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United States v. Robert C. Burkich, M.D., et al., Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-03510 MLB (NDGA 2019)

The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the government’s allegations, which have not yet been proven.

The United States has filed a False Claims Act complaint against Robert C. Burkich, M.D and Preventive Medicine Anti-Aging & Chelation, Inc.  (hereinafter, the “Burkich defendants”).  The lawsuit alleges that the Burkich defendants were responsible for the submission of false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary chelation therapy.

The United States’ complaint alleges that, between September 2009 and January 2017, Dr. Burkich provided medically unnecessary chelation therapy by, inter-alia, intravenously administering the chelation drug edetate calcium disodium (EDTA) to Medicare beneficiaries who were not suffering from lead poisoning.  Chelation therapy is a rarely used treatment that is generally only indicated for individuals suffering from lead poisoning and other forms of heavy metal poisoning (HMP).  EDTA, one of the drugs used in chelation therapy, is indicated only as a treatment for lead poisoning and lead encephalopathy. 

Lead poisoning is diagnosed by determining whether the patient has had recent exposure to lead, and by testing the patient’s blood lead level (BLL).  However, whereas a symptomatic adult patient should only be chelated if she has a significantly heightened BLL (e.g. in excess of 50 mcg/dL), Dr. Burkich allegedly chelated patients with no lead detected in their blood whatsoever, or with only exceedingly low BLLs (e.g., less than 2 mcg/dL).

Dr. Burkich admitted that he left Tennessee and relocated to Georgia because he felt that Tennessee restricted the use of EDTA to patients suffering from lead poisoning, whereas his belief was that Georgia allowed EDTA to be utilized as an experimental treatment for a variety of conditions.  Indeed, Burkich allegedly touted and administered EDTA as an effective treatment for a variety of conditions other than lead poisoning, such as heart disease, fatigue and osteoarthritis.  However, Medicare does not cover EDTA chelation therapy for alternative and/or experimental uses such as these.

The United States contends that these chelation treatments are contrary to the standard of care and medically unnecessary. EDTA has a black box warning indicating that it “is capable of producing toxic effects which can be fatal.”  Its adverse side effects include fever, chills, malaise, fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, hypotension, cardiac rhythm irregularities, acute necrosis of proximal tubules (which may result in fatal nephrosis), nausea, vomiting, hypercalcemia, tremors, headaches, numbness and others.  Inappropriate use of EDTA risks these harms without benefit.

This matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paris Wynn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General and the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of the Inspector General.

The claims asserted against the defendants are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.