Physician Settles Case Alleging False Claims for Chelation Therapy to Medicare

On March 14, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced that a Tennessee doctor operating in Ringgold, Georgia, and his practice, Preventive Medicine Anti-Aging & Chelation, Inc., have settled several alleged violations of the False Claims Act. The allegations state that, between September 2009 and January 2017, the doctor billed Medicare for the unnecessary administration of the chelation drug edetate calcium disodium (EDTA), which is indicated for use only in individuals suffering from lead poisoning or lead encephalopathy, to Medicare beneficiaries who were not suffering from lead poisoning or lead encephalopathy. The United States further alleged that the doctor falsely represented to Medicare that the recipients suffered from lead poisoning or other heavy-metal-related diseases to obtain reimbursement and to avoid Medicare’s several long-standing rules preventing reimbursement for EDTA when not used for cases of lead poisoning or lead encephalopathy. In accordance with the ability-to-pay guidelines, the doctor and Preventive Medicine Anti-Aging & Chelation, Inc. must jointly pay $700,000 as restitution to Medicare.