Bankrupt Emergency Room Operator to Refund Patients to Head Off ‘bad Publicity'

A North Texas bankruptcy court has given the okay for the nation’s largest operator of freestanding emergency rooms to refund up to $250,000 to an undisclosed number of patients.Lewisville-based Adeptus Health filed for bankruptcy in April amid a dramatic decline in the company’s earnings, the sudden departure of top executives and a consumer lawsuit that alleged fraud. Judge Stacey G. C. Jernigan this week authorized Adeptus to refund patients owed money prior to the bankruptcy.The company had asked for permission to refund eligible patients to avoid “bad publicity.”“Unhappy patients may cause serious economic harm” to the business, Adeptus attorneys wrote in a motion filed in May in the Northern District of Texas court.  Continue reading...