SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A gynecologist was properly suspended from California's Medi-Cal program for inserting unapproved intrauterine devices into his patients, the 9th Circuit ruled.
Dr. Eduardo Guzman claimed his due-process rights were denied when the district court denied an injunction to lift his suspension.
The intrauterine devices were imported from Mexico and were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration; also he falsely claimed on his Medi-Cal forms that they had been approved.
Judge O'Scannlain upheld the district court's ruling.
"Nothing in the federal Medicaid statutes or regulations prevents a state from suspending a provider temporarily from a state health care program on the basis of fraud or abuse," the judge wrote.
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