AMEDISYS INC - Annual Report: 2014 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2014

OR

For the transition period from                     to                    

Commission File Number: 0-24260

AMEDISYS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

5959 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70816

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(225) 292-2031 or (800) 467-2662

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark whether the issuer is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the last sale price as quoted by the NASDAQ Global Select Market on June 30, 2014 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $335,134,716. For purposes of this determination shares beneficially owned by executive officers, directors and ten percent stockholders have been excluded, which does not constitute a determination that such persons are affiliates.

As of February 27, 2015, the registrant had 33,673,039 shares of Common Stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “2015 Proxy Statement”) to be filed pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of December 31, 2014 are incorporated herein by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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SPECIAL CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

When included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or in other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or in statements made by or on behalf of the Company, words like “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “projects,” “estimates,” “may,” “might,” “would,” “should” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described therein. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the following: changes in Medicare and other medical payment levels, our ability to open care centers, acquire additional care centers and integrate and operate these care centers effectively, changes in or our failure to comply with existing Federal and state laws or regulations or the inability to comply with new government regulations on a timely basis, competition in the home health industry, changes in the case mix of patients and payment methodologies, changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies, our ability to maintain or establish new patient referral sources, our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, changes in payments and covered services due to the economic downturn and deficit spending by Federal and state governments, future cost containment initiatives undertaken by third-party payors, our access to financing due to the volatility and disruption of the capital and credit markets, our ability to meet debt service requirements and comply with covenants in debt agreements, business disruptions due to natural disasters or acts of terrorism, our ability to integrate and manage our information systems, our ability to comply with requirements stipulated in our corporate integrity agreement and changes in law or developments with respect to any litigation relating to the Company, including various other matters, many of which are beyond our control.

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on any forward-looking statement as a prediction of future events. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking and we do not intend to release publicly any updates or changes in our expectations concerning the forward-looking statements or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any forward-looking statement may be based, except as required by law. For a discussion of some of the factors discussed above as well as additional factors, see Part I, Item 1A., “Risk Factors” and Part II, Item 7, “Critical Accounting Estimates” within “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Unless otherwise provided, “Amedisys,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Amedisys, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries and when we refer to 2014, 2013 and 2012, we mean the twelve month period then ended December 31, unless otherwise provided.

A copy of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 as filed with the SEC, including all exhibits, is available on our internet website at http://www.amedisys.com on the “Investors” page under the “SEC Filings” link.

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PART I

ITEM 1.  BUSINESS

Overview

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is a “health care at home” company delivering home health and hospice care to more than 360,000 patients each year. Amedisys is focused on delivering patient-centered care, whether that is home-based recovery and rehabilitation after an operation or injury, care focused on empowering them to manage a chronic disease, palliative care for those with a terminal illness, or hospice care at the end of life.

As a recognized innovator in our industry, we were one of the first to equip clinicians with point-of-care laptop technology and referring physicians with an internet portal that enables seamless, real-time coordination of patient care. Our advanced chronic care management programs enable us to deliver care in accordance with the latest evidence-based practices. Our nationwide Care Transitions program is designed to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions through patient and caregiver health coaching and care coordination, which starts in the hospital and continues through completion of the patient’s home health plan of care.

We have a strong care network across 34 states and our focus continues to be on improving patient outcomes, reducing operating costs and keeping our patients where they want to be, at home. As of December 31, 2014, we owned and operated 316 Medicare-certified home health care centers and 80 Medicare-certified hospice care centers.

Our services are primarily paid for by Medicare due to the age demographics of our patient base (average age 81). Medicare represented approximately 82% to 84% of our net service revenue over the last three years. We are working to diversify our sources of payment by increasing our relationships with managed care providers. We remain focused on developing and maintaining a profitable and strategically important managed care contract portfolio.

Amedisys was originally incorporated in Louisiana in 1982, transferred our operations to a Delaware corporation, which was incorporated in 1994, and became a publicly traded company in August of that year. Our common stock is currently traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the trading symbol “AMED”.

Home Health Care:

There is no place like home to provide a healing environment when recovering from a surgery or illness or living with a chronic disease. It is the place where family, friends and familiar surroundings make patients feel most comfortable and may enable faster recovery. The Medicare home health benefit is available to homebound patients who require ongoing intermittent skilled care. Our services are provided by dedicated, highly trained and skilled home health care professionals, working closely with physicians to coordinate all aspects of care and comfort to our patients.

Our Care Team of professionals includes:

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Our chronic care clinical programs incorporate evidence-based best practices for patients with chronic diseases. These programs incorporate national clinical standards and use patient education to empower patients and their caregivers with self-care management skills. Our chronic care management includes programs for cardiovascular, respiratory, diabetes, behavioral health, rehabilitative and medical surgical conditions. Our care team also utilizes a Care Transitions program that helps patients move safely from the hospital to their homes with the appropriate post-acute care. Our hospital and health system partners want to ensure their patients have a smooth transition home as well as prevent avoidable readmissions.

Hospice Care:

Hospice is a special form of care that is designed to provide comfort and support for those who are dealing with a terminal illness. It is a compassionate form of care that promotes dignity and affirms quality of life for the patient, family members and other loved ones.

Individuals with a terminal illness such as heart disease, pulmonary disease, Alzheimer’s, HIV/AIDS or cancer may be eligible for hospice care, if they have a life expectancy of six months or less.

Amedisys’ specialized team of hospice professionals works with the patient, family members and attending physician to develop a plan of care that will best meet the patient’s and family’s needs.

Our Team is a dedicated support network for the patient and includes:

Other Business Lines:

We have invested in and are exploring new business lines that are complementary to our existing home health and hospice businesses. These new business lines consist of (i) palliative care, which is designed to relieve pain and suffering for patients who do not qualify for, or have not elected, the hospice benefit, (ii) house calls medical practices and (iii) outpatient therapy services. To date these businesses are not meaningful contributors to our operating results.

Responding to Changing Regulatory and Reimbursement Environment:

Effective October 2012, Medicare began to impose a financial penalty upon hospitals that have excessive rates of patient readmissions within 30 days after hospital discharge. We believe this new regulation provides opportunities for providers of post-acute care who can demonstrate the ability to maintain or reduce patient acute care hospital readmission rates at or below an acceptable level. We are working to take advantage of this opportunity by striving to further improve the quality of care we provide, as well as implementing disease management programs designed to be responsive to the needs of patients served by the hospitals we call upon, so as to expand our business by garnering more referrals from hospitals.

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The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) has resulted in several programs being introduced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) that offer the opportunity to participate in initiatives that align home health providers with hospitals, physicians, managed care payors and other referral sources to coordinate care and/or pilot alternative reimbursement structures. One such program is the CMS Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative (“BPCI”). We participated in a “Model 3 – 90-Day Post-Acute” BPCI bundle across two regions during 2014. This is an at-risk model in which CMS sets a bundle target price based on historical costs. On October 29, 2014, we notified CMS of our plan to withdraw from the two Model 3 bundles. We will continue to evaluate the results of our bundle participation and determine any future participation in CMS Bundle programs.

In addition to the BPCI program, PPACA introduced Accountable Care Organization (“ACO”) programs. An ACO is a group of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who come together voluntarily to give coordinated high-quality care to Medicare patients. The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors. While these programs are presently not material to our business, we are currently participating in several ACOs and monitoring their results.

AMS3 Development:

AMS3 is our third generation, proprietary operating system. We installed the system in our first care center in May 2014 and currently have 15 care centers using the system. We continue to make improvements to the system and will evaluate the results of the improvements made and planned over the new few months. The results of this evaluation and the implementation of the 10^th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (“ICD-10”), effective October 1, 2015, may cause us to alter our currently proposed implementation schedule, up to and including postponing further implementation until after the implementation of ICD-10.

Financial Information:

Financial information for our home health and hospice segments can be found in our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our Employees

As of February 27, 2015, we employed approximately 13,200 employees, consisting of approximately 10,100 home health care employees, 2,200 hospice care employees and 900 corporate and divisional support employees.

Payment for Our Services

Home Health Medicare

The Medicare home health benefit is available both for patients who need care following discharge from a hospital and patients who suffer from chronic conditions that require ongoing but intermittent care. As a condition of participation under Medicare, beneficiaries must be homebound (meaning that the beneficiary is unable to leave his/her home without a considerable and taxing effort), require intermittent skilled nursing, physical therapy or speech therapy services, and receive treatment under a plan of care established and periodically reviewed by a physician. Medicare rates are based on the severity of the patient’s condition, his or her service needs and other factors relating to the cost of providing services and supplies, bundled into 60-day episodes of care. An episode starts with the first day a billable visit is performed and ends 60 days later or upon discharge, if earlier. If a patient is still in treatment on the 60^th day, a recertification assessment is undertaken to determine whether the patient needs additional care. If the patient’s physician determines that further care is necessary, another episode begins on the 61^st day (regardless of whether a billable visit is rendered on that day) and ends 60 days later. The first day of a consecutive episode, therefore, is not necessarily the new episode’s first billable visit.

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Annually, the Medicare program base episodic rates are set through Federal legislation, as follows:

Payments can be adjusted for: (a) an outlier payment if our patient’s care was unusually costly (capped at 10% of total reimbursement per provider number); (b) a low utilization payment adjustment (“LUPA”) if the number of visits during the episode was fewer than five; (c) a partial payment if our patient transferred to another provider or we received a patient from another provider before completing the episode; (d) a payment adjustment based upon the level of therapy services required (with various incremental adjustments made for additional visits, with larger payment increases associated with the sixth, fourteenth and twentieth visit thresholds); (e) a payment adjustment if we are unable to perform periodic therapy assessments; (f) the number of episodes of care provided to a patient, regardless of whether the same home health provider provided care for the entire series of episodes; (g) changes in the base episode payments established by the Medicare program; (h) adjustments to the base episode payments for case mix and geographic wages; and (i) recoveries of overpayments. Medicare can also make various adjustments to payments received if we are unable to produce appropriate billing documentation or acceptable authorizations. In addition, we make adjustments to Medicare revenue if we find that we are unable to obtain appropriate billing documentation, authorizations or face to face documentation.

Home Health Non-Medicare

Payments from Medicaid and private insurance carriers are based on episodic-based rates (60-day episode of care) or per visit rates depending upon the terms and conditions established with such payors. Episodic-based rates paid by our non-Medicare payors are paid in a similar manner and subject to the same adjustments as discussed above for Medicare; however, these rates can vary based upon negotiated terms.

Hospice Medicare

The Medicare hospice benefit is also available to Medicare-eligible patients with terminal illnesses, certified by a physician, where life expectancy is six months or less. Medicare rates are based on standard prospective rates for delivering care over a base 90-day or 60-day period (90-day episodes of care for the first two episodes and 60-day episodes of care for any subsequent episodes). Payments are based on daily rates for each day a beneficiary is enrolled in the hospice benefit. Rates are set based on specific levels of care, are adjusted by a wage index to reflect health care labor costs across the country and are established annually through Federal legislation. We make adjustments to Medicare revenue when we find we are unable to obtain appropriate billing documentation, authorizations or face to face documentation and other reasons unrelated to credit risk. The levels of care are routine care, general inpatient care, continuous home care and respite care.

We bill Medicare for hospice services on a monthly basis and our payments are subject to two fixed annual caps, which are assessed on a provider number basis. Generally, each hospice care center has its own provider number. However, where we have created branch care centers to help our parent care centers serve a geographic location, the parent and branch may have the same provider number. The annual caps per patient, known as hospice caps, are calculated and published by the Medicare fiscal intermediary on an annual basis and cover the twelve month period from November 1 through October 31. The caps can be subject to annual and retroactive adjustments, which can cause providers to owe money back to Medicare if such caps are exceeded.

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The two caps are detailed below:

Our ability to stay within these limitations depends on a number of factors, each determined on a provider number basis, including the average length of stay and mix in level of care.

Hospice Non-Medicare

Non-Medicare payors pay at rates different from established Medicare rates for hospice services, which are based on separate, negotiated agreements. We bill and are paid based on these agreements.

Controls over Our Business System Infrastructure

We establish and maintain processes and controls over coding, clinical operations, billing, patient recertifications and compliance to help monitor and promote compliance with Medicare requirements.

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Our Regulatory Environment

We are highly regulated by Federal, state and local authorities. Regulations and policies frequently change, and we monitor changes through trade and governmental publications and associations. Our home health and hospice subsidiaries are certified by CMS and therefore are eligible to receive payment for services through the Medicare system.

We are also subject to Federal, state and local laws and regulations dealing with issues such as occupational safety, employment, medical leave, insurance, civil rights, discrimination, building codes, environmental issues and adverse event reporting and recordkeeping. Federal, state and local governments are expanding the number of regulatory requirements on businesses.

We have set forth below a discussion of the regulations that we believe most significantly affect our home health and hospice businesses.

Licensure, Certificates of Need (CON) and Permits of Approval (POA)

Home health and hospice care centers operate under licenses granted by the health authorities of their respective states. Additionally, certain states, including a number in which we operate, carefully restrict new entrants into the market based on demographic and/or competitive changes. In such states, expansion by existing providers or entry into the market by new providers is permitted only where a given amount of unmet need exists, resulting either from population increases or a reduction in competing providers. These states ration the availability of markets through a CON process, which is periodically evaluated. Currently, state health authorities in 17 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico require a CON or, in the State of Arkansas, a POA, in order to establish and operate a home health care center, and state health authorities in 12 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico require a CON to operate a hospice care center.

We operate home health care centers in the following CON states: Alabama, Arkansas (POA), Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. We provide hospice related services in the following CON states: Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

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In every state where required, our locations possess a license and/or CON or POA issued by the state health authority that determines the local service areas for the home health or hospice care center. In general, the process for opening a home health or hospice care center begins by a provider submitting an application for licensure and certification to the state and Federal regulatory bodies, which is followed by a testing period of transmitting data from the applicant to CMS. Once this process is complete, the care center receives a provider agreement and corresponding number and can begin billing for services that it provides. For those states that require a CON or POA, the provider must also complete a separate application process before billing can commence. In addition, states with CON and POA laws place limits on the construction and acquisition of health care facilities and operations and the expansion of existing facilities and services. In these states, approvals are required for capital expenditures exceeding amounts above the prescribed thresholds.

State CON and POA laws generally provide that, prior to the addition of new capacity, the construction of new facilities or the introduction of new services, a designated state health planning agency must determine that a need exists for those beds, facilities or services. The process is intended to promote comprehensive health care planning, assist in providing high-quality health care at the lowest possible cost and avoid unnecessary duplication by ensuring that only those health care facilities and operations that are needed will be built and opened.

Professional Licensure, Certification, Accreditation and Related Laws and Guidelines

We have invested in new business lines that are complementary to our existing home health and hospice businesses, but require compliance with additional regulatory requirements. These new business lines consist of (i) palliative care, which is designed to relieve pain and suffering for patients who do not qualify for, or have not elected, the hospice benefit, and (ii) house calls medical practices. These new practices are billed pursuant to Medicare Part B, rather than Medicare Part A which governs both home health and hospice, and utilize house calls nurse practitioners (“NPs”), physician assistants (“PAs”) and physicians (collectively with NPs and PAs, “Clinical Professionals”). Our Clinical Professionals are subject to numerous federal, state and local licensing laws and regulations, relating to, among other things, professional credentialing and professional ethics. Clinical Professionals are also subject to state and Federal regulation regarding prescribing medication and controlled substances. Each state defines the scope of practice of Clinical Professionals through legislation and through the respective Boards of Medicine and Nursing, and many states require that NPs and PAs work in collaboration with or under the supervision of a physician. These requirements may vary significantly from state to state. There are penalties for non-compliance with these laws and standards, including loss of professional license, civil or criminal fines and penalties, federal health care program disenrollment, loss of billing privileges, and exclusion from participation in various governmental and other third-party healthcare programs.

Reimbursement for palliative care and house calls services is generally conditioned on our Clinical Professionals providing the correct procedure and diagnosis codes and properly documenting both the service itself and the medical necessity for the service. Incorrect or incomplete documentation and billing information, or the incorrect selection of codes for the level and type of service provided, could result in non-payment for services rendered or lead to allegations of billing fraud.

Medicare Participation

Our care centers must comply with regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in order to participate in the Medicare program and receive Medicare payments. Among other things, these regulations, known as “conditions of participation,” relate to the type of facility, its personnel and its standards of medical care, as well as its compliance with state and local laws and regulations. In 2012, CMS adopted alternative sanction enforcement options which allow CMS (i) effective July 1, 2013, to impose temporary management, direct plans of correction, or direct training, and (ii) effective July 1, 2014, to impose payment suspensions and civil monetary penalties in each case on providers out of compliance with the conditions of participation. CMS has issued a proposed rule on October 1, 2014, revising the current home health

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conditions of participation. We provided public comments on the proposed changes, but we cannot predict the content or effective date of any final rule revising the home health conditions of participation.

CMS has engaged a number of third party firms, including Recovery Audit Contractors (“RACs”), Program Safeguard Contractors (“PSCs”), Zone Program Integrity Contractors (“ZPICs”) and Medicaid Integrity Contributors (“MICs”), to conduct extensive reviews of claims data and state and Federal government health care program laws and regulations applicable to healthcare providers. These audits evaluate the appropriateness of billings submitted for payment. In addition to identifying overpayments, audit contractors can refer suspected violations of law to government enforcement authorities.

Federal and State Anti-Fraud and Anti-Kickback Laws

As a provider under the Medicare and Medicaid systems, we are subject to various anti-fraud and abuse laws, including the Federal health care programs’ anti-kickback statute and, where applicable, its state law counterparts. Subject to certain exceptions, these laws prohibit any offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of any form of remuneration to induce or reward the referral of business payable under a government health care program or in return for the purchase, lease, order, arranging for, or recommendation of items or services covered under a government health care program. Affected government health care programs include any health care plans or programs that are funded by the United States government (other than certain Federal employee health insurance benefits/programs), including certain state health care programs that receive Federal funds, such as Medicaid. A related law forbids the offer or transfer of anything of value, including certain waivers of co-payment obligations and deductible amounts, to a beneficiary of Medicare or Medicaid that is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of health care providers, again subject to certain exceptions. Violations of the anti-fraud and abuse laws can result in the imposition of substantial civil and criminal penalties and, potentially, exclusion from furnishing services under any government health care program. In addition, the states in which we operate generally have laws that prohibit certain direct or indirect payments or fee-splitting arrangements between health care providers where they are designed to obtain the referral of patients from a particular provider.

Stark Laws

Congress adopted legislation in 1989, known as the “Stark Law,” that generally prohibited a physician from ordering clinical laboratory services for a Medicare beneficiary where the entity providing that service has a financial relationship (including direct or indirect ownership or compensation relationships) with the physician (or a member of his/her immediate family), and further prohibits such entity from billing for or receiving payment for such services, unless a specified exception is available. The Stark Law was amended through additional legislation, known as “Stark II,” which became effective January 1, 1993. That legislation extended the Stark Law prohibitions beyond clinical laboratory services to a more extensive list of statutorily defined “designated health services,” which includes, among other things, home health services, durable medical equipment and outpatient prescription drugs. Violations of the Stark Law result in payment denials and may also trigger civil monetary penalties and program exclusion. Several of the states in which we conduct business have also enacted statutes similar in scope and purpose to the Federal fraud and abuse laws and the Stark Laws. These state laws may mirror the Federal Stark Laws or may be different in scope. The available guidance and enforcement activity associated with such state laws varies considerably.

Federal and State Privacy and Security Laws

The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (“HIPAA”), directed that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) promulgate regulations prescribing standard requirements for electronic health care transactions and establishing protections for the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information, known as “protected health information.” The HIPAA transactions regulations establish form, format and data content

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requirements for most electronic health care transactions, such as health care claims that are submitted electronically. The HIPAA privacy regulations establish comprehensive requirements relating to the use and disclosure of protected health information. The HIPAA security regulations establish minimum standards for the protection of protected health information that is stored or transmitted electronically. Violations of the privacy and security regulations are punishable by civil and criminal penalties.

The American Recovery and Economic Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”), signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, contained significant changes to the privacy and security provisions of HIPAA, including major changes to the enforcement provisions. Among other things, ARRA significantly increased the amount of civil monetary penalties that can be imposed for violations of HIPAA. ARRA also authorized state attorneys general to bring civil enforcement actions under HIPAA. These enhanced penalties and enforcement provisions went into effect immediately upon enactment of ARRA. ARRA also required that HHS promulgate regulations requiring that certain notifications be made to individuals, to HHS and potentially to the media in the event of breaches of the privacy of protected health information. These breach notification regulations went into effect on September 23, 2009, and HHS began to enforce violations on February 22, 2010. Violations of the breach notification provisions of HIPAA can trigger the increased civil monetary penalties described above.

ARRA’s numerous other changes to HIPAA have delayed effective dates and require the issuance of implementing regulations by HHS. On July 14, 2010, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) published proposed regulations designed to implement a number of changes called for by ARRA, but the proposed regulations have not yet been finalized. The changes to HIPAA enacted as part of ARRA reflect a Congressional intent that HIPAA’s privacy and security provisions be more strictly enforced. It is likely that these changes will stimulate increased enforcement activity and enhance the potential that health care providers will be subject to financial penalties for violations of HIPAA.

In addition to the Federal HIPAA regulations, most states also have laws that protect the confidentiality of health information. Also, in response to concerns about identity theft, many states have adopted so-called “security breach” notification laws that may impose requirements regarding the safeguarding of personal information, such as social security numbers and bank and credit card account numbers, and that impose an obligation to notify persons when their personal information has or may have been accessed by an unauthorized person. Some state security breach notification laws may also impose physical and electronic security requirements. Violation of state security breach notification laws can trigger significant monetary penalties.

The False Claims Act

The Federal False Claims Act gives the Federal government an additional way to police false bills or requests for payment for health care services. Under the False Claims Act, the government may fine any person who knowingly submits, or participates in submitting, claims for payment to the Federal government which are false or fraudulent, or which contain false or misleading information. Any person who knowingly makes or uses a false record or statement to avoid paying the Federal government, or knowingly conceals or avoids an obligation to pay money to the Federal government, may also be subject to fines under the False Claims Act. Under the False Claims Act, the term “person” means an individual, company, or corporation. The Federal government has widely used the False Claims Act to prosecute Medicare and other governmental program fraud in areas such as violations of the Federal anti-kickback statute or the Stark Laws, coding errors, billing for services not provided, and submitting false cost reports. The False Claims Act has also been used to prosecute people or entities that bill services at a higher reimbursement rate than is allowed and that bill for care that is not medically necessary. In addition to government enforcement, the False Claims Act authorizes private citizens to bring qui tam or “whistleblower” lawsuits, greatly extending the practical reach of the False Claims Act. The penalty for violation of the False Claims Act is a minimum of $5,500 for each fraudulent claim plus three times the amount of damages caused to the government as a result of each fraudulent claim.

The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (“FERA”) amended the False Claims Act with the intent of enhancing the powers of government enforcement authorities and whistleblowers to bring False Claims Act

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cases. In particular, FERA attempts to clarify that liability may be established not only for false claims submitted directly to the government, but also for claims submitted to government contractors and grantees. FERA also seeks to clarify that liability exists for attempts to avoid repayment of overpayments, including improper retention of Federal funds. FERA also included amendments to False Claims Act procedures, expanding the government’s ability to use the Civil Investigative Demand process to investigate defendants, and permitting government complaints in intervention to relate back to the filing of the whistleblower’s original complaint. FERA is likely to increase both the volume and liability exposure of False Claims Act cases brought against health care providers.

In addition to the False Claims Act, the Federal government may use several criminal statutes to prosecute the submission of false or fraudulent claims for payment to the Federal government. Many states have similar false claims statutes that impose liability for the types of acts prohibited by the False Claims Act. As part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (the “DRA”), Congress provided states an incentive to adopt state false claims acts consistent with the Federal False Claims Act. Additionally, the DRA required providers who receive $5 million or more annually from Medicaid to include information on Federal and state false claims acts, whistleblower protections and the providers’ own policies on detecting and preventing fraud in their written employee policies.

Civil Monetary Penalties

The United States Department of Health and Human Services may impose civil monetary penalties upon any person or entity who presents, or causes to be presented, certain ineligible claims for medical items or services. The amount of penalties varies, depending on the offense, from $2,000 to $50,000 per violation. In addition, persons who have been excluded from the Medicare or Medicaid program and still retain ownership in a participating entity, or who contract with excluded persons, may be penalized. Penalties also are applicable in certain other cases, including violations of the Federal anti-kickback statute, payments to limit certain patient services and improper execution of statements of medical necessity.

FDA Regulation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulates medical device user facilities, which include home health care providers. FDA regulations require user facilities to report patient deaths and serious injuries to FDA and/or the manufacturer of a device used by the facility if the device may have caused or contributed to the death or serious injury of any patient. FDA regulations also require user facilities to maintain files related to adverse events and to establish and implement appropriate procedures to ensure compliance with the above reporting and recordkeeping requirements. User facilities are subject to FDA inspection, and noncompliance with applicable requirements may result in warning letters or sanctions including civil monetary penalties, injunction, product seizure, criminal fines and/or imprisonment.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

In March 2010, comprehensive health care reform legislation was signed into law in the United States through the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, “PPACA”). Even as of December 31, 2014, it is difficult to predict the full impact of PPACA due to the law’s complexity and phased in effective dates, as well our inability to foresee how CMS and other participants in the health care industry will respond to the choices available to them under the law. PPACA calls for a number of changes to be made over time that will likely have a significant impact upon the health care delivery system. For example, PPACA mandates decreases in home health reimbursement rates, including a four-year phased rebasing of the home health payment system that began in 2014 and will continue through 2017. These reimbursement changes are described in detail in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations: Overview—Economic and Industry Factors.” PPACA has established a number of new requirements impacting our business operations, and promises to give rise to other changes that could significantly impact our businesses in the future. For example, PPACA also mandates the

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creation of a home health value-based purchasing program, the development of quality measures, and the testing of alternative payment and delivery models, including ACOs and the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors: Risks Related to Laws and Government Regulations” for a more complete discussion of PPACA and the risks it presents to our businesses.

Our Competitors

There are few barriers to entry in the home health and hospice jurisdictions that do not require certificates of need or permits of approval. Our primary competition in these jurisdictions comes from local privately and publicly-owned and hospital-owned health care providers. We compete based on the availability of personnel, the quality of services, expertise of visiting staff, and, in certain instances, on the price of our services. In addition, we compete with a number of non-profit organizations that finance acquisitions and capital expenditures on a tax-exempt basis or receive charitable contributions that are unavailable to us.

Available Information

Our company website address is www.amedisys.com. We use our website as a channel of distribution for important company information. Important information, including press releases, analyst presentations and financial information regarding our company, is routinely posted on and accessible on the Investor Relations subpage of our website, which is accessible by clicking on the tab labeled “Investors” on our website home page. We also use our website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding our company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the SEC disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the “Investors” subpage of our website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to our website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the “Investors” subpage of our website. In addition, we make available on the Investors subpage of our website (under the link “SEC Filings”), free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, ownership reports on Forms 3, 4 and 5 and any amendments to those reports as soon as practicable after we electronically file such reports with the SEC. Further, copies of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, our Code of Ethical Business Conduct, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters for the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance and Quality of Care Committees of our Board are also available on the Investors subpage of our website (under the link “Corporate Governance”).

Additionally, the public may read and copy any of the materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at (800) SEC-0330. Our electronically filed reports can also be obtained on the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov.

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The risks described below, and risks described elsewhere in this Form 10-K, could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and the actual outcome of matters as to which forward-looking statements are made in this Form 10-K. The risk factors described below and elsewhere in this Form 10-K are not the only risks faced by Amedisys. Our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may also be materially adversely affected by factors that are not currently known to us, by factors that we currently consider immaterial or by factors that are not specific to us, such as general economic conditions.

If any of the following risks are actually realized, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

You should refer to the explanation of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements under “Special Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.” All forward-looking statements made by us are qualified by the risk factors described below.

Risks Related to Reimbursement

Because a high percentage of our revenue is derived from Medicare, reductions in Medicare rates, rate increases that do not cover cost increases and/or significant changes to the Medicare payment methodology or eligibility requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our net service revenue is primarily derived from Medicare, which accounted for 82%, 84% and 82% of our revenue during 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Payments received from Medicare are subject to changes made through Federal legislation. These changes, as further detailed in Part I, Item 1, “Business: Payment for Our Services,” can include changes to base episode payments and adjustments for home health services, changes to cap limits and per diem rates for hospice services and changes to Medicare eligibility and documentation requirements or changes designed to restrict utilization. When such changes are implemented, we must also modify our internal billing processes and procedures accordingly, which can require significant time and expense. Any similar changes, including retroactive adjustments, adopted in the future by CMS could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

There are continuing efforts to reform governmental health care programs that could result in major changes in the health care delivery and reimbursement system on a national and state level, including changes directly impacting the reimbursement systems for our home health and hospice care centers. Though we cannot predict what, if any, reform proposals will be adopted, health care reform and legislation may have a material adverse effect on our business and our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows through decreasing payments made for our services. We could be affected adversely by the continuing efforts of governmental and private third party payors to contain health care costs. We cannot assure you that reimbursement payments under governmental and private third party payor programs, including Medicare supplemental insurance policies, will remain at levels comparable to present levels or will be sufficient to cover the costs allocable to patients eligible for reimbursement pursuant to these programs. These changes could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our hospice operations are subject to two annual Medicare caps. If such caps were to be exceeded by any of our hospice providers, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

With respect to our hospice operations, overall payments made by Medicare to each provider number (generally corresponding to a hospice care center) are subject to an inpatient cap amount and an overall payment cap, which

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are calculated and published by the Medicare fiscal intermediary on an annual basis covering the period from November 1 through October 31. If payments received by any one of our hospice provider numbers exceeds either of these caps, we may be required to reimburse Medicare for payments received in excess of the caps, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Any economic downturn, deepening of an economic downturn, continued deficit spending by the Federal government or state budget pressures may result in a reduction in payments and covered services.

Adverse developments in the United States could lead to a reduction in Federal government expenditures, including governmentally funded programs in which we participate, such as Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, if at any time the Federal government is not able to meet its debt payments unless the Federal debt ceiling is raised, and legislation increasing the debt ceiling is not enacted, the Federal government may stop or delay making payments on its obligations, including funding for government programs in which we participate, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Failure of the government to make payments under these programs could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Further, any failure by the United States Congress to complete the Federal budget process and fund government operations may result in a Federal government shutdown, potentially causing us to incur substantial costs without reimbursement under the Medicare program, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. As an example, the failure of the 2011 Joint Select Committee to meet its Deficit Reduction goal resulted in an automatic reduction in Medicare home and hospice payments of 2% beginning April 1, 2013.

Historically, state budget pressures have resulted in reductions in state spending. Given that Medicaid outlays are a significant component of state budgets, we can expect continuing cost containment pressures on Medicaid outlays for our services. In addition, continued unfavorable economic conditions may affect the number of patients enrolled in managed care programs and the profitability of managed care companies, which could result in reduced payment rates and could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Future cost containment initiatives undertaken by private third party payors may limit our future revenue and profitability.

Our non-Medicare revenue and profitability are affected by continuing efforts of third party payors to maintain or reduce costs of health care by lowering payment rates, narrowing the scope of covered services, increasing case management review of services and negotiating pricing. There can be no assurance that third party payors will make timely payments for our services, and there is no assurance that we will continue to maintain our current payor or revenue mix. We are continuing our efforts to develop our non-Medicare sources of revenue and any changes in payment levels from current or future third party payors could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Laws and Government Regulations

We are operating under a Corporate Integrity Agreement. Violations of this agreement could result in substantial penalties or exclusion from participation in the Medicare program.

On April 23, 2014, with no admissions of liability on our part, we entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice relating to certain of our clinical and business operations. Concurrently with our entry into this agreement, we entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement (“CIA”) with the Office of Inspector General-HHS. The CIA, which has a term of five years, formalizes various aspects of our already existing ethics and compliance programs and contains other requirements designed to help ensure our ongoing compliance with federal health care program requirements. Among other things, the CIA requires us to maintain our existing

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compliance program, compliance committee and compliance committee of the Board of Directors; provide certain compliance training; continue screening new and current employees against certain lists to ensure they are not ineligible to participate in federal health care programs; engage an independent review organization (“IRO”) to perform certain auditing and reviews and prepare certain reports regarding our compliance with federal health care programs, our billing submissions to federal health care programs and our compliance and risk mitigation programs; and provide certain reports and management certifications to the Office of Inspector General-HHS. Among other things, the CIA requires that we report substantial overpayments that we discover we have received from the federal health care programs, as well as probable violations of federal health care laws. Upon breach of the CIA, we could become liable for payment of certain stipulated penalties, or could be excluded from participation in federal health care programs. Although we believe that we are currently in compliance with the CIA, any violations of the agreement could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Pending civil litigation could have a material adverse effect on the Company.

We and certain of our current and former directors, senior executives and other employees are defendants in a Federal securities class action. We are also a defendant in several wage and hour law putative collective and class action lawsuits. See Part II, Item 8, Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies for a more detailed description of these proceedings. These actions remain in preliminary stages and it is not yet possible to assess their probable outcome or our potential liability, if any. We cannot provide any assurances that the legal and other costs associated with the defense of these actions, the amount of time required to be spent by management on these matters and the ultimate outcome of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our insurance may not cover all of the costs associated with defending the pending Federal securities class action, and any potential liability costs associated with this matter, and we maintain no insurance that covers any portion of the pending wage and hour putative collective and class action lawsuits.

With respect to the pending securities class action, we maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that we believe should cover a portion of the legal costs and potential liability costs associated with this matter. However, such insurance coverage does not extend to all of these expenditures, and the insurance limits may be insufficient even with respect to expenditures that would otherwise be covered. In addition, we may be obligated to indemnify (and advance legal expenses to) both current and former officers, employees and directors in connection with this matter. Furthermore, our insurance carriers may seek to deny coverage in this matter, in which case we may have to fund the indemnification amounts owed to such directors and officers ourselves. If our insurance coverage for this matter is denied or is not adequate, it may have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We do not maintain any insurance that will cover any part of the wage and hour putative collective and class action lawsuits in which we are defendants.

We are subject to extensive government regulation. Any changes to the laws and regulations governing our business, or to the interpretation and enforcement of those laws or regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our industry is subject to extensive Federal and state laws and regulations. See Part I, Item 1, “Our Regulatory Environment” for additional information on such laws and regulations. Federal and state laws and regulations impact how we conduct our business, the services we offer and our interactions with patients, our employees and the public and impose certain requirements on us such as:

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These laws and regulations, and their interpretations, are subject to change. Changes in existing laws and regulations, or their interpretations, or the enactment of new laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows by:

Additionally, we are subject to various routine and non-routine reviews, audits and investigations by the Medicare and Medicaid programs and other Federal and state governmental agencies, which have various rights and remedies against us if they assert that we have overcharged the programs or failed to comply with program requirements. Violation of the laws governing our operations, or changes in interpretations of those laws, could result in the imposition of fines, civil or criminal penalties, and the termination of our rights to participate in Federal and state-sponsored programs and/or the suspension or revocation of our licenses. If we become subject to material fines, or if other sanctions or other corrective actions are imposed on us, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Our developing (i) palliative care, (ii) medical house calls and (iii) outpatient therapy services business lines are subject to rules, prohibitions, regulations and reimbursement requirements that differ from those that govern our primary home health and hospice operations.

Three lines of business that we continue to develop are (i) palliative care, a type of care focused upon relieving pain and suffering in patients who do not quality for, or who have not yet elected, the hospice benefit, (ii) medical house calls and (iii) outpatient therapy services. The continued development of these businesses exposes us to additional risks, in part because these business lines require us to comply with additional Federal and state laws and regulations that differ from those that govern our home health and hospice businesses. These lines of business require compliance with different Federal and state requirements governing licensure, enrollment, documentation, prescribing, coding, billing and collection of coinsurance and deductibles, among other requirements. For example, these practices are billed to Medicare Part B, rather than Medicare Part A, which covers home health and hospice, and utilize nurse practitioners (“NPs”), physician assistants (“PAs”), physicians, physical therapists (“PTs”), occupational therapists (“OTs”) and qualified speech-language therapists

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(collectively, with NPs, PAs, physicians, PTs and OTs, “Clinical Professionals”). Part B differs in many respects from Part A, including by requiring the payment and collection of patient deductibles and co-insurance. Additionally, some states have prohibitions on the corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting, which generally prohibit business entities from owning or controlling medical practices or may limit the ability of Clinical Professionals to share professional service income with non-professional or business interests. These requirements may vary significantly from state to state. Reimbursement for palliative care, medical house calls and outpatient therapy services is generally conditioned on our Clinical Professionals providing the correct procedure and diagnosis codes and properly documenting both the service itself and the medical necessity for the service. Incorrect or incomplete documentation and billing information, or the incorrect selection of codes for the level and type of service provided, could result in non-payment for services rendered or lead to allegations of billing fraud. Further, compliance with applicable regulations may cause us to incur expenses that we have not anticipated, and if we are unable to comply with these additional legal requirements, we may incur liability, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We face periodic and routine reviews, audits and investigations under our contracts with Federal and state government agencies and private payors, and these audits could have adverse findings that may negatively impact our business.

As a result of our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, we are subject to various governmental reviews, audits and investigations to verify our compliance with these programs and applicable laws and regulations. We also are subject to audits under various government programs, including the RAC, ZPIC, PSC and MIC programs, in which third party firms engaged by CMS conduct extensive reviews of claims data and medical and other records to identify potential improper payments under the Medicare program. Private pay sources also reserve the right to conduct audits. If billing errors are identified in the sample of reviewed claims, the billing error can be extrapolated to all claims filed which could result in a larger overpayment than originally identified in the sample of reviewed claims. Our costs to respond to and defend reviews, audits and investigations may be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Moreover, an adverse review, audit or investigation could result in:

These results could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If a care center fails to comply with the conditions of participation in the Medicare program, that care center could be subjected to sanctions or terminated from the Medicare program.

