The Independent Physical Therapists of California (iPTCA), is a non-profit association of California physical therapists dedicated to advocating for physical therapists and their patient.

Last month it announced that it has filed suit against One Call Medical, Inc, D/B/A One Call Care Management, and Align Networks in California state Superior Court- San Diego.

The Complaint in this unfair competition lawsuit alleges that iPTCA and its non-contracted members have suffered injury and lost money or property as the result of numerous unlawful, unfair, and deceptive or fraudulent business acts and practices engaged in by the defendants, which it alleges operate as unlicensed ‘middlemen’ between Workers’ Compensation payers and injured workers and their rehabilitation providers.

Dr. Paul Gaspar, DPT, President of iPTCA summarized the Complaint “The Complaint details numerous allegedly unlawful activities by the defendants, particularly a referral scheme where defendants demand that physical therapists accede to significant discounts or potentially lose the ability to provide physical therapy services to large numbers of injured workers.”

For example, the suit alleges that “OCM has developed an opaque, unfair and illegal scheme whereby OCM maximizes the compensation it receives from its payor clients by referring injured workers to those of its contracted health care professionals who accede to the deepest discount. This system is nothing like a traditional “Preferred Provider Organization” (“PPO”) where the PPO contracts with health care providers, payors let their beneficiaries choose to receive services from any of the health care providers who contract with the PPO, and then the payors pay the claims submitted by those contracted providers. OCM does not offer health care professionals the opportunity to be listed in a directory. Rather, OCM solicits (or extorts) deep discounts of a specified amount from its contracted health care professionals as an inducement for it to send them a specified number of additional referrals. “

iPTCA claims to have communicated its concerns regarding Defendants’ practices with the California Department of Insurance, the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, numerous state legislators, and leadership of other healthcare professional associations.

On April 17, One Call Medical Inc.,filed a Notice of Removal in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, case 17CV773 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. sections 1441 and 1446, asserting original federal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. section 1332(a), to effect the removal of the action, which was originally commenced in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of San Diego.

iPTCA alleges that it is a corporation organized under the laws of California with its principal place of business in Encinitas, California. One Call Medical, Inc. is a New Jersey corporation .with its principal place of business in Jacksonville, Florida. And Defendant Align Networks, LLC is a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Jacksonville, Florida.

One Call claims that the federal courts have original jurisdiction over this matter under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1) because the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and Plaintiff and Defendants are citizens of different States. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1).1111

At this time no other substantiative responsive pleading’s have been filed in the federal court action. `