The Arthritis Knee Pain Centers (AKPC) and its owner, Dr. John Rush, are facing allegations under the False Claims Act. According to U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett from the Western District of Kentucky, these allegations pertain to the submission of false claims related to knee injection procedures.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, the U.S. government asserts that AKPC and Dr. Rush knowingly submitted or caused billions of dollars in fraudulent claims to Medicare. These claims reportedly covered medically unnecessary knee injections and involved billing for millions of milliliters more contrast dye than was actually used.
The complaint claims that AKPC and Dr. Rush allegedly increased Medicare payments by unnecessarily doubling the number of patient visits for knee injections in cases of bilateral knee osteoarthritis. Instead of treating both knees simultaneously, patients were reportedly required to return on separate days, extending their treatment durations and delaying pain relief by over a month.
Additionally, the complaint asserts that the defendants falsely reported the disposal of contrast dye, while in reality, the dye was reused on multiple patients, potentially risking contamination. U.S. Attorney Bennett stated, “To increase Medicare reimbursements by millions of dollars, the defendants, as alleged, delayed pain relief to thousands of Medicare patients and risked infecting them with contaminated contrast dye.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Weyand and Jessica R.C. Malloy, along with Auditor Phil Bezehertny and Investigator Cristal Fox, are handling this case. The case is titled United States v. John Rush, M.D., et al., No. 3:25-CV-200-CRS (W.D. Ky.).
It is important to note that the allegations made by the United States remain claims at this stage, with no determination of liability made yet.
