The board of home health and hospice chain Amedisys appointed Paul Kusserow CEO as the company tries to recover from legal issues and stabilize its finances.
Kusserow, 53, became the Baton Rouge, La.-based company's president and CEO on Tuesday, taking over for Ronald LaBorde, who was serving as president and interim CEO. The board removed longtime CEO Bill Borne in February. David Pitts, one of two directors who took over then as board co-chairman, called the search for a new leader a “course correction.” Borne, the company's founder, now serves as chairman emeritus.
Before joining Amedisys, Kusserow was vice chairman of Alignment Healthcare, which provides population health management services. He has also served as senior VP and chief strategy, innovations and corporate development officer at Humana, and served in various roles at Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Amedisys posted a $16.25 million operating surplus on $300.28 million in revenue for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, up significantly from a $154.2 million operating deficit on $301.29 million in revenue in the same period last year. But the company's financials have been rocky—it posted a $19.57 million operating loss in the first quarter and an operating surplus of only $9.24 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30.
In October, Amedisys agreed to pay $150 million to the U.S. Justice Department to settle allegations that it billed Medicare for unnecessary home health services.
Earlier this year, the company was rumored to be a takeover target for Gentiva, which itself was in the sights of Kindred Healthcare at the time.
Kusserow has also worked with several venture funds and investment firms, including Ziegler HealthVest Fund and San Ysidro Capital partners. He has served on the corporate and advisory boards of several healthcare companies, including Lenexa, Kansas-based AxelaCare Health Solutions, Brookfield, Wis.-based Connecture and Wellesley, Mass.-based New Century Health.
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