Christiana Care Health System Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit for $47 Million
The settlement, involving allegations of kickbacks for patient referrals and fraudulent Medicaid billing, marks the largest False Claims Act settlement in Delaware history.
- Christiana Care Health System, Delaware's largest hospital system, will pay over $47 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging it provided kickbacks to outside doctors for patient referrals, leading to fraudulent Medicaid billing.
- The alleged fraud, which occurred between April 2011 and April 2017, involved Christiana Care employees treating patients referred by non-CHSS physicians at no cost or below fair market value, with those physicians then billing insurers, primarily Medicaid.
- The settlement, which involves no admission of liability, will see Christiana Care pay about $32 million to the federal government and roughly $11 million to the state of Delaware, with half of each amount being restitution.
- The whistleblower, Ronald Sherman, will receive slightly more than $12 million, with roughly $9 million coming from the federal government and $3 million from the state.
- This case is believed to be the largest False Claims Act settlement in Delaware history, and similar lawsuits could be brought against other hospitals nationwide.
Washington Post 
Associated Press 
The Philadelphia Inquirer 
