NEW ORLEANS, July 20, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") (www.ksfcounsel.com%26index=1%26md5=3c9bb8532b24f5ebcbf5166fcff154c4">www.ksfcounsel.com), a Louisiana-based law firm, and KSF partner Charles C. Foti, Jr., former Attorney General of Louisiana, announce that a securities class action lawsuit was filed on July 16, 2010 in the United States District Court, Middle District of Louisiana against Amedisys, Inc. ("Amedisys" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:AMED) and certain of its top officials (case number 3:10-cv-00470). No class has yet been certified in this action. This complaint, filed by KSF, represents an expanded class of shareholders who purchased securities in Amedisys from August 2, 2005 to June 30, 2010, inclusive. On July 13, 2010, AMED shares fell as much as 30 percent to a four-year low (after falling as much as 22 percent on July 1, 2010) after the home health and hospice care provider forecast second-quarter earnings below analysts' estimates. According to Reuters, an RBC Capital Market Analyst downgraded AMED shares to "sector perform" from "outperform" due to increased government scrutiny.
If you are an Amedisys shareholder who has suffered losses on your investment during this period and would like to receive a copy of this complaint and discuss your legal rights as class members and/or apply for lead plaintiff, you may, prior to August 9, 2010, e-mail or call KSF Director of Client Relations, Neil Rothstein, Esq. (neil.rothstein@ksfcounsel.com), toll free at 877/694-9510, or via cell phone 330/860-4092, or KSF Managing Partner, Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), toll free 1-866-467-1400, ext. 200, after hours via cell phone 504-301-7900, without obligation or cost to you. KSF attorneys have significant experience in representing both institutional and individual shareholders in securities fraud litigation nationwide.
Amedisys is a provider of home health services to the chronic, co-morbid, aging American population. The Company operates in two segments: home health and hospice segments. The Complaint alleges that throughout 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, the Complaint alleges that defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or 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 said 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 common stock fell $3.98 per share or 6.5%.
On May 13, 2010, the WSJ did a follow up article where it reported that the Senate Finance Committee ("SFC") had started an investigation into the billing and operating practices of Amedisys. In an SFC letter dated May 12, 2010 to Amedisys, the SFC 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. In the wake of this additional revelation, Amedisys common stock fell nearly 8% or $4.48 per share.
Finally, on June 30, 2010, the last day of the Class Period, Amedisys announced that it had received notice of a formal investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission pertaining to the Company, and received a subpoena for documents relating to matters under review by the SFC. As a result, on July 1, 2010, the price of Amedisys stock declined from a close on June 30, 2010 of $43.98 per share, to close at $39.34 per share, a decline of $4.64 per share or approximately 11%, on higher than usual volume.
On July 13, 2010, Amedisys announced that its second quarter earnings would drop substantially, in part, due to nonrecurring costs of 17 cents a share connected with the investigations. As a result, Amedisys stock fell as much as 30%.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class members who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Amedisys during the Class Period. KSF seeks to represent any shareholder, whether individual or institutional, that lost money during the class period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Amedisys securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than August 9, 2010.
A "lead plaintiff" is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this class action lawsuit, you must move the Court no later than August 9, 2010. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com%26index=1%26md5=3c9bb8532b24f5ebcbf5166fcff154c4">www.ksfcounsel.com. KSF is a law firm focused on securities class action litigation with offices in Louisiana and New York. KSF's lawyers have significant experience litigating complex securities class actions and have recovered tens of millions of dollars over the past two years for aggrieved investors.