On Saturday, the Income Tax department announced revealed a major medical scam. The medical scam involved doctors earning money by recommending specific diagnostic centers for various tests.
In Bangalore, five diagnostic centers and two In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) centers were raided over the past three days. The Income Tax sleuths unearthed cash exceeding Rs. 1.4 crore, jewellery exceeding 3.5 Kg and a large amount of foreign currency.
Income Tax Joint Director G. Ramesh said, “The raids on the five medical diagnostic centers and two IVF clinics, doctors in the city also detected secret foreign bank accounts and deposits worth crores of rupees, besides foreign currency.”
The diagnostic centers paid the doctors a huge amount of money to refer patients for scans and tests. The doctors are paid 35% percent for MRI tests and 20% percent for CT scans and other lab tests. The referral fee in for a single lab exceeded Rs. 200 crore.
The referral fees are paid to the doctors in four different ways:
- Cash payment to the doctors on a fortnightly basis.
- Paying the doctors in advance and adjusting the referral fees later on.
- Paying the fees by cheque disguised as professional fees. The labs would enlist the doctors as inhouse consultants.
- Appointed commission agents distributing envelopes with cash, details of the referred patient, the test report, the billing amount and the commission amount. The doctors on not receiving their due, return the envelopes back to the agents. The dispute is later settled with the diagnostic center or IVF clinics.
