflict, officials said.
An airport official said that 18 arrivals and 16 departures were cancelled due to airspace restrictions on March 4 until 23:59 hrs at the Bengaluru airport.
The cancellations impacted several key international sectors connecting Bengaluru with West Asian cities, including Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dubai, and Doha.
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Meanwhile, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which operates the Kempegowda International Airport, said that a help desk has been set up at the kerbside of terminal 2 to manage passenger queries and provide on-ground assistance amid the disruptions.
According to BIAL, the help desk is coordinating ground transport, facilitating emergency services, and handling general queries until airline representatives arrive at the terminal.
Given the presence of multiple international carriers operating from the airport, the help desk is functioning as a single-window support system, guiding passengers to the respective ground handlers responsible for airline operations, officials said.
In addition, the airport is providing several passenger amenities at the kerbside, including chairs, drinking water, snacks, medical assistance, sanitary pads, charging stations, and a makeshift feeding facility.
Wheelchairs are also being provided upon request, they added.
