Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced that Delaware’s Medicaid program would receive $7,666,379.00 following a settlement that would resolve federal False Claims Act (FCA) and Delaware False Claims and Reporting Act (DFCRA) allegations against Christiana Care Health System (CCHS). The case, which was initiated by a whistleblower, alleges that CHSS provided free or below-market value support services to non-employee doctors, who then referred patients to CHSS. These referrals in turn led to CHSS billing Medicaid. State and federal authorities maintain that the providing of these free or below-market value support services induced referrals in violation of Delaware’s Patient Brokering and Anti-Kickback laws. Because the inducements were unlawful, any resulting billing to Medicaid was a false (fraudulent) claim, and thus illegal under the FCA and DFCRA.
