Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED)
MURRAY, FRANK & SAILER LLP is investigating securities fraud claims against Amedisys, Inc. ("Amedisys" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: AMED) and certain of its officers, on behalf of purchasers of Amedisys securities between February 23, 2010 and May 13, 2010, inclusive (the "Class Period").
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It is alleged that during the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, alleged false and/or misleading statements failed to disclose: (1) that the Company's reported sales and earnings growth were materially impacted by a scheme whereby the Company intentionally increased the number of in-home therapy visits to patients for the purpose of triggering higher reimbursement rates under the Medicare home health prospective payment system, as those excess visits were not always medically necessary; (2) that the Company's reported sales and earnings were inflated by the scheme and subject to recoupment by Medicare; (3) that the Company was in material violation of its Code of Ethical Business Conduct and compliance due to the scheme to inflate Medicare revenues; and (4) based on the foregoing, defendants lacked a basis for their positive statements about the Company, its prospects and growth.
On April 27, 2010, The Wall Street Journal ("WSJ") reported that Amedisys has been taking advantage of the Medicare reimbursement system by increasing the number of in-home therapy visits in order to trigger additional reimbursements. As reported in the article, according to a former Amedisys nurse, the excess visits that triggered additional reimbursements were "not always medically necessary." In the wake of this revelation, Amedisys shares fell $3.98, or 6.6%, to close at $56.52.
On May 13, 2010, the WSJ published a follow up article in which it reported that the Senate Finance Committee ("Committee") had initiated an investigation into the billing and operating practices of Amedisys. In a Committee letter dated May 12, 2010, addressed to Amedisys, the Committee cited the findings of the WSJ article and requested the Company to produce documents dating as far back as 2006, concerning data on therapy visits, lists of physicians with the highest patient referrals to the Company, and copies of all marketing materials. On this news, Amedisys securities dropped nearly 8% to close at $51.73.
If you purchased Amedisys securities within the Class Period, you may move the Court, not later than August 9, 2010, to serve as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A Lead Plaintiff is a representative chosen by the Court who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. You do not need to be a Lead Plaintiff to be included in the class. If you wish to discuss this litigation, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact us.
Contact:
MURRAY, FRANK & SAILER LLP
Eva Hromadkova
212-682-1818
800-497-8076
Investigations@murrayfrank.com
http://www.murrayfrank.com/
