Hanover doctor pleads guilty to illegally charging patients for opioid use disorder treatment

Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA)

Jan. 30--BOSTON -- A Hanover doctor has pleaded guilty to charges in Suffolk Superior Court after the Attorney General's office said he created a scheme for patients struggling with addiction to pay him cash for treatment that was covered by state health insurance.

Dr. Ashok Patel, 62, and his Boston-based medical practice Ambama Clinic each pleaded guilty Tuesday to two charges of larceny of more than $250, Medicaid false claims and excess charges. He was sentenced by Judge Robert Tochka to three years of probation, the first four months of which he is on house arrest. The judge ordered Patel to give up his medical license.

Patel and his clinic were also ordered to pay $15,855 in restitution to 30 MassHealth members who he asked for cash from for their substance use disorder treatment despite the services being covered by insurance. Patel and his clinic were also ordered to pay MassHealth $10,610 in restitution after he up-charged the insurer for more expensive chemotherapy treatments instead of the substance abuse medicine vivitrol. Patel and his company also owe $56,534 in fines and penalties.

"Dr. Patel illegally charged patients seeking treatment for substance use disorder and turned those away who could not pay," Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statment. "We must continue to combat the opioid epidemic on all fronts, including going after those who seek to illegally profit off the opioid crisis and put up barriers to life-saving treatment."

Healey's office said that Patel would not accept MassHealth insurance as full payment for substance use disorder treatment with Suboxone and would require cash from patients. Healey's office said its against the law for MassHealth providers to ask patients for cash on top of what the insurer is paying them for for substance abuse treatment services for its patients.

Suboxone, a brand name of buprenorphine, helps quell a person's dependence on opioids and staves off withdrawal symptoms. Vivtrol a brand-name for naltrexone, is an injection that blocks the effects of opioids for about a month. Both medicines are used to treat substance use disorder.