HealthSouth is the largest outpatient/rehabilitative services company in the world, with more than 1,900 centers nationwide. After a doctor treats an illness or injury (with surgery for instance), he or she refers a patient to HealthSouth, whose job it is to help the patient recover (through physical therapy for instance).

The reason this corporation is interesting is because of its recent history of legal/financial problems on the scale of Enron and Worldcom. The stock price recently dropped 80% before trading was suspended by the NYSE. Each of HealthSouth's five Chief Financial Officers (CFO's) have plead guilty to accounting fraud and are cooperating with an SEC investigation (for lesser sentences one would presume). There is currently an SEC investigation against former CEO Richard Scrushy.

There are also various qui tam (whistleblower} lawsuits against HealthSouth alleging Medicare fraud. The allegations are wide-ranging, but they fundamentally suggest that HealthSouth misrepresented its services to patients to obtain higher payments from Medicare. Despite all this, HealthSouth has managed to avoid bankruptcy and may be on the road to recovery.

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