A federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed against ChristianaCare.
The whistleblower complaint made in 2017 by former ChristianaCare compliance officer Ronald Sherman alleges Delaware’s largest health system committed federal health care fraud.
It alleges ChristianaCare was involved in a kickback scheme in which it funneled Medicaid payments to private practice Neonatology Associates in exchange for patient referrals.
ChristianaCare filed a motion to dismiss the suit last summer. It argued Sherman gave up his right to sue the health system when he executed a release discharging all claims against ChristianaCare when he was fired in 2014.
It also argued compliance disclosure logs submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general's office already disclosed the allegations made in Sherman’s complaint.
The judge denied ChristianaCare's motion to dismiss after holding a hearing Friday.
ChristianaCare paid the state and federal governments $3.3 million in 2010 to settle a similar false claims suit involving referrals from a group of Wilmington neurologists.
