ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A federal judge has made a procedural ruling in favor of the U.S. Department of Justice in a three-year-old case against Sentara Health that remains an ongoing investigation.

Sentara Health owns Optima Health and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital.

Among other rulings, the judge has ordered the company to comply with the DOJ’s investigative demands regarding getting a hold of documents.

The DOJ has been investigating whether Sentara Health falsely claimed $665 million in Affordable Care Act subsidies by raising rates more than 250 percent in 2017. That's according to the government.

“In 2017, when policymakers in Washington destabilized health insurance markets, more than 350,000 Virginians were at risk of not having access to any insurance on the exchanges. Sentara had a choice: follow the same path as some of the biggest insurers and exit or work with state and federal officials to ensure residents of Charlottesville and other regions still had access to an ACA-eligible plan. At the urging of state and federal officials, Sentara formulated rates in just 26 days that normally take six months or more to develop. These rates were verified by a leading independent actuarial firm and approved twice by Virginia regulators,” said Sentara Health in a statement. “Sentara stood with Virginians then and remains steadfast now in our commitment to providing comprehensive, high-quality care for Virginia communities.”

The DOJ filed a petition last November requesting that the judge order Sentara to turn over documents relevant to the investigation after "failing to comply with lawfully issued Civil Investigative Demands."

In a statement, Sentara says, in part, it has “provided more than 27,000 documents and approximately 70 hours of interviews from seven former and current employees to date in response to the DOJ’s inquiry.”

According to the petition, Sentara produced nearly 7,000 pages of new documents after the government took the sworn testimony of key witnesses.

The DOJ says these newly produced records include information requiring further investigation, such as decisions made among executives.   

In the same statement, Sentara added, “This recent ruling on procedural matters will help clarify the process moving forward. As it has for nearly three years, Sentara will continue to operate in good faith and looks forward to a resolution of this matter.”

The judge has also ordered two Sentara executives to testify in the next 60 days.

The DOJ has said it is not doing interviews at this time due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.