A Pennsylvania federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss a case brought by Aetna against Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) and BlueWave Healthcare Consultants for submitting false claims to the insurance giant as part of an elaborate kickback scheme, according to The Legal Intelligencer.
After already paying nearly $50 million to the federal government to settle similar claims that it paid fees to physicians in exchange for blood samples, HDL and its former partner are still facing civil suits from Cigna and Aetna. Although BlueWave argued that it could not be held liable for fraud since HDL submitted the false claims to Aetna, U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly said that under Pennsylvania law, BlueWave could still be liable if it participated in the scheme. Aetna claims that BlueWave benefited from the arrangement by collecting approximately $200 million in commission on HDL revenue. Article