DaVita Inc. must face a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of steering dialysis patients toward private health plans—with higher dialysis reimbursement rates than Medicare or Medicaid—through a charity that helped pay their premiums.
The proposed class action can proceed with its claims that the health care company and three of its top executives misled investors about the source and sustainability of its success, a federal judge in Denver ruled March 29.
Whether or not DaVita ran an unlawful “steering” scheme, the lead plaintiffs adequately alleged the kind of misleading public statements that violate securities laws, according to the ruling by Judge ...