Case: In-Home Healthcare Companies – Gentiva Health Services Inc. and LHC Group Inc.

Attorneys: Jeffrey P. Campisi

October 5, 2011 – Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP (www.kaplanfox.com) has been investigating Gentiva Health Services Inc. (Nasdaq: GTIV) and LHC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) for potential violations of the federal securities laws. Investors who purchased securities of the above companies may be affected.

On April 26, 2010, The Wall Street Journal (“WSJ”) reported that an analysis by the WSJ of Medicare payments to home health-care companies in recent years raised questions about whether some companies, including the sector’s largest company Amedisys Inc., are taking advantage of the Medicare reimbursement system. The April 26, 2010 article further stated that “[t]he results show that the number of in-home therapy visits tracks Medicare financial incentives.”

On May 13, 2010, the WSJ further reported that the Senate finance Committee had launched an investigation into the practices of Amedisys Inc., Gentiva Health Services Inc., LHC Group Inc., and Almost Family Inc. According to the May 13 WSJ article, letters were emailed to the CEOs of each of the four companies requesting that each company provide information on their companies’ therapy visits from 2006 through 2009 and about financial relationships with referring physicians. Additionally, the May 13, 2010 article stated as follows:

The home therapy numbers cited in the [April 26, 2010 WSJ article], which came from publicly available Medicare claims, “suggest home health agencies intentionally increased utilization for the purpose of triggering higher reimbursements,” the senators wrote in letters that were emailed to the chief executives of the four companies.

On October 3, 2011, the Senate Finance Committee issued a report that stated, among other things that therapists were “encouraged to target the most profitable number of therapy visits, even when patient need may not have required such visits.” Sheryl Skolnick, analyst for CRT Group, said the 670-page report from the Senate committee offered a mountain of evidence in the form of emails and other documents to show that the three companies participated in the practice.

If you purchased publicly traded securities of Gentiva Health Services Inc or LHC Group Inc. and would like to discuss our investigation, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .