Judge Orders Former Elevance Executive to Testify in Medicare Advantage Case

A federal judge ruled late Wednesday that Peter Haytaian, a former top executive at Elevance Health, must sit for a deposition in the Department of Justice case alleging the company fraudulently billed the government for inaccurate medical diagnoses in its Medicare Advantage plans.

The ruling grants the DOJ access to Haytaian after the agency sought to interview him since February. Elevance had blocked the deposition, arguing that Haytaian lacked personal knowledge of the business practices at issue.

The DOJ filed the case six years ago and alleges Elevance overbilled the government for its Medicare Advantage plans during the period when Haytaian oversaw the company's government health plans for more than four years. The deposition will give the government an opportunity to question a high-ranking official under oath about how a Medicare Advantage plan operates.

Haytaian will now be required to answer questions about the billing practices that form the basis of the government's allegations.