- March 28, 2024
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NAPLES — On the day that Timothy Parry officially resigned from his position as general counsel at Health Management Associates Inc. (symbol: HMA), the company's stock price opened at a new low.
This week, Parry attempted to allay investors' fears about the implications of his departure, writing a letter to the head of human resources at HMA, Patrick Lombardo.
“Unfortunately, it appears the media and stock market wrongly connected my departure from the Company with the Company's litigation in the Paul Meyer case,” Parry wrote. “Let me be clear - I resigned from the Company purely for personal reasons, my reasons are my reasons alone, and they have absolutely nothing to do with the Meyer case.”
In a statement disclosing Parry's letter, the company claims that the legal implications of the case in question -- Meyer v. Health Management Associates, Inc. -- were “inaccurately characterized” by the public.
Multiple reports have shown Meyer includes mentions of Medicare fraud in his suit against the firm. According to a report filed by Bloomberg Jan. 10, Meyer claims in his suit that “the submission of fraudulent billing to Medicare” led to higher payments from the government.
Since that time, HMA has recovered 20% of the value of its stock, appreciating from a per share price below $5 to one at roughly $6 in early trading Tuesday. Over the past six months, however, the Naples-based hospital management company has seen its stock price fall by more than 40%.