CHICAGO, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AMERIGROUP Corporation
(NYSE: AGP) said today that it will appeal a jury verdict that found
against the Company and its Illinois subsidiary in qui tam litigation tried
in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The Company believes that a number of the Court's rulings constitute
reversible error and impacted the jury's findings. AMERIGROUP intends to
appeal the case to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Company asserts
that it was acting with the knowledge of and in accordance with the
direction of the Illinois Department of Public Aid.
"For more than eleven years, we have always worked hard to ensure that
we provide our state partners with the highest standards of service and
ethics," said Jeffrey L. McWaters, AMERIGROUP Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "The leadership of our Illinois health plan, including two
physicians and two nurses, firmly believe that they did what the Illinois
Department of Public Aid asked them to do.
"We vigorously disagree with the verdict and, as a result, will appeal
this decision," McWaters added. "We are a strong Company and will continue
to work tirelessly to provide access to quality care for the 1.2 million
low-income families, elderly and the disabled who depend upon us to do our
job well."
The Company said it will ask the Court to stay the imposition of any
damages pending the outcome of its appeal. If the verdict is upheld,
AMERIGROUP and its Illinois subsidiary would be required to pay damages of
$144 million, which is $48 million trebled. The jury also found that there
were 18,130 false claims. Under the Federal False Claims Act, false claims
carry a penalty of between $5,500 and $11,000 per claim. Under the Illinois
Whistleblower and Reward and Protection Act, false claims carry a penalty
of between $5,000 and $10,000 per claim. The Court instructed the jury that
each enrollment form completed by a prospective member during the
applicable period constituted a claim for payment. The Company believes
that the Court's ruling in that respect was improper and unprecedented.
The suit, which was unsealed in June 2003, alleged that AMERIGROUP
Illinois inappropriately worked to avoid or discourage the enrollment of
third-trimester pregnant women between 2000 and 2003. A seven-member jury
found in favor of a former AMERIGROUP employee who brought the lawsuit, the
State of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Justice, both of which joined
in the suit two years later.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit involved AMERIGROUP's active
subsidiaries in its other states.
In some circumstances, the federal government may decide to exclude a
company from future contracts as a result of civil verdicts. AMERIGROUP
intends to immediately work to assure the government that exclusion is not
warranted because the circumstances in the allegation were unique to
Illinois and the Company has adequate controls to ensure prompt detection
and reporting of any potential improper activities.
A conference call discussing the decision of the jury in Illinois will
be held tomorrow, October 31, 2006, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The
conference call can be accessed by dialing 800-322-2803 (domestic) or
617-614-4925 (international) and providing passcode 86919214 approximately
ten minutes prior to the start time of the call. A recording of the call
may be accessed by dialing 888-286-8010 (domestic) or 617-801-6888
(international) and providing passcode 99285557. The replay will be
available beginning Tuesday, October 31, 2006 at 10:30 a.m., through
Tuesday, November 7, 2006. The conference call will also be available
through the investors' page of the Company's Web site,
http://www.amerigroupcorp.com. A 30-day replay of this webcast will be
available on the Web site approximately two hours following the conclusion
of the live broadcast.
About AMERIGROUP
AMERIGROUP Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia,
improves healthcare access and quality for low-income Americans by
developing innovative managed health services for the public sector.
Through its subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP serves more than 1.2 million people in
the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York,
Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit
http://www.amerigroupcorp.com.
CONTACTS:
Investors: Julie Loftus Trudell (757) 321-3597
Media: Kent Jenkins Jr. (757) 518-3671
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SOURCE AMERIGROUP Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.amerigroupcorp.com
CONTACT:
Investors: Julie Loftus Trudell,
+1-757-321-3597, or Media: Kent Jenkins Jr., +1-757-518-3671,
both of AMERIGROUP Corporation
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