A federal judge has dismissed a whistle-blower suit against Health First that alleged the Rockledge, Fla.-based health system illegally referred Medicare patients to other affiliated providers over the course of 15 years.
U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton criticized the unnamed whistle-blower for making “shotgun-style” allegations in a lengthy 234-paragraph amended complaint, saying less than half of the filing actually addressed Health First's supposedly illegal practices.
The John Doe relator initially sued Health First in 2014 under the False Claims Act, Florida's false claims law, the anti-kickback statute and the Stark law against physician self-referral. The complaint accused Health First and several affiliated healthcare providers of referring Medicare patients to hospitals and facilities in Brevard County in which they had a financial interest.
But the original complaint and the superseding amended complaint filed in October 2015 failed to meet the pleading standards for qui tam lawsuits, Dalton said.
Health First Vice President Matthew Gerrell said Monday that the company is pleased with the decision, noting the relator has failed to properly present his allegations to the court twice already.
“We firmly believe this lawsuit lacks merit and that Health First's conduct is fully compliant with the law,” Gerrell said. “Health First will continue to advocate for what is in the best interests of its patients and the residents of Brevard.”
Although Health First claimed that most of the whistle-blower's allegations were untimely—the False Claims Act has a six-year statute of limitations—Dalton didn't address that argument in his decision.
The whistle-blower will file an amended complaint with the court, as allowed by the judge, according to the whistle-blower's attorney, Daniel Miller of the law firm Berger & Montague.
The integrated health system also faces a $346 million trial next month for allegedly violating antitrust law. Dalton will also preside over that case.
