| NEWS | Testing from p 8 Premier Lab Solutions in 2015, state records show. The Oltrogge Family Revocable Trust alongside Remi Racing LLC are listed as members of the startup company. It was not immediately clear who controls Remi Racing. Joni, who is married to Kendall, was exasperated when confronted with the allegations against her company, which range from inaccurate patient records to not adequately paying partners and investors. “Nothing fishy is going on,” she told New Times. Three months ago, Premier Lab Solutions settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, alleged that Premier Lab Solutions did not pay for thousands of lab tests conducted on its behalf. Santa Fe Springs, California-based WestPac was owed $355,740 by Premier Lab Solutions, according to the lawsuit. The agreement between the two companies dated back to April 2020, the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Premier Lab Solutions was responsible for administering tests to patients in Phoenix and WestPac was supposed to evaluate the results at its California laboratory for $70 a pop, according to the lawsuit. Adrianna Gorton, attorney for WestPac, claimed that Premier Lab Solutions didn’t pay for 5,000 tests evaluated by WestPac, according to the lawsuit. WestPac’s invoice did mistakenly charge $100 for some tests, but the invoice was later corrected, according to the California business. Gorton declined to disclose the settlement amount. Before the coronavirus pandemic began, the nascent company settled a different lawsuit with its investors. In 2016, Premier told potential investors it could generate $6.3 million in revenue and $1.2 million in expenses, a profit of roughly $5 million each year, according to the lawsuit, which cited company emails. In 2019, investors claimed that Kendall, the CEO, did not manage the company’s finances in the way presented to partners. The investors claim that the CEO “caused Premier to incur disproportionately high operating costs, including labor expenses in excess of $305,000 per month,” according to the lawsuit. Kendall was the driving force for the company to hire an outside billing company “owned by one of his personal friends” which resulted in mismanagement of the company’s billing process, investors claimed in the lawsuit. That mismanagement included $1.1 million in ‘uncollectible receivables,’ which means the company wasn’t able to collect payment for its services rendered. He denied all of the dozens of allegations against him in that case. The settlement amount is redacted from court records. In the meantime, other patients who trusted Premier Lab Solutions complained 12 Some patients waited more than four hours to receive a free COVID-19 test from Premier Lab Solutions’ pop-up clinics. about long delays for results and lack of communication when they needed support. Phoenix resident Rebecca Craw worried about her daughter who suffered from headaches and fatigue earlier this month. Craw’s daughter would need to test negative for COVID-19 before she could return to school in person. She relied on Premier Lab Solutions for test results within 48 hours. By the time she got the results, the mandatory quarantine period had elapsed and the test was no longer needed. “I had to call them daily with them to try to get a hold of somebody, but I couldn’t,” Craw said in an interview. “I’m so upset with their services. I just need some answers and I have nothing.” Distraught patients hastily took to online platforms Ike Nextdoor, Google, and Better Business Bureau to barrage Premier Lab Solutions with disparaging reviews and comments about how the company overcharged insurance providers. But the Arizona Department of Insurance hasn’t received an official complaint. The department usually deals with consumer complaints against insurance companies and the situation is “unusual in a way,” said James McGuffin, spokesperson for the insurance department. Its fraud unit would be responsible for investigating a laboratory accused of gouging an insurance provider. Likewise, there are no complaints on file with the city of Phoenix against the company, said Dan Wilson, spokesperson for the city. Wilson later said that the city needed to “respond quickly and efficiently to the community need for testing services” in early 2021, a year after the pandemic began. “The city evaluated recommended vendors based on qualifications including years of experience, medical expertise, and pricing. Premier Lab Solutions was selected as a qualified vendor to provide testing and vaccination services,” Wilson said. Premier Lab Solutions encourages patients to submit any grievances to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services about their medical care, according to its website. Elias Weiss FEB 3RD– FEB 9TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
