Amedisys posts 4Q loss on $162M goodwill charge

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Home health care provider Amedisys Inc. says it took a loss in the fourth quarter after it recorded another big goodwill impairment charge.

Amedisys took a charge of $162 million during the quarter. Amedisys recently announced that its revenue from an agreement with health insurer Aetna Inc. will fall by about half, and the company said reimbursement cuts, slow growth, and lower volumes are hurting its business. The company and several of its competitors are being investigated over allegations they deliberately increased their visits to patients in order to get bonus payouts from Medicare.

In the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company said it lost $106.8 million, or $3.52 per share, reversing its year-earlier net income of $4.3 million, or 15 cents per share.