Each of our care centers must comply with required conditions of participation in the Medicare program. If we fail to meet the conditions of participation at a care center, we may receive a notice of deficiency from the applicable state surveyor. If that care center then fails to institute an acceptable plan of correction to remediate the deficiency within the correction period provided by the state surveyor, that care center could be terminated from the Medicare program or subjected to alternative sanctions. CMS outlined its alternative sanction enforcement options for home health care centers through a regulation published in 2012; under the regulation, CMS may impose temporary management, direct a plan of correction, direct training or impose payment suspensions and civil monetary penalties, in each case, upon providers who fail to comply with the conditions of

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participation. Termination of one or more of our care centers from the Medicare program for failure to satisfy the program’s conditions of participation, or the imposition of alternative sanctions, could disrupt operations, require significant attention by management, or have a material adverse effect on our business and reputation and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. CMS issued a proposed rule on October 7, 2014, revising the Medicare conditions of participation for home health care centers across the industry, with an unknown effective date. We provided public comments on the proposed changes, but do not know at this time what effect the finalized revisions will have on our operations, and there can be no assurances that the revisions will not have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We are subject to Federal and state laws that govern our financial relationships with physicians and other health care providers, including potential or current referral sources.

We are required to comply with Federal and state laws, generally referred to as “anti-kickback laws,” that prohibit certain direct and indirect payments or other financial arrangements between health care providers that are designed to encourage the referral of patients to a particular provider for medical services. In addition to these anti-kickback laws, the Federal government has enacted specific legislation, commonly known as the “Stark Law,” that prohibits certain financial relationships, specifically including ownership interests and compensation arrangements, between physicians (and the immediate family members of physicians) and providers of designated health services, such as home health care centers, to whom the physicians refer patients. Some of these same financial relationships are also subject to additional regulation by states. Although we believe we have structured our relationships with physicians and other potential referral sources to comply with these laws where applicable, we cannot assure you that courts or regulatory agencies will not interpret state and Federal anti-kickback laws and/or the Stark Law and similar state laws regulating relationships between health care providers and physicians in ways that will adversely implicate our practices or that isolated instances of noncompliance will not occur. Violations of Federal or state Stark or “anti-kickback” laws could lead to criminal or civil fines or other sanctions, including denials of government program reimbursement or even exclusion from participation in governmental health care programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may face significant uncertainty in the industry due to government health care reform.

The health care industry in the United States is subject to fundamental changes due to ongoing health care reform efforts and related political, economic and regulatory influences. In March 2010, comprehensive health care reform legislation was signed into law in the United States through the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, “PPACA”). However, it is difficult to predict the full impact of PPACA due to the law’s complexity and phased-in effective dates, as well as our inability to foresee how CMS and other participants in the health care industry will respond to the choices available to them under the law.

PPACA makes a number of changes to Medicare payment rates and also calls for a rebasing of the home health payment system that began in 2014 and will continue through 2017. These reimbursement changes are described in detail in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations: Overview – Economic and Industry Factors.”

For example, as a result of the PPACA, CMS added two regulations that became effective April 1, 2011: (1) a face-to-face encounter requirement for home health and hospice services and (2) changes to the home health therapy assessment schedule, which requires additional patient evaluations and certifications. These and other regulations implementing the provisions of the PPACA may similarly increase our costs, decrease our revenues, expose us to expanded liability or require us to revise the ways in which we conduct our business.

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PPACA also calls for a number of other changes to be made over time that will likely have a significant impact upon the health care delivery system. For example, PPACA mandates creation of a home health value-based purchasing program, the development of quality measures, and decreases in home health reimbursement rates, including rebasing, as further described in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations: Overview – Economic and Industry Factors.” In addition, PPACA requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to test different models for delivery of care, some of which will involve home health services. It also requires the Secretary to establish a national pilot program for integrated care for patients with certain conditions, bundling payment for acute hospital care, physician services, outpatient hospital services (including emergency department services) and post-acute care services, which would include home health. PPACA created the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (“CMMI”), which has launched the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative designed to encourage doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, including home health providers, to work together to better coordinate care for patients both when they are in the hospital and after they are discharged. In October 2011 CMS published final Medicare Shared Savings Program regulations, which use accountable care organizations (“ACOs”) to facilitate coordination and cooperation among providers to improve the quality of care for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries and reduce unnecessary costs. PPACA further directs the Secretary to conduct a study to evaluate cost and quality of care among efficient home health care centers and specifically focusing on access to care and treating Medicare beneficiaries with varying severity levels of illness, and provide a report to Congress, no later than March 1, 2014, which report was issued in 2014 after the March 1 deadline. At this time, it is not possible to predict with any certainty how these initiatives will be implemented and what impact they may have on our business.

In addition, various health care reform proposals similar to the Federal reforms described above have also emerged at the state level, including in several states which we operate. Moreover, in January 2011, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted to recommend to Congress that it make additional changes to the home health payment system, noting that such recommendations may include further payment reductions and/or a beneficiary copayment obligation. We cannot predict with certainty what health care initiatives, if any, will be implemented at the state level, or what the ultimate effect of Federal health care reform or any future legislation or regulation may have on us or on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Finally, in addition to impacting our Medicare businesses, PPACA may also significantly affect our non-Medicare businesses. PPACA makes many changes to the underwriting and marketing practices of private payors. The resulting economic pressures could prompt these payors to seek to lower their rates of reimbursement for the services we provide. At this time, it is not possible to estimate what impact PPACA may have on our non-Medicare businesses.

Risks Related to our Growth Strategies

Our growth strategies may not be successful.

Focusing on our managed care contract portfolio and a renewed focus on potential acquisitions are among our growth strategies. These growth strategies require attention from our management team, and if events occur in the course of pursuing these and other growth strategies that distract our management team’s attention and resources, our business performance could be negatively impacted.

Focusing on our managed care portfolio involves seeking new favorable contracts from managed care providers, as well as maintaining in place current contracts. In order for this growth strategy to be successful, our management team must convince managed care providers that our services are attractive, as well as negotiate and maintain contractual relationships with such providers on favorable terms to us. Further, in order for a renewed focus on potential acquisitions to be a successful growth strategy, suitable acquisitions must be identified, negotiated, completed and successfully integrated into our current operations. If our growth strategies are not successful, it could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

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State efforts to regulate the establishment or expansion of health care providers could impair our ability to expand our operations.

Some states require health care providers (including skilled nursing facilities, hospice care centers, home health care centers and assisted living facilities) to obtain prior approval, known as a CON or POA, in order to commence operations. See Part I, Item 1, “Our Regulatory Environment” for additional information on CONs and POAs. If we are not able to obtain such approvals, our ability to expand our operations could be impaired, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Federal regulation may impair our ability to consummate acquisitions or open new care centers.

Changes in Federal laws or regulations may materially adversely impact our ability to acquire care centers or open new start-up care centers. For example, PPACA authorized CMS to impose temporary moratoria on the enrollment of new Medicare providers, if deemed necessary to combat fraud, waste or abuse under government programs. The moratoria on new enrollments may be applied to categories of providers or to specific geographic regions. For example, in 2014, CMS adopted a temporary moratorium on new provider locations in certain regions of Texas, Michigan, Florida and Illinois. If a moratorium is imposed on the enrollment of new home health or hospice providers in a geographic area we desire to service, it could have a material impact on our ability to open new care centers. Additionally, in 2010, CMS implemented and amended a regulation known as the “36 Month Rule” that is applicable to home health care center acquisitions. Subject to certain exceptions, the 36 Month Rule prohibits buyers of certain home health care centers – those that either enrolled in Medicare or underwent a change in majority ownership fewer than 36 months prior to the acquisition – from assuming the Medicare billing privileges of the acquired care center. These changes in Federal laws and regulations, and similar future changes, may further increase competition for acquisition targets and could have a material detrimental impact on our acquisition strategy.

Risks Related to our Operations

Because we are limited in our ability to control rates received for our services, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected if we are not able to maintain or reduce our costs to provide such services.

As Medicare is our primary payor and rates are established through Federal legislation, we have to manage our costs of providing care to achieve a desired level of profitability. Additionally, non-Medicare rates are difficult for us to negotiate as such payors are under pressure to reduce their own costs. As a result, we manage our costs in order to achieve a desired level of profitability including, but not limited to, centralization of various processes, the use of technology and management of the number of employees utilized. If we are not able to continue to streamline our processes and reduce our costs, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Our industry is highly competitive, with few barriers to entry.

There are few barriers to entry in home health markets that do not require a CON or POA. Our primary competition comes from local privately-owned and hospital-owned health care providers. We compete based on the availability of personnel; the quality of services, expertise of visiting staff; and in certain instances, on the price of our services. Increased competition in the future may limit our ability to maintain or increase our market share.

Further, the introduction of new and enhanced service offerings by others, in combination with industry consolidation and the development of strategic relationships by our competitors, could cause a decline in revenue or loss of market acceptance of our services or make our services less attractive. Additionally, we compete with a

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number of non-profit organizations that can finance acquisitions and capital expenditures on a tax-exempt basis or receive charitable contributions that are unavailable to us.

Managed care organizations and other third party payors continue to consolidate, which enhances their ability to influence the delivery of health care services. Consequently, the health care needs of patients in the United States are increasingly served by a smaller number of managed care organizations. These organizations generally enter into service agreements with a limited number of providers. Our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected if these organizations terminate us as a provider and/or engage our competitors as a preferred or exclusive provider. In addition, should private payors, including managed care payors, seek to negotiate additional discounted fee structures or the assumption by health care providers of all or a portion of the financial risk through prepaid capitation arrangements, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

If we are unable to react competitively to new developments, our operating results may suffer. Further, if states remove existing CONs or POAs, we would face increased competition in these states. For example, in 2013, the Governor of South Carolina vetoed funding for that state’s CON program, effectively shutting down the program. Following a judicial challenge, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in April 2014 that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control was statutorily obligated to administer the CON program, regardless of the Governor’s veto. Following this ruling, legislation has been introduced in the South Carolina House of Representatives for the purpose of limiting the application of that state’s CON program. We do not know at this time what the outcome of this matter will be in South Carolina, and whether this will have any impact upon our operations. Similarly, there can be no assurances that other states will not seek to eliminate or limit their existing CON or POA programs in a similar manner, leading to increased competition in these states, Further, we cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If we are unable to maintain relationships with existing patient referral sources, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Our success depends on referrals from physicians, hospitals and other sources in the communities we serve and on our ability to maintain good relationships with existing referral sources. Our referral sources are not contractually obligated to refer patients to us and may refer their patients to other providers. Our growth and profitability depends, in part, on our ability to establish and maintain close working relationships with these patient referral sources and to increase awareness and acceptance of the benefits of home health and hospice care by our referral sources and their patients. Our loss of, or failure to maintain, existing relationships or our failure to develop new referral relationships could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If we are unable to provide consistently high quality of care, our business will be adversely impacted.

