PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A fifth former employee is now suing Mountain Comprehensive Care, claiming she was punished and ultimately fired for fulfilling her job duties to enforce legally mandated patient protection safeguards and ensure lawful Medicaid billing.
Jennifer Salisbury filed her complaint against Mountain Comprehensive Care and its subsidiary, Mountain Plus Services, last week. Her complaint differs substantially from previous lawsuits filed by former Chief Financial Officer Rebeckah Hall, former Regional Billing Coordinator Rachel Williams, former Mental Health Director Kristy Stiltner and former Revenue Cycle Manager Kendra Allen, levelling new allegations against the companies.
Salisbury worked for Mountain Comprehensive Care for six years, serving as quality improvement director. In her complaint, Salisbury points to two specific incidents which she said resulted in her termination.
In the first, she implemented corrective measures after a patient was mistakenly given medication intended for someone else. She claims after she implemented mandatory verification protocols to prevent a repeat of the mistake, her supervisors retaliated by removing her from her incident reporting and compliance duties.
The second incident involved a Medicaid audit that uncovered what she called serious deficiencies in the Children’s Therapeutic Rehabilitation Program. Those deficiencies included:
- Billing not aligned with treatment plans
- Failure to provide medically-necessary services
- Violations of Medicaid billing rules
After she drafted a corrective manual that would bring the companies into compliance and submitted it for review, she alleges CEO Promod Bishnoi “reacted with hostility” and accused her of misconduct. She said she was then removed from the audit and compliance process.
Salisbury claims she was then subjected to retaliation in the workplace in an attempt to force her to resign. When that didn’t work, she says she was fired on Aug. 6.
Salisbury is seeking compensation for past, present and future mental and physical pain, suffering and anguish; emotional distress; lost wages; medical and hospital bills; retirement and other employee benefits; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; costs; attorney’s fees; and punitive damages.
Attorneys for Mountain Comprehensive Care have not yet responded to a request from Mountain Top News for comment. The company has not yet responded to the latest complaint, but has denied the allegations raised in the previous lawsuits.
A copy of her complaint follows:
