LHC Group Responds to Senate Finance Committee Report on Home Health and the Medicare Therapy Threshold

LAFAYETTE, La., Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  The following statement was issued by Pete November, executive vice president and general counsel for LHC Group:

"As announced last week, LHC Group entered into a settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve a multi-year inquiry with respect to, among other issues, the medical necessity of home therapy visits billed to Medicare by LHC Group during the 2005-2008 timeframe. We fully cooperated, and in the course of that inquiry, all of the materials supplied by LHC Group to the Senate Finance Committee were also supplied to the Department of Justice. In addition, as part of the settlement, we made presentations about our company's ongoing compliance program to the HHS Office of Inspector General, and we have entered into a multi-year corporate integrity agreement that incorporates many of the elements of our existing program. LHC Group is pleased to have put this matter behind us, and we look forward to working cooperatively with HHS-OIG under the terms of the corporate integrity agreement over the next five years."

About LHC Group:

LHC Group is one of the nation's largest providers of home health and hospice services with 312 locations in 19 states.  The company provides a comprehensive array of post-acute healthcare services through home health, hospice and private duty locations in its home-based division and long-term acute care hospitals in its facility-based division.  LHC Group serves nearly 80,000 patients annually and is the only national home health provider pursuing 100 percent Joint Commission accreditation.

Certain matters discussed in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements about the Company's future financial performance and the strength of the Company's operations. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "continue," "expect," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including changes in reimbursement, changes in government regulations, changes in LHC Group's relationships with referral sources, increased competition for LHC Group's services, increased competition for joint venture and acquisition candidates, changes in the interpretation of government regulations, and other risks set forth in Item 1A. Risk Factors in LHC Group's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. LHC Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE LHC Group