Providing quality patient care is the cornerstone of our business. Hospitals, physicians and other referral sources refer patients to us in large part because of the quality of care we provide. Clinical quality is becoming increasingly important within our industry. Effective October 2012, Medicare began to impose a financial penalty upon hospitals that have excessive rates of patient readmissions within 30 days from hospital discharge. We believe this new regulation provides a competitive advantage to home health providers who can differentiate themselves based upon quality, particularly by achieving low patient acute care hospitalization readmission rates and by implementing disease management programs designed to be responsive to the needs of patients served by referring hospitals. We are focused intently upon improving our patient outcomes, particularly our patient acute care hospitalization readmission rates. If we should fail to attain our goals regarding acute care hospitalization readmission rates and other quality metrics, we expect our ability to generate referrals would be adversely impacted, which could have a material adverse effect upon our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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Our business depends on our information systems. Our inability to effectively integrate, manage and keep our information systems secure and operational could disrupt our operations.

Our business depends on effective, secure and operational information systems which include software that is developed in-house and systems provided by external contractors and other service providers. We have developed and use a proprietary Windows™-based clinical software system with our POC system to collect assessment data, schedule and log patient visits, communicate with patients’ physicians regarding their plan of care and monitor treatments and outcomes in accordance with established medical standards. Our clinical software system integrates several of the key processes critical to our business: billing and collections functionality; accounting; human resources; payroll; and employee benefits programs provided by third parties. We are currently preparing to implement a major multi-year rollout of a new proprietary clinical software system. Problems with, or the failure of, our technology and systems or any system upgrades or programming changes associated with such technology and systems, including any problems we may experience with the implementation of the new proprietary clinical software system, could have a material adverse effect on data capture, medical documentation, billing, collections, assessment of internal controls and management and reporting capabilities. Any such problems or failures and the costs incurred in correcting any such problems or failures, could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Further, to the extent our external information technology contractors or other service providers become insolvent or fail to support the software or systems we have licensed from them, our operations could be materially adversely affected.

Our care centers also depend upon our information systems for accounting, billing, collections, risk management, quality assurance, human resources, payroll and other information. If we experience a reduction in the performance, reliability, or availability of our information systems, our operations and ability to produce timely and accurate reports could be materially adversely affected.

Our information systems and applications require continual maintenance, upgrading and enhancement to meet our operational needs. Our acquisition activity requires transitions and integration of various information systems. We regularly upgrade and expand our information systems’ capabilities. If we experience difficulties with the transition and integration of information systems or are unable to implement, maintain, or expand our systems properly, we could suffer from, among other things, operational disruptions, regulatory problems and increases in administrative expenses.

We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against the threat of security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by breaches, including unauthorized access to patient data and personally identifiable information stored in our information systems, and the introduction of computer viruses to our systems. Our security measures may be inadequate to prevent security breaches and our business operations could be materially adversely affected by Federal and state fines and penalties, cancellation of contracts and loss of patients if security breaches are not prevented.

We have installed privacy protection systems and devices on our network and POC laptops in an attempt to prevent unauthorized access to information in our database. However, our technology may fail to adequately secure the confidential health information and personally identifiable information we maintain in our databases. In such circumstances, we may be held liable to our patients and regulators, which could result in fines, litigation or adverse publicity that could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Even if we are not held liable, any resulting negative publicity could harm our business and distract the attention of management.

Further, our information systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, break-ins and similar events. A failure to restore our information systems after the occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Because of the confidential health information we store and

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transmit, loss of electronically stored information for any reason could expose us to a risk of regulatory action and litigation and possible liability and loss.

We believe we have all the necessary licenses from third parties to use technology and software that we do not own. A third party could, however, allege that we are infringing its rights and we may not be able to obtain licenses on commercially reasonable terms from the third party, if at all, or the third party may commence litigation against us. In addition, we may find it necessary to initiate litigation to protect our trade secrets, to enforce our intellectual property rights and to determine the scope and validity of any proprietary rights of others. Any such litigation, or the failure to obtain any necessary licenses or other rights, could materially and adversely affect our business.

Our inability to effectively and timely transition to the new ICD-10 coding system could disrupt our operations and adversely impact our revenue.

CMS has mandated that all providers implement the use of new patient codes for medical coding, referred to as ICD-10 codes, on or before October 1, 2015. This mandate substantially increases the number of medical billing codes by which providers will seek reimbursement, increasing the complexity of submitting claims for reimbursement. Claims submitted after October 1, 2015 must use ICD-10 codes or they will not be paid. Transition to the new ICD-10 system requires changes to our clinical software system as well as the training of staff involved in the coding and billing processes. In addition to these upfront costs of transition to ICD-10, it is possible that we could experience disruption or delays in payment due to implementation issues, including software errors, coding errors or a decrease in the productivity of our staff involved in the coding and billing processes. Any such delays in payment could disrupt our operations and materially and adversely affect our business. In addition, the implementation of ICD-10 could result in a material and adverse impact upon our revenue and operating results.

Possible changes in the case mix of patients, as well as payor mix and payment methodologies, could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our revenue is determined by a number of factors, including our mix of patients and the rates of payment among payors. Changes in the case mix of our patients, payment methodologies or the payor mix among Medicare, Medicaid and private payors could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our failure to negotiate favorable managed care contracts, or our loss of existing favorable managed care contracts, could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

One of our strategies is to diversify our payor sources by increasing the business we do with managed care companies, and we strive to put in place favorable contracts with managed care payors. However, we may not be successful in these efforts. Additionally, there is a risk that the favorable managed care contracts that we put in place may be terminated, and managed care contracts typically permit the payor to terminate the contract without cause, on very short notice, typically 60 days, which can provide payors leverage to reduce volume or obtain favorable pricing. Our failure to negotiate and put in place favorable managed care contracts, or our failure to maintain in place favorable managed care contracts, could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

A write off of a significant amount of intangible assets or long-lived assets could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

A significant and sustained decline in our stock price and market capitalization or a significant decline in our expected future cash flows or a significant adverse change in the business climate or slower growth rates could

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result in the need to perform an impairment analysis under Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) Topic 350 “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other” in future periods in addition to our annual impairment test. If we were to conclude that a future write down of goodwill is necessary, then we would record the appropriate charge, which could result in material charges that are adverse to our consolidated financial condition and results of operations. See Part II, Item 8, Note 4 – Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, Net to our consolidated financial statements for additional information.

Because we have grown in part through acquisitions, goodwill and other acquired intangible assets represent a substantial portion of our assets. Goodwill was approximately $205.6 million as of December 31, 2014 and if we make additional acquisitions, it is likely that we will record additional intangible assets in our consolidated financial statements. We also have long-lived assets consisting of property and equipment and other identifiable intangible assets of $170.6 million as of December 31, 2014, which we review both on a periodic basis for indefinite lived intangible assets as well as when events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If a determination that a significant impairment in value of our unamortized intangible assets or long-lived assets occurs, such determination could require us to write off a substantial portion of our assets. A write off of these assets could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

A shortage of qualified registered nursing staff and other clinicians, such as therapists and nurse practitioners, could materially impact our ability to attract, train and retain qualified personnel and could increase operating costs.

We compete for qualified personnel with other healthcare providers. Our ability to attract and retain clinicians depends on several factors, including our ability to provide these personnel with attractive assignments and competitive salaries and benefits. We cannot be assured we will succeed in any of these areas. In addition, there are shortages of qualified health care personnel in some of our markets. As a result, we may face higher costs of attracting clinicians and providing them with attractive benefit packages than we originally anticipated which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, if we expand our operations into geographic areas where health care providers historically have been unionized, or if any of our care center employees become unionized, being subject to a collective bargaining agreement may have a negative impact on our ability to timely and successfully recruit qualified personnel and may increase our operating costs. Generally, if we are unable to attract and retain clinicians, the quality of our services may decline and we could lose patients and referral sources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our insurance liability coverage may not be sufficient for our business needs.

As a result of operating in the home health industry, our business entails an inherent risk of claims, losses and potential lawsuits alleging incidents involving our employees that are likely to occur in a patient’s home. We maintain professional liability insurance to provide coverage to us and our subsidiaries against these risks. However, we cannot assure you claims will not be made in the future in excess of the limits of our insurance, nor can we assure you that any such claims, if successful and in excess of such limits, will not have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Our insurance coverage also includes fire, property damage and general liability with varying limits. We cannot assure you that the insurance we maintain will satisfy claims made against us or that insurance coverage will continue to be available to us at commercially reasonable rates, in adequate amounts or on satisfactory terms. Any claims made against us, regardless of their merit or eventual outcome, could damage our reputation and business.

We may be subject to substantial malpractice or other similar claims.

The services we offer involve an inherent risk of professional liability and related substantial damage awards. As of February 27, 2015, we had approximately 13,200 employees ( 10,100 home health, 2,200 hospice and 900 corporate

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employees). In addition, we employ direct care workers on a contractual basis to support our existing workforce. Due to the nature of our business, we, through our employees and caregivers who provide services on our behalf, may be the subject of medical malpractice claims. A court could find these individuals should be considered our agents, and, as a result, we could be held liable for their acts or omissions. We cannot predict the effect that any claims of this nature, regardless of their ultimate outcome, could have on our business or reputation or on our ability to attract and retain patients and employees. While we maintain malpractice liability coverage that we believe is appropriate given the nature and breadth of our operations, any claims against us in excess of insurance limits, or multiple claims requiring us to pay deductibles could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If we are unable to maintain our corporate reputation, our business may suffer.

