The former assistant general counsel at Panoramic Health is suing her former employer alleging wrongful termination after flagging safe harbor violations of the Anti-Kickback Statue.
Leah Turlington, who worked for Panoramic from November 2023 to April, was recruited to the company by a former colleague, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
The former colleague served as chief legal, compliance, and privacy officer at Panoramic. After joining Panoramic, Turlington received positive performance reviews, including being informed by the former colleague, then her direct supervisor, that she was eligible for a “promotion, a significant raise, and stock options,” the lawsuit stated.
In her duties managing mergers and acquisitions, Turlington allegedly discovered issues regarding Panoramic’s comprehensive kidney care contracting (CKCC) program, which was funded by federal Medicare and Medicaid and required to meet obligations set by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) regarding compliance with the personal and management services safe harbor under the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Turlington was assigned to review and provide guidance to Panoramic’s business units on product offerings to physician practices relating to the CKCC program, during which she discovered potential noncompliance with federal law, the lawsuit alleged.
In February, Turlington raised her concerns to her supervisor, who said she understood why Turlington was “‘panicked’” about the issues, the lawsuit stated.
In March, Turlington again raised her concerns in a call to her supervisor, the chief medical officer, and other members of the company, per the lawsuit. During the call, Turlington’s supervisor downplayed risks related to the issue and “identified and proposed solutions that were wholly inadequate,” the lawsuit alleged.
After Turlington sought advice from outside legal counsel and a regulatory program manager on the compliance team regarding the matter, her supervisor allegedly told the latter that Turlington “‘might not be a good fit’” for Panoramic, per the lawsuit.
Soon after, the supervisor reached out to the CMS, which supported Turlington’s analysis, per the lawsuit. The supervisor outlined a remediation plan identical to Turlington’s suggestions, according to the lawsuit, but still terminated her without warning in April.
Turlington’s supervisor said the termination was directly related to “‘the CMS thing,’” which was protected activity, the lawsuit noted.
The lawsuit seeks damages and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Panoramic Health did not respond to a request for comment.
No comments yet