OCALA, Fla. — A central Florida doctor is defending himself against claims he put patients’ lives at risk.
In January, Dr. Asad Qamar was accused of performing unnecessary procedures on patients to collect more money from Medicare reimbursements.
He denied the claims and released a YouTube video defending his actions.
“I do owe it to my patients and staff and associates that I respond to some of these allegations,” he said in the video.
Document: Federal complaint against Dr. Qamar
Video: Ocala doctor's defense against fraud claims
A lawsuit against Qamar claims the doctor performed unnecessary, invasive cardiovascular procedures so he could get money from the Medicare reimbursements.
Qamar received $16.03 million from Medicare in 2013 and collected $18.2 million.
In the video, Qamar said he saves taxpayers money by doing tests to detect peripheral artery disease before it leads to amputations, which he said costs about half a million dollars each.
“How are we supposed to treat them? Should we allow their limbs to be amputated? Should we allow their arteries to become included? Certainly not,” he said in the video. “How could you possibly put a dollar figure on the value of a limb for a human being?”
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services suspended Qamar in March.
Qamar is the founder of the Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence, which has several locations in central Florida.
The suspension recently became public after federal health officials filed it as part of a civil whistleblower suit.
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