Our success depends on our ability to maintain our corporate reputation, including our reputation for providing quality patient care and for compliance with Medicare requirements and the other laws to which we are subject. Adverse publicity surrounding any aspect of our business, including the death or disability of any of our patients due to our failure to provide proper care, or due to any failure on our part to comply with Medicare requirements or other laws to which we are subject, could negatively affect our Company’s overall reputation and the willingness of referral sources to refer patients to us.

We depend on the services of our executive officers and other key employees.

We depend greatly on the efforts of our executive officers and other key employees to manage our operations. The loss or departure of any one of these executives or other key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our operations could be impacted by natural disasters.

The occurrence of natural disasters in the markets in which we operate could not only impact the day-to-day operations of our care centers, but could also disrupt our relationships with patients, employees and referral sources located in the affected areas and, in the case of our corporate office, our ability to provide administrative support services, including billing and collection services. In addition, any episode of care that is not completed due to the impact of a natural disaster will generally result in lower revenue for the episode. For example, our corporate office and a number of our care centers are located in the southeastern United States and the Gulf Coast Region, increasing our exposure to hurricanes. Future hurricanes or other natural disasters may have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Liquidity

Delays in payment may cause liquidity problems.

Our business is characterized by delays from the time we provide services to the time we receive payment for these services. If we have difficulty in obtaining documentation, such as physician orders, experience information system problems or experience other issues that arise with Medicare or other payors, we may encounter additional delays in our payment cycle.

In addition, timing delays may cause working capital shortages. Working capital management, including prompt and diligent billing and collection, is an important factor in achieving our financial results and maintaining liquidity. It is possible that documentation support, system problems, Medicare or other provider issues or industry trends may extend our collection period, which may materially adversely affect our working capital, and our working capital management procedures may not successfully mitigate this risk.

Additionally, our hospice operations may experience payment delays. We have experienced payment delays when attempting to collect funds from state Medicaid programs in certain instances. Delays in receiving payments from these programs may also materially adversely affect our working capital.

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The volatility and disruption of the capital and credit markets and adverse changes in the United States and global economies could impact our ability to access both available and affordable financing, and without such financing, we may be unable to achieve our objectives for strategic acquisitions and internal growth.

The United States and global capital and credit markets have recently experienced extreme volatility and disruption at unprecedented levels. Many financial institutions have recorded significant write-downs of asset values and these write-downs have caused many financial institutions to seek additional capital, to merge with larger and stronger institutions and, in some cases, to fail. Many lenders and institutional investors have reduced, and in some cases, ceased to provide funding to borrowers, including other financial institutions, or have increased their rates significantly.

While we intend to finance strategic acquisitions and internal growth with cash flows from operations and borrowings under our revolving credit facility, we may require sources of capital in addition to those presently available to us. Uncertainty in the capital and credit markets may impact our ability to access capital on terms acceptable to us (i.e. at attractive/affordable rates) or at all, and this may result in our inability to achieve present objectives for strategic acquisitions and internal growth. Further, in the event we need additional funds, and we are unable to raise the necessary funds on acceptable terms, our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Our indebtedness could impact our financial condition and impair our ability to fulfill other obligations.

As of December 31, 2014, we had total outstanding indebtedness of approximately $118.0 million, comprised mainly of indebtedness incurred in connection with our April 23, 2014 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice relating to certain of our clinical and business operations. Our level of indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows and impair our ability to fulfill other obligations in several ways, including:

In the event we incur additional indebtedness, the risks described above could increase.

The agreements governing our indebtedness contain various covenants that limit our discretion in the operation of our business and our failure to satisfy requirements in these agreements could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The agreements governing our indebtedness (the “Debt Agreements”) contain certain obligations, including restrictive covenants that require us to comply with or maintain certain financial covenants and ratios and restrict our ability to:

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In addition, events beyond our control could affect our ability to comply with the Debt Agreements. Any failure by us to comply with or maintain all applicable financial covenants and ratios and to comply with all other applicable covenants could result in an event of default with respect to the Debt Agreements. If we are unable to obtain a waiver from our lenders in the event of any non-compliance, our lenders could accelerate the maturity of any outstanding indebtedness and terminate the commitments to make further extensions of credit (including our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility). Any failure to comply with these covenants could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The price of our common stock may be volatile.

The price at which our common stock trades may be volatile. The stock market from time to time experiences significant price and volume fluctuations that impact the market prices of securities, particularly those of health care companies. The market price of our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:

In addition, the stock market in general, and the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) in particular, has experienced price and volume fluctuations that we believe have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of health care provider companies. These broad market and industry factors may

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materially reduce the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. Securities class-action cases have often been brought against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities.

The activities of short sellers could reduce the price or prevent increases in the price of our common stock. “Short sale” is defined as the sale of stock by an investor that the investor does not own. Typically, investors who sell short believe the price of the stock will fall, and anticipate selling shares at a higher price than the purchase price at which they will buy the stock. As of December 31, 2014, investors held a short position of approximately 1.9 million shares of our common stock which represented 5.6% of our outstanding common stock. The anticipated downward pressure on our stock price due to actual or anticipated sales of our stock by some institutions or individuals who engage in short sales of our common stock could cause our stock price to decline.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock or preferred stock, or the availability of those shares for future sale, could materially impact our stock price and limit our ability to raise capital.

The following table presents information about our outstanding common and preferred stock and our outstanding securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of common stock:

If we were to sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market or if there was a public perception that substantial sales could occur, the market price of our common stock could decline. These sales or the perception of substantial future sales may also make it difficult for us to sell common stock in the future to raise capital.

Our Board of Directors may use anti-takeover provisions or issue stock to discourage a change of control.

Our certificate of incorporation currently authorizes us to issue up to 60,000,000 shares of common stock and 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock. Our Board of Directors may cause us to issue additional stock to discourage an attempt to obtain control of our company. For example, shares of stock could be sold to purchasers who might support our Board of Directors in a control contest or to dilute the voting or other rights of a person seeking to obtain control. In addition, our Board of Directors could cause us to issue preferred stock entitling holders to vote separately on any proposed transaction, convert preferred stock into common stock, demand redemption at a specified price in connection with a change in control, or exercise other rights designed to impede a takeover.

The issuance of additional shares may, among other things, dilute the earnings and equity per share of our common stock and the voting rights of common stockholders.

We have implemented other anti-takeover provisions or provisions that could have an anti-takeover effect, including advance notice requirements for director nominations and stockholder proposals. These provisions, and others that our Board of Directors may adopt hereafter, may discourage offers to acquire us and may permit our Board of Directors to choose not to entertain offers to purchase us, even if such offers include a substantial premium to the market price of our stock. Therefore, our stockholders may be deprived of opportunities to profit from a sale of control.

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None.

ITEM 2.  PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters are located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in an 110,000 square feet building that we own. As of December 31, 2014, we believe we have adequate space to accommodate our corporate staff located in the Baton Rouge area for the foreseeable future.

In addition to our corporate headquarters, we also lease facilities for our home health and hospice care centers. Generally, these leases have an initial term of five years with a three year early termination option, but range from one to seven years. Most of these leases also contain an option to extend the lease period. The following table shows the location of our 316 Medicare-certified home health care centers and 80 hospice care centers at December 31, 2014:

See Part II, Item 8, Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies for information concerning our legal proceedings.

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information and Holders

Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ under the trading symbol “AMED.” The following table presents the range of high and low sales prices for our common stock for the periods indicated as reported on NASDAQ:

As of February 27, 2015, there were approximately 538 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividend Policy

We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock or any other of our securities and do not expect to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Future decisions concerning the payment of dividends will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, capital expenditure plans and debt service requirements, as well as such other factors as our Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, may consider relevant. In addition, our outstanding indebtedness restricts, and we anticipate any additional future indebtedness may restrict, our ability to pay cash dividends.

Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table provides the information with respect to purchases made by us of shares of our common stock during each of the months during the three-month period ended December 31, 2014:

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Stock Performance Graph

The Performance Graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock, $0.001 par value per share, for the five-year period ended December 31, 2014, with the cumulative total return on the NASDAQ composite index and an industry peer group over the same period (assuming the investment of $100 in our common stock, the NASDAQ composite index and the industry peer group) on December 31, 2009 and the reinvestment of dividends. The peer group we selected is comprised of: Gentiva Health, Inc. (“GTIV”), LHC Group, Inc. (“LHCG”) and Almost Family, Inc. (“AFAM”). The cumulative total stockholder return on the following graph is historical and is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance. No cash dividends have been paid on our common stock.

This stock performance information is “furnished” and shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or subject to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date of this report and irrespective of any general incorporation by reference language in any such filing, except to the extent we specifically incorporate the information by reference.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected consolidated financial data presented below is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements for the five-year period ended December 31, 2014, based on our continuing operations. The financial data for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and the information included in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” herein.

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The following discussion and analysis provides information we believe is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our results of operations and financial condition for 2014, 2013 and 2012. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements included in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and Part I, Item 1, “Business” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following analysis contains forward-looking statements about our future revenues, operating results and expectations. See “Special Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” for a discussion of the risks, assumptions and uncertainties affecting these statements as well as Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

Overview

We are a provider of high-quality, low-cost home health services to the chronic, co-morbid, aging American population, with approximately 82%, 84% and 82% of our revenue derived from Medicare for 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Our operations involve servicing patients through our two reportable business segments: home health and hospice. Our home health segment delivers a wide range of services in the homes of individuals who may be recovering from an illness, injury or surgery. Our hospice segment provides care that is designed to provide comfort and support for those who are facing a terminal illness. As of December 31, 2014, we owned and operated 316 Medicare-certified home health care centers and 80 Medicare-certified hospice care centers in 34 states within the United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

2014 Developments

2015 Outlook

Executive Leadership

As previously mentioned, William F. Borne stepped down from his position as Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and member of the Board of Directors during February 2014. As a result of his departure, Ronald A.

