Bio-Reference Laboratories (Elmwood Park, N.J.) has denounced and denied a complaint filed against the company in Superior Court of New Jersey by a former employee claiming she was wrongfully terminated. Valerie Greco filed a complaint against the company April 3 alleging the company wrongfully terminated her after she reported unlawful billing practices to her supervisors. According to the complaint, Bio-Reference in December 2010 assigned Greco as an in-office phlebotomist at Fair Haven Internal Medicine, which is part of Integrated Medicine Alliance in Fair Haven, N.J. The principal physician of the practice is Jan Glowacki, M.D. Within the first week of Greco’s assignment, she telephoned Colleen Sykes, a Bio-Reference sales representative, and James Mitra, phlebotomy supervisor, to tell them that she was not performing blood draws (venipunctures) on patients at the office because Fair Haven’s own assistants were doing that and she was just processing the paperwork on a computer that Bio-Reference provided to the Fair Haven practice, according to the complaint. Greco told Sykes that this arrangement was not proper and not what she expected and asked to be relocated. According to the lawsuit, in early January 2011, Greco observed that Fair Haven and Bio-Reference were engaged in the following […]
Bio-Reference Laboratories (Elmwood Park, N.J.) has denounced and denied a complaint filed against the company in Superior Court of New Jersey by a former employee claiming she was wrongfully terminated.
Valerie Greco filed a complaint against the company April 3 alleging the company wrongfully terminated her after she reported unlawful billing practices to her supervisors. According to the complaint, Bio-Reference in December 2010 assigned Greco as an in-office phlebotomist at Fair Haven Internal Medicine, which is part of Integrated Medicine Alliance in Fair Haven, N.J. The principal physician of the practice is Jan Glowacki, M.D.
Within the first week of Greco’s assignment, she telephoned Colleen Sykes, a Bio-Reference sales representative, and James Mitra, phlebotomy supervisor, to tell them that she was not performing blood draws (venipunctures) on patients at the office because Fair Haven’s own assistants were doing that and she was just processing the paperwork on a computer that Bio-Reference provided to the Fair Haven practice, according to the complaint. Greco told Sykes that this arrangement was not proper and not what she expected and asked to be relocated.
According to the lawsuit, in early January 2011, Greco observed that Fair Haven and Bio-Reference were engaged in the following billing practices she considered to be illegal: The medical practice impermissibly billed both Medicare and non-Medicare patients, who visited the office solely for blood draws, as an “office visit.” It also charged a separate venipuncture fee of $15. Bio-Reference charged a venipuncture fee as well, even though it did not perform them (commonly called “double billing”).
Greco reported these practices to Mitra and Sykes, who allegedly told her to “keep her mouth shut and keep billing for the venipuncture charge on behalf of Bio-Reference.” At the end of January 2011, Greco said she confronted Glowacki about the billing practices and accused him of committing Medicare fraud. According to the complaint, “Dr. Glowacki remained silent during this conversation, did not deny anything, and angrily walked away.”
In April 2011, Mitra telephone Greco and told her not to return to Fair Haven because Glowacki no longer wanted her on the account. At the end of April Greco was notified that she would be terminated and could file for unemployment benefits. A subsequent offer of employment allegedly was blocked because of her allegations regarding the billing practices of Bio-Reference and Fair Haven.
The lawsuit filed by Greco alleges wrongful discharge and seeks compensation for lost wages, benefits, and other remuneration, as well as punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
Bio-Reference Disputes Charges
In a statement issued April 12, Bio-Reference said it “strongly denounced and denied” the allegations and said that it would vigorously defend this case to vindicate itself against the “frivolous allegations.”
According to the statement, the company has completed a preliminary review of the allegations and has determined that the complaint is baseless, frivolous, and totally without merit. The complaint describes a series of events that are unsupported by facts and seeks compensation for nonexistent damages, says Bio-Reference.
“The company’s preliminary review of all electronic requisitions (the method used in this office) submitted by the account during the time when the plaintiff was assigned to that office to be a phlebotomist reveals no apparent Medicare or other billing issues,” says the statement. “The company believes it has found no evidence that any Medicare patients, drawn by the physician’s staff, were billed by the company to Medicare for venipuncture fees.
“The company also believes, based on its preliminary review, that the totality of blood draws involving the plaintiff are miniscule in number and the amount of anticipated reimbursement from those phlebotomy services billed to Medicare from the account over the period the plaintiff worked as the location was less than $250. In addition, the company believes the billing practices relating to this account are consistent and compliant with Medicare and Medicaid regulations.”
