LHC Group Acquires Heartlite Hospice

LAFAYETTE, La., March 02, 2016 -- LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LHCG), a national provider of home health, hospice, community-based and comprehensive post-acute healthcare services, today announced that it has acquired the assets of Heartlite Hospice, a subsidiary of Hospice of America, Inc. Heartlite Hospice has four locations, two located in the Certificate of Need state of Alabama and two located in Georgia.

Heartlite’s licensed hospice service area covers eight counties in Alabama and 29 counties in Georgia, including 19 counties in which LHC is licensed for home health. The estimated population of the licensed service area is over 5.7 million with more than 652,000 over 65 years of age. Estimated annualized revenue from this transaction is approximately $6.8 million. This acquisition is anticipated to be accretive to LHC Group’s 2016 earnings by approximately $0.01 per diluted share.

Keith G. Myers, LHC Group chairman and CEO, said, “It is with great pleasure that I welcome the healthcare professionals from Heartlite Hospice into our growing LHC Group family. We are proud to be part of these communities in Alabama and Georgia and look forward to collaborating with local physicians to provide caring and compassionate services to terminally ill patients and their families within the comfort and privacy of their home.”

About LHC Group, Inc.
LHC Group, Inc. is a national provider of post-acute healthcare services, providing quality, cost-effective healthcare to patients primarily within the comfort and privacy of their home or place of residence. LHC Group provides a comprehensive array of healthcare services through home health, hospice, community‑based services agencies and long-term acute care hospitals.

Certain matters discussed in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements about the Company’s future financial performance and the strength of the Company’s operations. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “continue,” “expect,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including changes in reimbursement, changes in government regulations, changes in LHC Group’s relationships with referral sources, increased competition for LHC Group’s services, increased competition for joint venture and acquisition candidates, changes in the interpretation of government regulations and other risks set forth in Item 1A. Risk Factors in LHC Group’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. LHC Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:    
Eric Elliott
Senior Vice President of Finance
(337) 233-1307
[email protected]