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LaBorde moved from his role as President and Chief Financial Officer to President and Interim Chief Executive Officer. Dale E. Redman, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer from 2007 – 2011 was named Interim Chief Financial Officer. On December 16, 2014, the Board of Directors named Paul. B. Kusserow as President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Ronald A. LaBorde remains a member of senior management in the role of Vice Chairman. Dale E. Redman continues to serve in the role of Interim Chief Financial Officer.

Care Center Closures/Consolidations

As part of our ongoing management of our portfolio of care centers, we review each care center’s current financial performance, market penetration, forecasted market growth and the impact of proposed CMS payment revisions. Once we decide to close a care center, we first determine whether we can consolidate the care center with a care center servicing the same market. If a consolidation is not viable, we evaluate whether we have the opportunity to sell the care center. As a result of this process, we exited 63 care centers during 2014. The details are as follows:

Additionally, we exited our one hospice inpatient unit during the three months ended September 30, 2014.

For the care centers that we closed and consolidated, we recorded non-cash charges of $2.2 million in other intangibles impairment expense related to the write-off of intangible assets, $2.1 million in other general and administrative expenses related to lease termination costs and $2.1 million in salaries and benefits related to severance costs during 2014.

In conjunction with the closure and consolidation of care centers, we restructured our regional leadership and corporate support functions. As such, we recorded charges of $3.4 million in salaries and benefits related to severance costs during 2014. In addition, on February 20, 2014, William F. Borne stepped down from his positions as Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and a member of our Board of Directors and we recorded charges of $2.3 million in salaries and benefits related to severance costs.

Owned and Operated Care Centers

When we refer to “same store business,” we mean home health and hospice care centers that we have operated for at least the last twelve months; when we refer to “acquisitions,” we mean home health and hospice care centers that we acquired within the last twelve months; and when we refer to “start-ups,” we mean home health

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or hospice care centers opened by us in the last twelve months. Once a care center has been in operation for a twelve month period, the results for that particular care center are included as part of our same store business from that date forward. Non-Medicare revenue, admissions, recertifications or completed episodes, includes home health revenue, admissions, recertifications or completed episodes of care for those payors that pay on an episodic or per visit basis, which includes Medicare Advantage programs and private payors.

Economic and Industry Factors

Home health and hospice services are a highly fragmented, highly competitive industry. The degree of competiveness varies depending upon whether our care centers operate in states that require a certificate of need (CON) or permit of approval (POA). In such states, expansion by existing providers or entry into the market by new providers is permitted only where determination is made by state health authorities that a given amount of unmet need exists. Currently, 70% and 40% of our home health and hospice care centers, respectively operate in CON/POA states.

As the Federal government continues to debate a reduction in expenditures and a reform of the Medicare system, our industry continues to face reimbursement pressures. Specifically, the industry has been impacted by a 2% sequestration payment reduction beginning April 1, 2013. In addition to the sequestration cut, CMS instituted a rebasing cut of approximately $81 (2.7%) per year for 2014 – 2017; however, we do expect some offset from a market basket updated in each of these years. The following payment adjustments are effective for 2015 based on CMS’s final rules relative to Medicare reimbursement:

Governmental Inquiries and Investigations and Other Litigation

On September 27, 2010, we received a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”) issued by the U.S. Department of Justice pursuant to the federal False Claims Act. The CID required the delivery of a wide range of documents and information relating to the Company’s clinical and business operations, including reimbursement and billing claims submitted to Medicare for home health services, and related compliance activities. The CID generally covered the period from January 1, 2003. On April 26, 2011, we received a second CID related to the CID issued in September 2010, which generally covered the same time period as the previous CID and required the production of additional documents. Such CIDs are often associated with previously filed qui tam actions, or lawsuits filed under seal under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq. Qui tam actions are brought by private plaintiffs suing on behalf of the federal government for alleged FCA violations. Subsequently, the Company and certain current and former employees received additional CIDs for additional documents and/or testimony.

In May 2012, we made a disclosure to CMS under the agency’s Stark Law Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol relating to certain services agreements between a subsidiary of ours and a large physician group (the “Stark Law Self-Referral Matter”). During some period of time since December 2007, the arrangements appear not to have

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complied in certain respects with an applicable exemption to the Stark Law referral prohibition. Medicare revenue earned as a result of referrals from the physician group from May 2008 to May 2012, the relevant four year “lookback” period under the Stark Law Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol, was approximately $4 million. On January 11, 2013, one of our subsidiaries received a CID from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia seeking certain information relating to that subsidiary’s relationship with this physician group

On April 23, 2014, with no admission of liability on our part, we entered into a settlement agreement to resolve both the U.S. Department of Justice investigation and the Stark Law Self-Referral matter. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, on May 2, 2014, we paid the United States an initial payment in the amount of $116.5 million representing the first installment of $115 million plus interest thereon due under the settlement agreement, and on October 23, 2014, we paid the United States an additional payment in the amount of $35.8 million, representing the second and final installment of $35 million plus interest thereon due under the settlement agreement.

The settlement agreement also resolves allegations made against us by various qui tam relators, who are required to dismiss their claims with prejudice. We accrued and paid various relators’ attorneys’ fees and expenses in the aggregate sum of approximately $3.9 million during 2014.

In connection with the settlement agreement, on April 23, 2014, we entered into a corporate integrity agreement (“CIA”) with the Office of Inspector General-HHS. The CIA formalizes various aspects of our already existing ethics and compliance programs and contains other requirements designed to help ensure our ongoing compliance with federal health care program requirements. Among other things, the CIA requires us to maintain our existing compliance program, compliance committee and compliance committee of the Board of Directors; provide certain compliance training; continue screening new and current employees against certain lists to ensure they are not ineligible to participate in federal health care programs; engage an independent review organization to perform certain auditing and reviews and prepare certain reports regarding our compliance with federal health care programs, our billing submissions to federal health care programs and our compliance and risk mitigation programs; and provide certain reports and management certifications to the Office of Inspector General-HHS. Among other things, the CIA requires that we report substantial overpayments that we discover we have received from federal health care programs, as well as probable violations of federal health care laws. Upon breach of the CIA, we could become liable for payment of certain stipulated penalties, or could be excluded from participation in federal health care programs. The CIA has a term of five years. We expect the CIA to impact operating expenses by approximately $1 to $2 million annually beginning in 2015.

See Item 8, Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies to our consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding our CIA and for a discussion of and updates regarding class action litigation we are involved in. No assurances can be given as to the timing or outcome of these items.

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Results of Operations

Consolidated

The following table summarizes our results from continuing operations (amounts in millions):

Year Ended December 31, 2014 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2013

During the first quarter of 2014, we committed to a plan to consolidate 21 operating home health care centers and four operating hospice care centers with care centers servicing the same markets and close 23 home health care centers and six hospice care centers. As a result of this exit activity, we reduced our regional leadership structure and corporate support functions. Separate from the restructuring costs, we also recorded severance costs associated with the departure of our former Chief Executive Officer, a charge for relator fees associated with our U.S. Department of Justice settlement during the first quarter of 2014 and a non-cash other intangibles impairment charge during the fourth quarter of 2014. The following details the costs associated with these activities (amounts in millions):

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Our operating results have been impacted by the sale, closure and consolidation of 54 care centers mentioned above as well as the closure of an additional 9 care centers since December 31, 2013. Additionally, 76 care centers were exited during 2013. Accordingly, our results for the year ended December 31, 2014 are not fully comparable to the year ended December 31, 2013.

Our operating income, excluding the $17 million in costs noted above and the U.S. Department of Justice settlement and the goodwill and other intangibles impairment charge in 2013, increased $36 million as our home health operating income increased $27 million, our hospice operating income increased $5 million and corporate expenses decreased $4 million. Additionally, the first quarter of 2013 was not impacted by sequestration as it was not in effect until April 1, 2013. The estimated impact of sequestration was $21 million for 2014 compared to $18 million in 2013.

Income tax expense for 2014 and 2013 includes a favorable adjustment of $2 million related to various tax credits for state employment and training and state and federal research development.

Year Ended December 31, 2013 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2012

Our 2013 results were impacted by an accrual of $150 million and recognition of a deferred tax benefit of $56 million for the tentative settlement to resolve both the U.S. Department of Justice investigation and the Stark Law Self-Referral matter recorded during the third quarter. See Item 8, Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies to our consolidated financial statements for additional information.

During 2012, we recorded a $162 million impairment charge of goodwill and other intangibles as a result of the decline in our market capitalization and forecasts. We recognized a deferred tax benefit of $37 million as a result of the impairment charges during 2012.

Our operating income, excluding the $150 million U.S. Department of Justice settlement and the goodwill and other intangibles impairment charges in 2013 and 2012, declined $48 million which is inclusive of an $18 million impact due to sequestration. Excluding the impact of sequestration, our home health operating income decreased $31 million, hospice operating income decreased $8 million and corporate expenses decreased $9 million. Our home health and hospice operating income declined primarily as a result of lower volumes with our home health operations experiencing an additional impact related to lower revenue per episode. Our corporate expense decrease is comprised of a $9 million decrease in professional and legal fees and travel and training expenses. In addition, other income increased $8 million primarily as a result of insurance proceeds for the reimbursement of legal expenses related to our litigation activities and a decrease in interest expense.

Income tax expense includes a favorable adjustment of approximately $2 million related to a net increase in the statutory tax rate from 39.0% to 39.5% for 2013. In addition to the $37 million deferred tax benefit discussed above, tax expense for 2012 includes a favorable adjustment of $2 million related to various credits for state employment and training and state and federal research and development.

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Home Health Division

The following table summarizes our home health segment results from continuing operations: