A Pennsylvania nurse practitioner is accusing his former employer of letting him go because he reported false Medicare claims, according to The Pennsylvania Record.
Zeth Holbert, DNP, filed a civil complaint Aug. 5, 2019, against Tri-County Hospitalists, an independent medical practice, and his former direct supervisor, Navneet K. Sharma, MD.
The complaint alleged Dr. Holbert, who worked at Tri-County Hospitalists from around May 16, 2017 to May 10, 2019, was directed by Dr. Sharma to bill for advanced care planning and for tobacco cessation to Medicare, for each patient.
The complaint said Dr. Holbert "did not feel comfortable billing ACP or tobacco cessation for every patient as the requisite services needed to bill for these codes were not indicated for every patient."
Dr. Holbert alleged he expressed concerns about the billing practices, which ultimately led to an investigation after he met with the CMO of Tower Health's Reading Hospital.
The complaint said Dr. Holbert was given a 30-day termination letter on April 9, 2019, and terminated on May 10, 2019, for not billing for advanced care planning as directed.
In response to the complaint, West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health told Becker's Hospital Review: "Tri-County Hospitalists is a separate independent hospitalist practice group that is not owned by Tower Health and neither Navneet Sharma, MD, nor Zeth Holbert were Tower Health employees from May 16, 2017 to May 10, 2019. Per our policy, Tower Health cannot comment on any pending litigation."
Editor's note: This story was updated at 1:15 p.m. CST on Dec. 3, 2020.
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