A former OrthoArkansas spine surgeon has accused the Little Rock orthopedic services provider of overcharging its patients.
Dr. Wayne L. Bruffett, who left the practice in June 2023, alleged in a lawsuit filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court that OrthoArkansas retaliated against him and created a “hostile environment in which it was impossible for him to continue his employment.”
The allegations detailing the specifics of the overcharging are redacted in the amended complaint, filed in December.
OrthoArkansas denied the allegations in its court filings and denied that it knowingly overcharged its patients. It asked that the case be dismissed.
It also filed a counterclaim against Bruffett, alleging breach of contract. OrthoArkansas said Bruffett owes it $327,450. As one of about two dozen shareholders, Bruffett was required to contribute to the practice’s overhead expenses, but he didn’t in the six months before he left, the practice said. He also allegedly used an OrthoArkansas credit card to pay $10,000 to the law firm that is suing the practice, James House Swann & Downing of Little Rock. Bruffett denied those allegations.
Bruffett started working for OrthoArkansas in 2019 and began serving on its board in January 2022. The practice has nine locations, two ambulatory surgery centers and two urgent care clinics in Arkansas.
While on the board, Bruffett was on the reimbursement committee, where he discovered the alleged overcharges. He quizzed other doctors at other practices on how they handled the overpayments at their businesses. One physician said that the overpayments needed to be promptly refunded.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency that administers Medicare, requires overpayment refunds within 60 days.
Bruffett said in his filing that he continued to investigate the practice’s responsibility to return overpayments.
“OA would subsequently use Dr. Bruffett’s due diligence as a pretextual reason to constructively terminate him,” the lawsuit said. A constructive discharge occurs when an employee quits after the employer creates unbearable working conditions.
“In this case, Dr. Bruffett was posed with numerous onerous working conditions: hostility at board meetings and at work,” his filing said.
In its response, OrthoArkansas said its shareholders agreed with Bruffett that the reimbursements should be made as quickly as possible. OrthoArkansas said that “because patients are billed based on estimates, patient overpayments and subsequent reimbursements are standard in medical practices.” It said that it finished processing the repayments in May 2023, but by then, Bruffett had already said he was leaving the practice.
On July 1, 2023, Bruffett joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ College of Medicine, where he is an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopedics.
He said his base income at UAMS was about 50% less than his income at OrthoArkansas. UAMS paid Bruffett $1.24 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Bruffett’s allegations of wrongdoing include breach of contract and wrongful constructive discharge.
OrthoArkansas said in its filings that Bruffett “voluntarily resigned.” “By characterizing his voluntary departure as a wrongful discharge, Dr. Bruffett hopes to avoid his contractual obligations,” the filing said. OA is represented by Quattlebaum Grooms & Tull of Little Rock.
A seven-day jury trial is scheduled to start July 25 in Circuit Judge Tim Fox’s courtroom.
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