NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors who purchased Health Management Associates, Inc. ("HMA" or the "Company") shares between July 27, 2009 and January 9, 2012, inclusive (the "Class Period") alleging violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Such investors are advised to contact Rachelle R. Boyle at rrboyle@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 350.
The investigation concerns whether HMA misled investors by improperly admitting and billing Medicare patients. On January 9, 2012, an analyst for CRT Capital Group reported that former HMA Compliance Director Paul Meyer sued HMA for wrongful termination, stating that he was fired on the day he told the Company he would report Medicare violations to the U.S. government. Meyer stated in his Complaint that several HMA hospitals had won higher government payments from the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled in part through the improper admission of patients as inpatients even though the patients did not meet the standards for inpatient admission.
The Company also announced on January 10, 2012 that General Counsel Timothy Parry was resigning effective immediately as general counsel and secretary of the company, and he will retire from the company in March. On this news, HMA shares declined 19% in two days of heavy trading, closing at $6.05 on January 10, 2012 from $7.49 on January 6, 2012.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.