Home Health & Hospice Week

Publicly traded home care companies continue to fight the effects of an investigation into their therapy practices by the Senate Finance Committee and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The probes came after a Wall Street Journal article alleging that the companies changed their therapy utilization in response to Medicare payment incentives. Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys Inc. has issued a 21-page letter to shareholders justifying its practices. The chain's therapy visit numbers "are consistent with standard ranges of therapy utilization in our industry," Amedisys says in the letter. The company's visits "track patient acuity," the chain maintains. And the company's patient population changes from year to year. For instance, from 2007 to 2008, a major acquisition and ramp-up of a falls prevention program affected the types of patients Amedisys took on service. In fact, Amedisys provided therapy above Medicare payment thresholds, the company says. "We simply deliver the care patients need [...]