availability, terms, and use of capital; and
weather and other seasonal factors.
Many factors are beyond our control. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Please see the other sections of this report and our other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for more information on these factors. Our forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this report. Except as required by law, we are under no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, regardless of the reason the statement may no longer be accurate.
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PART I
GENERAL
Our company,
U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. and subsidiaries (“we”, “us”, “our” or the “Company”), operates its business through itstwo reportable business segments. Our reportable segments include the physical therapy operations segment and the industrial injury prevention services segment. Through our subsidiaries, operateswe operate outpatient physical therapy clinics that provide pre-and post-operative care for a variety of orthopedic-related disorders and sports-related injuries, treatment for neurological-related injuries and rehabilitation of injured workers. We primarily operate through subsidiary clinic partnerships in which we generally own a 1% general partnership interest and a 24% to 99% limited partnership interest and the managing therapist(s) of the clinics owns the remaining limited partnership interest in the majority of the clinics (hereinafter referred to as “Clinic Partnerships”). To a lesser extent, we operate some clinics through wholly-owned subsidiaries under profit sharing arrangements with therapists (hereinafter referred to as “Wholly-Owned Facilities”). We also have a majority interest in a company, businesses which is aare leading providers of industrial injury prevention services. Services provided in this business include onsite injury prevention and rehabilitation, performance optimization, post-offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations and ergonomic assessments. The majority of these services are contracted with and paid for directly by employers, including a number of Fortune 500 companies. Other clients include large insurers and their contractors. These services are performed through Industrial Sports Medicine Professionals, consisting of both physical therapists and specialized certified athletic trainers (ATCs).context otherwise requires, referencessecond quarter of 2020, we operated as a single segment. All prior year segment information has been reclassified to conform to the current segment presentation.
Unless
We were re-incorporated in April 1992 under the laws of the State of Nevada and have operating subsidiaries organized in various states in the form of limited partnerships, limited liability companies and wholly-owned corporations. This description of our business should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes contained in Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “we”, “our” or “us” includes the Company10-K. Our principal executive offices are located at 1300 West Sam Houston Parkway South, Suite 300, Houston, Texas 77042. Our telephone number is (713) 297-7000. Our website is www.usph.com.
Acquisitions of Businesses and all of its subsidiaries.
Our strategy is to acquire single and multi-clinic outpatient physical therapy practices and to develop outpatient physical therapy clinics, primarily to operate as satellites in an existing partnership, on national basis. At December 31, 2019, we operated 583 clinics in 40 states. The average age of the 583 clinics in operation at December 31, 2019 was 10.4 years. Our highest concentration of clinics are in the following states: Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Florida, Oregon, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona. In addition to our 583 clinics, at December 31, 2019, we also managed 26 physical therapy practices for unrelated physician groups and hospitals and operated the industrial injury prevention business, as described below.
Acquired Interests
During the last three years we completed the following multi-clinic acquisitions:
Acquisition | Date | % Interest Acquired | Number of Clinics | ||||
2019 | |||||||
September 2019 Acquisition | September 30, 2019 | 67 | % | 11 | |||
2018 | |||||||
August 2018 Acquisition | August 31 | 70 | % | 4 | |||
2017 | |||||||
January 2017 Acquisition | January 1 | 70 | % | 17 | |||
May 2017 Acquisition | May 31 | 70 | % | 4 | |||
June 2017 Acquisition | June 30 | 60 | % | 9 | |||
October 2017 Acquisition | October 31 | 70 | % | 9 | |||
In additionAcquisition Date % Interest
Acquired Number ofClinicsDecember 2021 Acquisition December 31, 2021 75% 3 November 2021 Acquisition November 30, 2021 70% * September 2021 Acquisition September 30, 2021 100% * June 2021 Acquisition June 30, 2021 65% 8 March 2021 Acquisition March 31, 2021 70% 6 November 2020 Acquisition November 30, 2020 75% 3 September 2020 Acquisition September 30, 2020 70% ** February 2020 Acquisition February 27, 2020 65% *** 4 September 2019 Acquisition September 30, 2019 67% 11 April 2019 Acquisition April 11, 2019 100% *
| * | Industrial injury prevention services business |
| ** | The business includes six management contracts which have been in place for a number of years. As of the date acquired, the contracts had a remaining term of five years. |
| *** | The four clinics are in four separate partnerships. The Company's interest in the four partnerships range from 10.0% to 83.8%, with an overall 65.0% based on the initial purchase transaction. |
Physical Therapy Operations
We primarily operate through subsidiary clinic partnerships in which we generally own a 1% general partnership interest and a 10% to 99% limited partnership interest and the above multi-clinic acquisitions, in March 2017, we acquired a 55%managing therapist(s) of the clinics owns the remaining limited partnership interest in the initial industrial injury prevention business. On April 30, 2018, we acquired a 65% interest in another business in the industrial injury prevention sector and in connection with the closing we combined the two businesses. After the combination, we owned a 59.45% interest in the combined business, Briotix Health, Limited Partnership (“Briotix Health”). On April 11, 2019, we acquired a third company that is a provider of industrial injury prevention services. The acquired company specializes in delivering injury prevention and care, post offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations and return-to-work services. It performs these services across a network in 45 states including onsite at eleven client locations. The business was then combined with Briotix Health increasing our ownership position in the partnership to approximately 76.0%.
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Also during 2019, we purchased the assets and business of one physical therapy clinic in a separate transaction. The clinic operates as a satellite clinic of onemajority of the existing partnerships. Besides the August 2018 multi-clinic acquisition,clinics (hereinafter referred to as “Clinic Partnerships”). To a lesser extent, we operate some clinics through severalwholly-owned subsidiaries under profit sharing arrangements with therapists (hereinafter referred to as “Wholly-Owned Facilities”).
We continue to seek to attract for employment physical therapists who have established relationships with physicians and other referral sources by offering these therapists a competitive salary and incentives based on the profitability of the clinic that they manage. For multi-site clinic practices in which a controlling interest is acquired by us, the prior owners typically continue on as employees to manage the clinic operations, retaining a non-controlling ownership interest in the clinics and receiving a competitive salary for managing the clinic operations. In addition, we have developed satellite clinic facilities as part of existing Clinic Partnershipsand Wholly-Owned facilities,Facilities, with the result that a substantial number of Clinic Partnerships and Wholly-Owned facilitiesFacilities operate more than one clinic location. In 2020,During 2022, we intend to continue to acquire clinicmulti-clinic practices and to continue to focus on developing newdevelop outpatient physical therapy clinics and on opening satellite clinics where appropriateas satellites in existing partnerships, along with increasing our patient volume through marketing and new programs.
Therapists at our clinics initially perform a comprehensive evaluation of each patient, which is then followed by a treatment plan specific to the injury as prescribed by the patient’s physician. The treatment plan may include a number of procedures, including therapeutic exercise, manual therapy techniques, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, hot packs, iontophoresis, education on management of daily life skills and home exercise programs. A clinic’s business primarily comes from referrals by local physicians. The principal sources of payment for the clinics’ services are managed care programs, commercial health insurance, Medicare/Medicaid and workers’ compensation insurance.
We were re-incorporated in April 1992 under
Besides the laws of the State of Nevada and have operating subsidiaries organized in various statesmulti-clinic acquisitions referenced in the formtable above, during 2021 and 2020 we purchased the assets and business of limited partnerships, limited liability companies and wholly-owned corporations. This descriptionthree physical therapy clinics in separate transactions. The clinics operate as satellite clinics of three of our business should be readexisting clinic partnerships.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we sold two clinics. The aggregate sales price was $0.1 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we sold 14 previously closed clinics. The aggregate sales price was $1.1 million, of which $0.7 million was paid in conjunction with our financial statementscash and $0.4 million in a note receivable payable in two equal installments of principal and any accrued interest. The first payment was received in June 2021 and the related notes containednext payment is due on June 15, 2022.
At December 31, 2021, we operated 591 clinics in Item 839 states. Our highest concentration of clinics are in this Annual Reportthe following states: Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Florida, Oregon, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Idaho, Missouri and South Carolina. In addition to our 591 clinics, on Form 10-K. December 31, 2021, we also managed 35 physical therapy practices for unrelated physician groups and hospitals.
Our principal executive offices are located at 1300 West Sam Houston Parkway South, Suite 300, Houston, Texas 77042. Our telephone number is (713) 297-7000. Our website is www.usph.com.
OUR CLINICS
Clinics
Most of our clinics are operated as Clinic Partnerships in which we own the general partnership interest and a majority of the limited partnership interests. The managing healthcare practitioner of the clinics usually owns a portion of the limited partnership interests. Generally, the therapist partners have no interest in the net losses of Clinic Partnerships, except to the extent of their capital accounts. Since we also develop satellite clinic facilities of existing clinics, most Clinic Partnerships consist of more than one clinic location. As of December 31, 2019,2021, through wholly-owned subsidiaries, we owned a 1% general partnership interest in all the Clinic Partnerships. Our limited partnership interests range from 24%10% to 99% in the Clinic Partnerships. For the vast majority of the Clinic Partnerships, the managing healthcare practitioner is a physical therapist who owns the remaining limited partnership interest in the Clinic Partnership.
For our Clinic Partnership agreements related to those thatin which we acquired a majority interest, generally, the prior management continues to own a 10% to 50% interest.
Typically, each therapist partner or director, including those employed by Clinic Partnerships in which we acquired a majority interest, enters into an employment agreement for a term of up to five years with their Clinic Partnership. Each agreement typically provides for a covenant not to compete during the period of his or her employment and for up to two years thereafter. Under each employment agreement, the therapist partner receives a base salary and may receive a bonus based on the net revenues or profits generated by their Clinic Partnership or specific clinic. In the case of Clinic Partnerships, the therapist partner receives earnings distributions based upon their ownership interest. Upon termination of employment, we typically have the right but not the
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obligation, to purchase the therapist’s partnership interest in de novo Clinic Partnerships. Partnerships; for those Clinic Partnerships we created in connection with an acquisition, our partner also has the right to cause us to purchase their interest upon termination of their employment.
In connection with most of our acquired clinics, in the event that a limited minority partner’s employment ceases and certain requirements are met as detailed in the respective limited partnership agreements, we have a call right (the “Call Right”) and the selling entity or individual has a put right (the “Put Right”) with respect to the partner’s limited partnership interests. The Put Right and the Call Right do not expire, even upon an individual partner’s death, and contain no mandatory redemption feature. The purchase price of the partner’s limited partnership interest upon exercise of the Put Right or the Call Right is calculated at a predetermined multiple of earnings performance as detailed in the respective agreements.
Each Clinic Partnership maintains an independent local identity, while at the same time enjoying the benefits of national purchasing, negotiated third-party payor contracts, centralized support services and management practices. Under a management agreement, one of our subsidiaries provides a variety of support services to each clinic, including supervision of site selection, construction, clinic design and equipment selection, establishment of accounting systems and billing procedures and training of office support personnel, processing of accounts payable, operational direction, auditing of regulatory compliance, payroll, benefits administration, accounting services, legal services, quality assurance and marketing support.
Our typical clinic occupies approximately 1,000 to 5,0007,000 square feet of leased space in an office building or shopping center. There are 17 clinics occupying space in the range of over 7,000 square feet to 13,500 square feet. We attempt to lease ground level space for patient ease of access to our clinics.
Typical minimum staff at a clinic consists of a licensed physical therapist and an office manager. As patient visits grow, staffing may also include additional physical therapists, occupational therapists, therapy assistants, aides, exercise physiologists, athletic trainers and office personnel. Therapy services are performed under the supervision of a licensed therapist.
We provide services at our clinics on an outpatient basis. Patients are usually treated for approximately one hour per day, two to three times a week, typically for two to six weeks. We generally charge for treatment on a per procedure basis. Medicare patients are charged based on prescribed time increments and Medicare billing standards. In addition, our clinics will develop, when appropriate, individual maintenance and self-management exercise programs to be continued after treatment. We continually assess the potential for developing new services and expanding the methods of providing our existing services in the most efficient manner while providing high quality patient care.
FACTORS INFLUENCING DEMAND FOR THERAPY SERVICES
Factors Influencing Demand For Physical Therapy Services
We believe that the following factors, among others, influence the growth of outpatient physical therapy services:
Economic Benefits of Therapy Services.Purchasers and providers of healthcare services, such as insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, businesses and industries, continuously seek cost savings for traditional healthcare services. We believe that our therapy services provide a cost-effective way to prevent short-term disabilities from becoming chronic conditions, to help avoid invasive procedures, to speed recovery from surgery and musculoskeletal injuries and eliminate or minimize the need for opioids.
Earlier Hospital Discharge.Changes in health insurance reimbursement, both public and private, have encouraged the earlierdischarge of patients to reduce costs. We believe that early hospital discharge practices foster greater demand for outpatient physical therapy services.
Aging Population.In general, the elderly population has a greater incidence of disability compared to the population as a whole.As this segment of the population continues to grow, we believe that demand for rehabilitation services will expand.
Increase in Obesity. Two of every three American men are considered to be overweight or obese and the rate continues to grow.The strain on a person’s body can be significant. Physical therapy services help the obese become more active and fit by teaching them how to move in ways that are pain free.
MARKETING
Marketing
We focus our marketing efforts primarily on physicians, including orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, physiatrists, internal medicine physicians, podiatrists, occupational medicine physicians and general practitioners. In marketing to the physician community, we emphasize our commitment to quality patient care and regular
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communication with physicians regarding patient progress. We employ personnel to assist clinic directors in developing and implementing marketing plans for the physician community and to assist in establishing relationships with health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, industry, case managers and insurance companies.
Industrial Injury Prevention Services
Services provided in the industrial injury prevention services segment include onsite injury prevention and rehabilitation, performance optimization, post offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations, and ergonomic assessments. The majority of these services are contracted with and paid for directly by employers, including a number of Fortune 500 companies. Other clients include large insurers and their contractors. Our Company performs these services through Industrial Sports Medicine Professionals, consisting of both physical therapists and ATCs.
In March 2017, we acquired a 55% interest in an initial industrial injury prevention services business. On April 30, 2018, we acquired a 65% interest in another business in the industrial injury prevention sector. On April 30, 2018, we combined the two businesses. After the combination, we owned a 59.45% interest in the combined business, Briotix Health, Limited Partnership (“Briotix Health”).
On April 11, 2019, we acquired 100% of a third company that is a provider of industrial injury prevention services. The acquired company specializes in delivering injury prevention and care, post offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations and return-to-work services. It performs these services across a network in 45 states including onsite at eleven client locations. The business was then combined with Briotix Health increasing our ownership position in the partnership to approximately 76.0%.
On September 30, 2021, we acquired a company that specializes in return-to-work and ergonomic services, among other offerings and contributed those assets to industrial injury prevention services subsidiary. Subsequent to this acquisition and the purchase of the redeemable non-controlling interest of one of the limited partners, our ownership in Briotix Health is approximately 85%.
On November 30, 2021, we acquired an approximate 70.0% interest in a leading provider of industrial injury prevention services. The founders and owners retained the remaining interest. The initial purchase price for the approximate 70% equity interest, not inclusive of a $2.0 million contingent payment in conjunction with the acquisition if specified future operational objectives are met, was approximately $63.2 million.
SOURCES OF REVENUE
Physical Therapy Operations
Payor sources for clinic servicesphysical therapy operations are primarily managed care programs, commercial health insurance, Medicare/Medicaid and workers’ compensation insurance. Commercial health insurance, Medicare and managed care programs generally provide coverage to patients utilizing our clinics after payment by the patients of normal deductibles and co-insurance payments. Workers’ compensation laws generally require employers to provide, directly or indirectly through insurance, costs of medical rehabilitation for their employees from work-related injuries and disabilities and, in some jurisdictions, mandatory vocational rehabilitation, usually without any deductibles, co-payments or cost sharing. Treatments for patients who are parties to personal injury cases are generally paid from the proceeds of settlements with insurance companies or from favorable judgments. If an unfavorable judgment is received, collection efforts are generally not pursued against the patient and the patient’s account is written-off against established reserves. Bad debt reserves relating to all receivable types are regularly reviewed and adjusted as appropriate.
The following table shows our payor mix for the years ended:
December 31, 2019 | December 31, 2018 | December 31, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||
Payor | Net Patient Revenue | Percentage | Net Patient Revenue | Percentage | Net Patient Revenue | Percentage | ||||||||||||
(Net Patient Revenues in Thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
Managed Care Programs | $ | 124,516 | 28.7 | % | $ | 134,748 | 32.3 | % | $ | 120,773 | 31.0 | % | ||||||
Commercial Health Insurance | 79,535 | 18.4 | % | 72,786 | 17.4 | % | 79,968 | 20.5 | % | |||||||||
Medicare/Medicaid | 132,611 | 30.6 | % | 117,554 | 28.1 | % | 103,713 | 26.7 | % | |||||||||
Workers’ Compensation Insurance | 63,542 | 14.7 | % | 59,942 | 14.4 | % | 55,364 | 14.2 | % | |||||||||
Other | 33,141 | 7.6 | % | 32,673 | 7.8 | % | 29,408 | 7.6 | % | |||||||||
Total | $ | 433,345 | 100.0 | % | $ | 417,703 | 100.0 | % | $ | 389,226 | 100.0 | % | ||||||
December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Payor Net PatientRevenue Percentage Net PatientRevenue Percentage Net PatientRevenue Percentage Managed Care Programs/ Commercial Health Insurance $ 209,129 47.7 % $ 177,877 47.7 % $ 204,051 47.1 % Medicare/Medicaid 155,122 35.4 % 118,030 31.6 % 132,611 30.6 % Workers' Compensation Insurance 44,549 10.2 % 48,628 13.0 % 63,542 14.7 % Other 29,530 6.7 % 28,805 7.7 % 33,141 7.6 % Total $ 438,330 100.0 % $ 373,340 100.0 % $ 433,345 100.0 %
Our physical therapy business depends to a significant extent on our relationships with commercial health insurers, health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations and workers’ compensation insurers. In some geographical areas, our clinics must be approved as providers by key health maintenance organizations and preferred provider plans to obtain payments. Failure to obtain or maintain these approvals would adversely affect financial results.
During the year ended December 31, 2019,2021, approximately 35.1%37.3% of our visits and 30.6%35.4% of our net patient revenues wererevenue was from patients with Medicare or Medicaid program coverage. To receive Medicare reimbursement, a facility (Medicare Certified Rehabilitation Agency) or the individual therapist (Physical/Occupational Therapist in Private Practice) must meet applicable participation conditions set by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) relating to the type of facility, equipment, recordkeeping, personnel and standards of medical care, and also must comply with all state and local laws. HHS, through Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and designated agencies, periodically inspects or surveys clinics/providers for approval and/or compliance. We anticipate thatFailure of our newly developed and acquired clinics will become certifiedsubsidiaries to obtain or maintain certifications as Medicare providers or will be enrolledfailure to enroll as a group of physical/occupationoccupational therapists in a private practice. Failure to obtain or maintain this certification wouldpractice could adversely affect financial results.
The Medicare program reimburses outpatient rehabilitation providers based on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”). For services provided in 2018,2017 through 2019, a 0.5% increase was applied to the fee schedule payment rates; for services provided in 2019, a 0.25% increase was applied to the fee schedule payment rates before applying the mandatory budget neutrality adjustment. For services provided in 2020 through 2025, a 0.0% update will be applied each year to the fee schedule payment rates, before applying the mandatory budget neutrality adjustment. However, in
In the 2020 MPFS Final Rule, CMS proposed an increase torevised coding, documentation guidelines, and increased the code values for office/outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) codes and cuts to other codes to maintain budget neutrality of the MPFS. This changeMPFS beginning in code valuations would be effective January 1, 2021. Under the proposal,
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2021 MPFS Final Rule, CMS increased the values for the E/M office visit codes and cuts to other specialty codes to maintain budget neutrality. As a result, CMS projected a 9% decrease in fee schedule payment rates for therapy services set to take effect in 2021. However, Congress intervened with passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and reimbursement for the codes applicable to physical/occupational therapy services could see code reductions that may result inprovided by our clinics received an estimated 8%3.5% decrease in payment. the aggregate in payment from Medicare in calendar year 2021 as compared to 2020.
In announcingthe 2022 MPFS Final Rule published on November 2, 2021, there was to be an approximately 3.75% reduction to Medicare payments for physical/occupational therapy services. This was due to the expiration of the additional funding to the conversion factor provided by Congress in 2021 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. However, this possible reduction was addressed in the applicable physical/occupational therapy codes, CMS indicated that it would further considerProtecting Medicare and address industry and provider concerns before finalizingAmerican Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act (“2021 Act”) signed into law on December 10, 2021. Based on various provisions in the 2021 code values.
BeginningAct, the Company now estimates that the Medicare rate reduction for the full year of 2022 will be approximately 0.75%.
In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 includes reductions in Medicare payment rates of approximately 3% in each of calendar years 2023 and 2024, unless regulatory or Congressional action results in modifications to such rates as has occurred in 2021 payments to individual therapists (Physical/Occupational Therapist in Private Practice) paid under the fee schedule may be subject to adjustment based on performance in the Merit Based Incentive Payment System (“MIPS”), which measures performance based on certain quality metrics, resource use, and meaningful use of electronic health records. Under the MIPS requirements, a provider's performance is assessed according to established performance standards each year and then is used to determine an adjustment factor that is applied to the professional's payment for the corresponding payment year. The provider’s MIPS performance in 2019 will determine the payment adjustment in 2021. Each year from 2019 through 2024, professionals who receive a significant share of their revenues through an alternate payment model (“APM”), (such as accountable care organizations or bundled payment arrangements) that involves risk of financial losses and a quality measurement component will receive a 5% bonus in the corresponding payment year. The bonus payment for APM participation is intended to encourage participation and testing of new APMs and to promote the alignment of incentives across payors. The specifics of the MIPS and APM adjustments will be subject to future notice and comment rule-making.
2022.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 increased the federal debt ceiling in connection with deficit reductions over the next ten years and requires automatic reductions in federal spending by approximately $1.2 trillion. Payments to Medicare providers are subject to these automatic spending reductions, subject to a 2% cap. On April 1, 2013, a 2% reduction to Medicare payments was implemented. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, enacted on November 2, 2015, extended the 2% reductions to Medicare payments through fiscal year 2025. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, enacted on February 9, 2018, extends the 2% reductions to Medicare payments through fiscal year 2027.
Historically, The CARES Act suspended the total amount paid2% payment reduction to Medicare payments for dates of service from May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 further suspended the 2% payment reduction until March 31, 2021. On April 14, 2021, additional legislation was enacted that waived the 2% payment reduction for the remainder of calendar 2021. The 2021 Act, which was signed into law on December 10, 2021, included a three-month extension of the 2% sequester relief applied to all Medicare payments through March 31, 2022, followed by Medicare in any one year for outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or speech-language pathology services providedthree months of 1% sequester relief through June 30, 2022. Sequester relief is scheduled to any Medicare beneficiary was subject to an annual dollar limit (i.e., the “Therapy Cap” or “Limit”). For 2017, the annual Limitthen end on outpatient therapy services was $1,980 for combined Physical Therapy and Speech Language Pathology services and $1,980 for Occupational Therapy services. As a result of Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the Therapy Caps have been eliminated, effective as of January 1, 2018.
June 30, 2022.
Under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (“MCTRA”(‘‘MCTRA’’), since October 1, 2012, patients who met or exceeded $3,700 in therapy expenditures during a calendar year have been subject to a manual medical review to determine whether applicable payment criteria are satisfied. The $3,700 threshold is applied to Physical Therapy and Speech Language Pathology Services; a separate $3,700 threshold is applied to the Occupational Therapy. The MACRAMedicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (“MACRA”) directed CMS to modify the manual medical review process such that those reviews will no longer apply to all claims exceeding the $3,700 threshold and instead will be determined on a targeted basis based on a variety of factors that CMS considers appropriateappropriate. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 extends the targeted medical review indefinitely but reduces the threshold to $3,000 through December 31, 2027. For 2028, the threshold amount will be increased by the percentage increase in the Medicare Economic Index (“MEI”) for 2028 and in subsequent years the threshold amount will increase based on the corresponding percentage increase in the MEI for such subsequent year.
CMS adopted a multiple procedure payment reduction (“MPPR”(‘‘MPPR’’) for therapy services in the final update to the MPFS for calendar year 2011. The MPPR applied to all outpatient therapy services paid under Medicare Part B — occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology. Under the policy, the Medicare program pays 100% of the practice expense component of the Relative Value Unit (“RVU”(‘‘RVU’’) for the therapy procedure with the highest practice expense RVU, then reduces the payment for the practice expense component for the second and subsequent therapy procedures or units of service furnished during the same day for the same patient, regardless of whether those therapy services are furnished in separate sessions. SinceIn 2013, the practice expense component for the second and subsequent therapy service furnished during the same day for the same patient was reduced by 50%. In addition, the MCTRA directed CMS to implement a claims-based data collection program to gather additional data on patient function during the course
include this data on the claim form. Since 2013, therapists have been required to report new codes and modifiers on the claim form that reflect a patient’s functional limitations and goals at initial evaluation, periodically throughout care, and at discharge. Reporting of these functional limitation codes and modifiers are required on the claim for payment.
Medicare claims for outpatient therapy services furnished by therapytherapist assistants on or after January 1, 2020 must include a modifier indicating the service was furnished by a therapytherapist assistant. Outpatient therapy services furnished on or after January 1, 2022 in whole or part by a therapytherapist assistant will beare paid at an amount equal to 85% of the payment amount otherwise applicable for the service.
Statutes, regulations, and payment rules governing the delivery of therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries are complex and subject to interpretation. We believe that we are in compliance, in all material respects, with all applicable laws and regulations and are not aware of any pending or threatened investigations involving allegations of potential wrongdoing that would have a material effect on our financial statements as of December 31, 2019.2021. Compliance with such laws and regulations can be subject to future government review and interpretation, as well as significant regulatory action including fines, penalties, and exclusion from the Medicare program. For 2019,the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, net patient revenue from Medicare accountedwere approximately $134.4 million and $101.6 million, respectively.
Industrial Injury Prevention Services
Services provided in this business include onsite injury prevention and rehabilitation, performance optimization, post-offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations and ergonomic assessments. The majority of these services are contracted with and paid for approximately $119.4 million.
directly by employers, including a number of Fortune 500 companies. Other clients include large insurers and their contractors. These services are performed through Industrial Sports Medicine Professionals, consisting of both physical therapists and ATCs.
REGULATION AND HEALTHCARE REFORM
Numerous federal, state and local regulations regulate healthcare services and those who provide them. Some states into which we may expand have laws requiring facilities employing health professionals and providing health-related services to be licensed and, in some cases, to obtain a certificate of need (that is, demonstrating to a state regulatory authority the need for, and financial feasibility of, new facilities or the commencement of new healthcare services). Only one of the states in which we currently operate requires a certificate of need for the operation of our physical therapy business functions. Our therapists and/or clinics, however, are required to be licensed, as determined by the state in which they provide services. Failure to obtain or maintain any required certificates, approvals or licenses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulations Controlling Fraud and Abuse.Various federal and state laws regulate financial relationships involving providers ofhealthcare services. These laws include Section 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S. C. § 1320a-7b[b]) (the “Fraud and Abuse Law”), under which civil and criminal penalties can be imposed upon persons who, among other things, offer, solicit, pay or receive remuneration in return for (i) the referral of patients for the rendering of any item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, by a Federal health care program (including Medicare and Medicaid); or (ii) purchasing, leasing, ordering, or arranging for or recommending purchasing, leasing, ordering any good, facility, service, or item for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, by a Federal health care program (including Medicare and Medicaid). We believe that our business procedures and business arrangements are in compliance with these provisions. However, the provisions are broadly written and the full extent of their specific application to specific facts and arrangements to which we are a party is uncertain and difficult to predict. In addition, several states have enacted state laws similar to the Fraud and Abuse Law, which may be more restrictive than the federal Fraud and Abuse Law.
The Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) of HHS has issued regulations describing compensation financial arrangements that fall within a “Safe Harbor” and, therefore, are not viewed as illegal remuneration under the Fraud and Abuse Law. Failure to fall within a Safe Harbor does not mean that the Fraud and Abuse Law has been violated; however, the OIG has indicated that failure to fall within a Safe Harbor may subject an arrangement to increased scrutiny under a “facts and circumstances” test.
The OIG also has issued special fraud alerts and special advisory bulletins to remind the provider community of the importance and application of certain aspects of the Fraud and Abuse Law. One of the OIG special fraud alerts related to the rental of space in physician offices by persons or entities to which the physicians refer patients. The OIG’s stated concern in these arrangements is that rental payments may be disguised kickbacks to the physician-landlords to induce referrals. We rent clinic space for some of our clinics from referring physicians and have taken the steps that we believe are necessary to ensure that all leases comply to the extent possible and applicable, with the space rental Safe Harbor to the Fraud and Abuse Law.
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One of the OIG’s special advisory bulletins addressed certain complex contractual arrangements for the provision of items and services. This special advisory bulletin identified several characteristics commonly exhibited by suspect arrangements, the existence of one or more of which could indicate a prohibited arrangement to the OIG. Generally, the indicia of a suspect contractual joint venture as identified by the special advisory bulletin and an associated OIG advisory opinion include the following:
New Line of Business. Business.A provider in one line of business (“Owner”) expands into a new line of business that can be provided to the Owner’s existing patients, with another party who currently provides the same or similar item or service as the new business (“Manager/Supplier”).
Captive Referral Base.Base. The arrangement predominantly or exclusively serves the Owner’s existing patient base (or patients under the control or influence of the Owner).
Little or No Bona Fide Business Risk. The Owner’s primary contribution to the venture is referrals; it makes little or no financial or other investment in the business, delegating the entire operation to the Manager/Supplier, while retaining profits generated from its captive referral base.
Status of the Manager/Supplier. The Manager/Supplier is a would-be competitor of the Owner’s new line of business and would normally compete for the captive referrals. It has the capacity to provide virtually identical services in its own right and bill insurers and patients for them in its own name.
Scope of Services Provided by the Manager/Supplier. The Manager/Supplier provides all, or many, of the new business’ key services.
Remuneration. The practical effect of the arrangement, viewed in its entirety, is to provide the Owner the opportunity to bill insurers and patients for business otherwise provided by the Manager/Supplier. The remuneration from the venture to the Owner (i.e., the profits of the venture) takes into account the value and volume of business the Owner generates.
Exclusivity. The arrangement bars the Owner from providing items or services to any patients other than those coming from Owner and/or bars the Manager/Supplier from providing services in its own right to the Owner’s patients.
Due to the nature of our business operations, many of our management service arrangements exhibit one or more of these characteristics. However, we believe we have taken steps regarding the structure of such arrangements as necessary to sufficiently distinguish them from these suspect ventures, and to comply with the requirements of the Fraud and Abuse Law. However, if the OIG believes we have entered into a prohibited contractual joint venture, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Although the business of managing physician-owned and hospital-owned physical therapy facilities is regulated by the Fraud and Abuse Law, the manner in which we contract with such facilities often falls outside the complete scope of available Safe Harbors. We believe our arrangements comply with the Fraud and Abuse Law, even though federal courts provide limited guidance as to the application of the Fraud and Abuse Law to these arrangements. If our management contracts are held to violate the Fraud and Abuse Law, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Stark Law.Provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. § 1395nn) (the “Stark Law”) prohibit referrals by a physician of “designated health services” which are payable, in whole or in part, by Medicare or Medicaid, to an entity in which the physician or the physician’s immediate family member has an investment interest or other financial relationship, subject to several exceptions. Unlike the Fraud and Abuse Law, the Stark Law is a strict liability statute. Proof of intent to violate the Stark Law is not required. Physical therapy and occupational therapy services are among the “designated health services”. Further, the Stark Law has application to our management contracts with individual physicians and physician groups, as well as, any other financial relationship between us and referring physicians, including medical advisor arrangements and any financial transaction resulting from a clinic acquisition. The Stark Law also prohibits billing for services rendered pursuant to a prohibited referral. Several states have enacted laws similar to the Stark Law. These state laws may cover all (not just Medicare and Medicaid) patients. As with the Fraud and Abuse Law, we consider the Stark Law in planning our clinics, establishing contractual and other arrangements with physicians, marketing and other
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activities, and believe that our operations are in compliance with the Stark Law. If we violate the Stark Law or any similar state laws, our financial results and operations could be adversely affected. Penalties for violations include denial of payment for the services, significant civil monetary penalties, and exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
HIPAA.In an effort to further combat healthcare fraud and protect patient confidentially, Congress included several anti-fraud measures in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). HIPAA created a source of funding for fraud control to coordinate federal, state and local healthcare law enforcement programs, conduct investigations, provide guidance to the healthcare industry concerning fraudulent healthcare practices, and establish a national data bank to receive and report final adverse actions. HIPAA also criminalized certain forms of health fraud against all public and private payors. Additionally, HIPAA mandates the adoption of standards regarding the exchange of healthcare information in an effort to ensure the privacy and electronic security of patient information and standards relating to the privacy of health information. Sanctions for failing to comply with HIPAA include criminal penalties and civil sanctions. In February of 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) was signed into law. Title XIII of ARRA, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), provided for substantial Medicare and Medicaid incentives for providers to adopt electronic health records (“EHRs”) and grants for the development of health information exchange (“HIE”). Recognizing that HIE and EHR systems will not be implemented unless the public can be assured that the privacy and security of patient information in such systems is protected, HITECH also significantly expanded the scope of the privacy and security requirements under HIPAA. Most notable are the mandatory breach notification requirements and a heightened enforcement scheme that includes increased penalties, and which now apply to business associates as well as to covered entities. In addition to HIPAA, a number of states have adopted laws and/or regulations applicable in the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information that can be more stringent than comparable provisions under HIPAA.
We believe that our operations comply with applicable standards for privacy and security of protected healthcare information. We cannot predict what negative effect, if any, HIPAA/HITECH or any applicable state law or regulation will have on our business.
Other Regulatory Factors.Political, economic and regulatory influences are fundamentally changing the healthcare industry in the United States. Congress, state legislatures and the private sector continue to review and assess alternative healthcare delivery and payment systems. Potential alternative approaches could include mandated basic healthcare benefits, controls on healthcare spending through limitations on the growth of private health insurance premiums and Medicare and Medicaid spending, the creation of large insurance purchasing groups, and price controls. Legislative debate is expected to continue in the future and market forces are expected to demand only modest increases or reduced costs. For instance, managed care entities are demanding lower reimbursement rates from healthcare providers and, in some cases, are requiring or encouraging providers to accept capitated payments that may not allow providers to cover their full costs or realize traditional levels of profitability. We cannot reasonably predict what impact the adoption of federal or state healthcare reform measures or future private sector reform may have on our business.
COMPETITION
The healthcare industry, including the physical therapy business isand the industrial injury prevention services business are highly competitive. The physical therapy business isas well as the industrial injury prevention services business are both highly fragmented with no company having a significant market share nationally. We believe that we are one of the third largest national outpatient rehabilitationphysical therapy services providers.
Competitive factors affecting our business include quality of care, cost, treatment outcomes, convenience of location, and relationships with, and ability to meet the needs of, referral and payor sources. Our clinics compete, directly or indirectly, with many types of healthcare providers including the physical therapy departments of hospitals, private therapy clinics, physician-owned therapy clinics, and chiropractors. We may face more intense competition if consolidation of the therapy industry continues.
We believe that our strategy of providing key therapists in a community with an opportunity to participate in ownership or clinic profitability provides us with a competitive advantage by helping to ensure the commitment of local management to the success of the clinic.
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We also believe that our competitive position is enhanced by our strategy of locating our clinics, when possible, on the ground floor of buildings and shopping centers with nearby parking, thereby making the clinics more easily accessible to patients. We offer convenient hours. We also attempt to make the decor in our clinics less institutional and more aesthetically pleasing than traditional hospital clinics.
ENFORCEMENT ENVIRONMENT
In recent years, federal and state governments have launched several initiatives aimed at uncovering behavior that violates the federal civil and criminal laws regarding false claims and fraudulent billing and coding practices. Such laws require providers to adhere to complex reimbursement requirements regarding proper billing and coding in order to be compensated for their services by government payors. Our compliance program requires adherence to applicable law and promotes reimbursement education and training;training; however, a determination that our clinics’ billing and coding practices are false or fraudulent could have a material adverse effect on us.
As a result of our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, we are subject to various governmental inspections, reviews, audits and investigations to verify our compliance with these programs and applicable laws and regulations. In addition, our prior Corporate Integrity Agreement, requireswhich expired in February 2021, required annual audits to be performed by an independent review organization on a small sample of our clinics, the results of which arewere reported to the federal government. See “-Compliance Program – Program—Corporate Integrity Agreement” for more on the Corporate Integrity Agreement (“CIA”). Managed care payors may also reserve the right to conduct audits. An adverse inspection, review, audit or investigation could result in: refunding amounts we have been paid; fines penalties and/or revocation of billing privileges for the affected clinics; expansionthe imposition of the scope of oura new Corporate Integrity Agreement; exclusion from participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs or one or more managed care payor network;networks; or damage to our reputation.
We and our clinics are subject to federal and state laws prohibiting entities and individuals from knowingly and willfully making claims to Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental programs and third party payors that contain false or fraudulent information. The federal False Claims Act encourages private individuals to file suits on behalf of the government against healthcare providers such as us. As such suits are generally filed under seal with a court to allow the government adequate time to investigate and determine whether it will intervene in the action, the implicated healthcare providers often are unaware of the suit until the government has made its determination and the seal is lifted. Violations or alleged violations of such laws, and any related lawsuits, could result in (i) exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, or (ii) significant financial or criminal sanctions, resulting in the possibility of substantial financial penalties for small billing errors that are replicated in a large number of claims, as each individual claim could be deemed a separate violation. In addition, many states also have enacted similar statutes, which may include criminal penalties, substantial fines, and treble damages.
COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
Our Compliance Program.Our ongoing success depends upon our reputation for quality service and ethical business practices. We operate in a highly regulated environment with many federal, state and local laws and regulations. We take a proactive interest in understanding and complying with the laws and regulations that apply to our business.
Our Board of Directors (the “Board”) has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines to clarify the ethical standards under which the Board and management carry out their duties. In addition, the Board has created a Compliance Committee of the Board (“Compliance Committee”) whose purpose is to assist the Board in discharging their oversight responsibilities with respect to compliance with federal and state laws and regulations relating to healthcare.
We have issued an Ethics anda Compliance Manual and created compliance training materials, hand-outs and an on-line testing program. These tools were prepared to ensure that every employee of our Company and subsidiaries has a clear understanding of our mutual commitment to high standards of professionalism, honesty, fairness and compliance with the law in conducting business. These standards are administered by our Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”), who has the responsibility for the day-to-day oversight, administration and development of our compliance program. The CCO, internal and external counsel, management and the Compliance Committee review our policies and procedures for our compliance program from time to time in an effort to improve operations and to ensure compliance with requirements of standards, laws and regulations and
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to reflect the on-going compliance focus areas which have been identified by management, counsel or the Compliance Committee. We also have established systems for reporting potential violations, educating our employees, monitoring and auditing compliance and handling enforcement and discipline.
Committees.Our Compliance Committee, appointed by the Board, consists of four independent directors. The Compliance Committee has general oversight of our Company’s compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements regarding healthcare operations. The Compliance Committee relies on the expertise and knowledge of management, the CCO and other compliance and legal personnel. The CCO regularly communicates with the Chairman of the Compliance Committee. The Compliance Committee meets at least four times a year or more frequently as necessary to carry out its responsibilities and reports regularly to the Board regarding its actions and recommendations.
We also have an Internal Compliance Committee, which is comprised of Company leaders in the areas of operations, clinical services, finance, human resources, legal, information technology and credentialing. The Internal Compliance Committee has the responsibility for evaluating and assessing Company areas of risk relating to compliance with federal and state healthcare laws, and generally to assist the CCO. The Internal Compliance Committee meets at least four times a year or more frequently as necessary to carry out its responsibilities. In addition, management has appointed a team to address our Company’s compliance with HIPAA. The HIPAA team consists of a security officer and employees from our legal, information systems, finance, operations, compliance, business services and human resources departments. The team prepares assessments and makes recommendations regarding operational changes and/or new systems, if needed, to comply with HIPAA.
Each clinic certified as a Medicare Rehabilitation Agency has a formally appointed governing body composed of a member of our management and the director/administrator of the clinic. The governing body retains legal responsibility for the overall conduct of the clinic. The members confer regularly and discuss, among other issues, clinic compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, there are Professional Advisory Committees which serve as Infection Control Committees. These committees meet in the facilities and function as advisors.
We have in place a Risk Management Committee consisting of, among others, the CCO, the Corporate Vice President of Administration,Human Resources, and other legal, compliance and operations personnel. This committee reviews and monitors all employee and patient incident reports and provides clinic personnel with actions to be taken in response to the reports.
Reporting Violations.In order to facilitate our employees’ ability to report in confidence, anonymously and without retaliation any perceived improper work-related activities, accounting irregularities and other violations of our compliance program, we have set up an independent national compliance hotline. The compliance hotline is available to receive confidential reports of wrongdoing Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), 24 hours a day. The compliance hotline is staffed by experienced third party professionals trained to utilize utmost care and discretion in handling sensitive issues and confidential information. The information received is documented and forwarded timely to the CCO, who, together with the Compliance Committee, has the power and resources to investigate and resolve matters of improper conduct.
Educating Our Employees.We utilize numerous methods to train our employees in compliance related issues.issues, including an online learning management system. All employees complete an initiala comprehensive training program comprised of numerous modules relating to our business and proper practices.practices when newly hired and annually thereafter. The directors/administrators also provide periodic “refresher” training for existing employees and one-on-one comprehensive training with new hires. The corporate compliance group responds to questions from clinic personnel and conducts frequent teleconference meetings, webinars and training sessions on a variety of compliance related topics.
When a clinic opens, we provide a package of compliance materials containing manuals and detailed instructions for meeting Medicare Conditions of Participation Standards and other compliance requirements. During follow up training with the director/administrator of the clinic, compliance department staff explain various details regarding requirements and compliance standards. Compliance staff will remain in contact with the director/administrator while the clinic is implementing compliance standards and will provide any assistance required. All new office managers receive training (including Medicare, regulatory and corporate compliance, insurance billing, charge entry and transaction posting and coding, daily, weekly and monthly accounting reports)
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from the training staff at the corporate office. The corporate compliance group will assist in continued compliance, including guidance to the clinic staff with regard to Medicare certifications, state survey requirements and responses to any inquiries from regulatory agencies.
Monitoring and Auditing Clinic Operational Compliance.We have in place audit programs and other procedures to monitor and audit clinic operational compliance with applicable policies and procedures. We employ internal auditors who, as part of their job responsibilities, conduct periodic audits of each clinic. Most clinics are audited at least once every 24 months and additional focused audits are performed as deemed necessary. During these audits, particular attention is given to compliance with Medicare and internal policies, Federal and state laws and regulations, third party payor requirements, and patient chart documentation, billing, reporting, record keeping, collections and contract procedures. The audits typically are conducted on site or remotely and include interviews with the employees involved in management, operations, billing and accounts receivable.
Formal audit reports are prepared and reviewed with corporate management and the Compliance Committee. Each clinic director/administrator receives a letter instructing them of any corrective measures required. Each clinic director/administrator then works with the compliance team and operations to ensure such corrective measures are achieved.
Handling Enforcement and Discipline.It is our policy that any employee who fails to comply with compliance program requirements or who negligently or deliberately fails to comply with known laws or regulations specifically addressed in our compliance program should be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge from employment. The Compliance Committee, compliance staff, human resources staff and management investigate violations of our compliance program and impose disciplinary action as considered appropriate.
Corporate Integrity Agreement. We also performperformed certain additional compliance related functions pursuant to the Corporate Integrity Agreement (“Corporate Integrity Agreement” or “CIA”)CIA that we entered into with the OIG. The CIA, which became effective as of December 21, 2015, outlinesand expired in February 2021, outlined certain specific requirements relating to compliance oversight and program implementation, as well as periodic reporting. In addition, pursuant to the CIA, an independent review organization annually will performperformed a Medicare billing and coding audit on a small group of randomly selected Company clinics. Our Company Compliance Program has beenwas modified so as to comply with the requirements of the CIA. The term of the CIA was five years and expired in February 2021.
EMPLOYEES
Our strategy is five years.
The CIA was entered into as part of the settlement by one of our Subsidiaries with the U. S. Department of Justice related to certain Medicare billings that occurred between 2007 and 2009 at a singleacquire physical therapy practices, develop outpatient physical therapy clinic. The settlement resolved claims relatingclinics as satellites within existing partnerships, acquire industrial injury prevention services businesses, and continue to whether certain physical therapy services provided tosupport the growth of our existing businesses requires a limited numbertalented workforce that can grow with us. As of Medicare patients at the clinic satisfied all of the criteria for payment by the Medicare program, including proper supervision of physical therapist assistants. The Subsidiary paid $718,000 in 2015 to resolve the matter, and we and the Subsidiary entered into the CIA. The Subsidiary no longer conducts any business.
EMPLOYEES
At December 31, 2019,2021, we employed approximately 5,4005,500 people nationwide, of which approximately 3,2003,000 were full-time employees. At
It is crucial that date, no Companywe continue to attract and retain top talent. To attract and retain talented employees, were governed by collective bargaining agreements or were memberswe strive to make our corporate office and all of our practices and businesses a union. We consider our relationsdiverse and healthy workplace, with opportunities for our employees to be good.
Inreceive continuing education, skill development, encouragement to grow and develop their career, all supported by competitive compensation, incentives, and benefits. Our clinical professionals are all licensed and a vast majority have advanced degrees. Our operational leadership teams have long-standing relationships with local and regional universities, professional affiliations, and other applicable sources that provide our practices with a talent pipeline.
We provide competitive compensation and benefits programs to help meet our employees’ needs in the statespractices and communities in which they serve. These programs (which can vary by practice and employment classification) include incentive compensation plans, a 401(k) plan, healthcare and insurance benefits, health savings and flexible spending accounts, paid time off, family leave, education assistance, mental health and other employee assistance benefits.
We invest resources to develop the talent needed to support our current clinics are located, persons performing designated physical therapy services are requiredbusiness strategy. Resources include a multitude of training and development programs delivered internally and externally, online and instructor-led, and on-the-job learning formats.
We expect to be licensed bycontinue adding personnel in the state. Basedfuture as we focus on standard employee screening systems in place, all persons currently employed by us who are required to be licensed are licensed. We are not awarepotential acquisition targets and organic growth opportunities.
AVAILABLE INFORMATION
Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are made available free of charge on our internet website at www.usph.comas soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.
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| ITEM 1A. | RISK FACTORS. |
Our business, operations and financial condition are subject to various risks. Some of these risks are described below, and readers of this Annual Report on Form 10-K should take such risks into account in evaluating our Company or making any decision to invest in us. This section does not describe all risks applicable to our Company, our industry or our business, and it is intended only as a summary of material factors affecting our business.
Risks related to our business and operations
Healthcare reform legislation may affect our business.
In recent years, many legislative proposals have been introduced or proposed in Congress
We are subject to risks associated with public health crises and in some state legislaturesepidemics/pandemics, such as the novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”).
Our operations expose us to risks associated with public health crises and epidemics/pandemics, such as COVID-19 that would affect major changeshas spread globally. Since early 2020, the continued spread has led to disruption and volatility in the healthcare system, either nationallyglobal capital markets, which increases the cost of, and adversely impacts access to, capital and increases economic uncertainty.
COVID-19 is having, and will continue to have, an adverse impact on our operations and supply chains, including a temporary loss of physical therapists and other employees who are infected or atquarantined for a period of time, an increase in cancellations of physical therapy patient appointments and a decline in the state level. Atscheduling of new or additional patient appointments. Due to these impacts and measures, we have experienced, and will continue to experience, significant and unpredictable impact on employees and reductions and cancellations of our patient visits.
Starting in mid-2021, certain local jurisdictions have imposed vaccination and/or mask mandates, and many of the federal level, Congress hasCompany’s clinics and their employees are now subject to a vaccination mandate promulgated by CMS as a condition of continued to propose or consider healthcare budgets that substantially reduce payments underparticipation in the Medicare programs. See “Business- Sources of Revenue” in Item 1 for more information. The ultimate content, timing or effect of any healthcare reform legislation and Medicaid programs as a certified rehabilitation agency. At this time, it is not possible to predict the impact of potential legislationthese and other similar mandates on us is uncertainthe Company or its workforce. These and difficult, if not impossible, to predict. That impactother mandates may be material to our business, financial condition or results of operations.facility and professional licensure/permits, including certificates of need;conduct of operations, including financial relationships among healthcare providers, Medicare fraud and abuse, and physician self-referral;addition of facilities and services; andbilling and payment for services.
Our operations are subject to extensive regulation.
The healthcare industry is subject to extensive federal, stateresult in employee attrition and local laws and regulations relating to:
In recent years, there have been heightened coordinated civil and criminal enforcement efforts by both federal and state government agencies relating to the healthcare industry. We believe we are in substantial compliance with all laws, but differing interpretations or enforcement of these laws and regulations could subject our current practices to allegations of impropriety or illegality or could require us to make changes in our methods of operations, facilities, equipment, personnel, services and capital expenditure programs and increase our operating expenses. If we fail to comply with these extensive laws and government regulations, we could become ineligible to receive government program reimbursement, suffer civil or criminal penalties or be required to make significant changes to our operations. In addition, we could be forced to expend considerable resources responding to an investigation or other enforcement action under these laws or regulations. For a more complete description of certain of these laws and regulations, see “Business—Regulation and Healthcare Reform” and “Business – Compliance Program” in Item 1.
The healthcare industry is subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to (1) facility and professional licensure, including certificates of need, (2) conduct of operations, including financial relationships among healthcare providers, Medicare fraud and abuse and physician self-referral, (3) addition of facilities and services and enrollment of newly developed facilities in the Medicare program, (4) payment for services and (5) safeguarding protected health information.
Both federal and state regulatory agencies inspect, survey and audit our facilities to review our compliance with these laws and regulations. While our facilities intend to comply with the existing licensing, Medicare certification requirements and accreditation standards, there can be no assurance that these regulatory authorities will determine that all applicable requirements are fully met at any given time. A determination by any of these regulatory authorities that a facility is not in compliance with these requirements could lead to the imposition of requirements that the facility takes corrective action, assessment of fines and penalties, or loss of licensure or Medicare certification of accreditation. These consequences could have ana material adverse effect on our Company.
The Company’s CIA imposes certain compliance related functionsbusiness, including future revenue, costs, and reporting obligations on us. In addition, the CIA requires us to engage an independent review organization to conduct annual auditsresults of randomly selected Company clinics in order to review compliance with federal requirements relating to the proper billing
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and coding for claims. While our facilities intend to comply with the federal requirements for properly coding and billing claims for reimbursement, there can be no assurance that these audits will determine that all applicable requirements are fully met at the clinics that are reviewed. In addition, a failure to fully comply with the requirements of the CIA may subject us to the assessment of fines and penalties, or exclusion from participation in the Medicare program. These consequences could have a materially adverse effect on our Company.
Decreases in Medicare reimbursement rates and payment reductions applied to the second and subsequent therapy servicesrate may adversely affect our financial results.
The Medicare program reimburses outpatient rehabilitation providers based on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”). For services providedOn an annual basis, our reimbursement under the MPFS is subject to changes, which could include reductions in 2018, a 0.5% increase was applied tosuch reimbursement amounts. The Company estimates that the fee schedule payment rates;Medicare rate reduction for services providedthe full year of 2022 will be approximately 0.75%. See “Business—Sources of Revenue – Physical Therapy Services” in 2019, a 0.25% increase was applied to the fee scheduleItem 1 for more information. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, includes reductions in Medicare payment rates before applying the mandatory budget neutrality adjustment. For services providedof approximately 3% in 2020 through 2025, a 0.0% percent update will be applied each year to the fee schedule payment rates, before applying the mandatory budget neutrality adjustment. However, in the 2020 MPFS Final Rule, CMS proposed an increase to the code values for office/outpatient evaluationof calendar years 2023 and management (E/M) codes and cuts to other codes to maintain budget neutrality of the MPFS. This change in code valuations2024, which would be effective January 1, 2021. Under the proposal, physical/occupational therapy services could see code reductions that may resultinstituted unless regulatory or Congressional action results in an estimated 8% decrease in payment. In announcing this possible reduction in the applicable physical/occupational therapy codes, CMS indicated that it would further consider and address industry and provider concerns before finalizing the 2021 code values.
Beginningmodifications to such rates as occurred in 2021 payments to individual therapists (Physical/Occupational Therapist in Private Practice) paid underand 2022.
In addition, the fee schedule may be subject to adjustment based on performance in the Merit Based Incentive Payment System (“MIPS”), which measures performance based on certain quality metrics, resource use, and meaningful use of electronic health records. Under the MIPS requirements, a provider's performance is assessed according to established performance standards each year and then is used to determine an adjustment factor that is applied to the professional's payment for the corresponding payment year. The provider’s MIPS performance in 2019 will determine the payment adjustment in 2021. Each year from 2019 through 2024, professionals who receive a significant share of their revenues through an alternate payment model (“APM”), (such as accountable care organizations or bundled payment arrangements) that involves risk of financial losses and a quality measurement component will receive a 5% bonus in the corresponding payment year. The bonus payment for APM participation is intended to encourage participation and testing of new APMs and to promote the alignment of incentives across payors. The specifics of the MIPS and APM adjustments will be subject to future notice and comment rule-making.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 increased the federal debt ceiling in connection with deficit reductions over the next ten years and requires automatic reductions in federal spending by approximately $1.2 trillion. Payments to Medicare providers are subject to these automatic spending reductions, subject to a 2% cap. On April 1, 2013, a 2% reductionCongress has taken action to Medicare payments was implemented. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, enacted on November 2, 2015, extendedwaive the 2% reductions to Medicare payments through fiscal year 2025. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, enacted on February 9, 2018, extends the 2% reductions to Medicare payments through fiscal year 2027.
Historically, the total amount paid by Medicare in any one year for outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or speech-language pathology services provided to any Medicare beneficiary was subject to an annual dollar limit (i.e., the “Therapy Cap” or “Limit”). For 2017, the annual Limit on outpatient therapy services was $1,980 for combined Physical Therapy and Speech Language Pathology services and $1,980 for Occupational Therapy services. As a result of Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the Therapy Caps have been eliminated, effective as of January 1, 2018.
Under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (“MCTRA”), since October 1, 2012, patients who met or exceeded $3,700 in therapy expenditures during a calendar year have been subject to a manual medical review to determine whether applicable payment criteria are satisfied. The $3,700 threshold is applied to Physical Therapy and Speech Language Pathology Services; a separate $3,700 threshold is applied to the Occupational Therapy. The MACRA directed CMS to modify the manual medical review process such that those reviews will no longer apply to all claims exceeding the $3,700 threshold and instead will be determined
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on a targeted basis based on a variety of factors that CMS considers appropriate The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 extends the targeted medical review indefinitely, but reduces the threshold to $3,000 through December 31, 2027. For 2028, the threshold amount will be increased by the percentage increase in the Medicare Economic Index (“MEI”) for 2028 and in subsequent years the threshold amount will increase based on the corresponding percentage increase in the MEI for such subsequent year.
CMS adopted a multiple procedure payment reduction (“MPPR”) for therapy services in the final updateduring 2021 and continuing through March 31, 2022, followed by three months of 1% sequester relief through June 30, 2022. Sequester relief is scheduled to the MPFS for calendar year 2011. The MPPR applied to all outpatient therapy services paid under Medicare Part B — occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology. Under the policy, the Medicare program pays 100% of the practice expense component of the Relative Value Unit (“RVU”) for the therapy procedure with the highest practice expense RVU, then reduces the payment for the practice expense component for the second and subsequent therapy procedures or units of service furnished during the same day for the same patient, regardless of whether those therapy services are furnished in separate sessions. Since 2013, the practice expense component for the second and subsequent therapy service furnished during the same day for the same patient was reduced by 50%. In addition, the MCTRA directed CMS to implement a claims-based data collection program to gather additional dataend on patient function during the course of therapy in order to better understand patient conditions and outcomes. All practice settings that provide outpatient therapy services are required to include this data on the claim form. Since 2013, therapists have been required to report new codes and modifiers on the claim form that reflect a patient’s functional limitations and goals at initial evaluation, periodically throughout care, and at discharge. Reporting of these functional limitation codes and modifiers are required on the claim for payment.
June 30, 2022.
Furthermore, Medicare claims for outpatient therapy services furnished by therapytherapist assistants on or after January 1, 2020, must include a modifier indicating the service was furnished by a therapytherapist assistant. Outpatient therapy services furnished on or after January 1, 2022 in whole or part by a therapytherapist assistant will beare paid at an amount equal to 85% of the payment amount otherwise applicable for the service.
Statutes, regulations, and payment rules governing the delivery of therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries are complex and subject to interpretation. We believe that we are in compliance, in all material respects, with all applicable laws and regulations governing the services we provide to Medicare patients and are not aware of any pending or threatened investigations involving allegations of potential wrongdoing that wouldcould have a material effect on the our financial statements as of December 31, 2019.2021. Compliance with such laws and regulations can be subject to future government review and interpretation, as well as significant regulatory action including fines, penalties, and exclusion from the Medicare program. For yearthe years ended December 31, 2019,2021, and 2020, respectively, net patient revenuesrevenue from Medicare were approximately $119.4 million.
$134.4 million and $101.6 million, respectively.
Given the history of frequent revisions to the Medicare program and its reimbursement rates and rules, we may not continue to receive reimbursement rates from Medicare that sufficiently compensate us for our services or, in some instances, cover our operating costs. Limits on reimbursement rates or the scope of services being reimbursed could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, any delay or default by the federal or state governments in making Medicare and/or Medicaid reimbursement payments could materially and, adversely, affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We expect the federal and state governments to continue their efforts to contain growth in Medicaid expenditures, which could adversely affect our revenue and profitability.
Medicaid spending has increased rapidly in recent years, becoming a significant component of state budgets. This, combined with slower state revenue growth, has led both the federal government and many states to institute measures aimed at controlling the growth of Medicaid spending, and in some instances reducing aggregate Medicaid spending. We expect these state and federal efforts to continue for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, not all of the states in which we operate, most notably Texas, have elected to expand Medicaid as part of federal healthcare reform legislation. There can be no assurance that the program, on the current terms or otherwise, will continue for any particular period of time beyond the foreseeable future. If Medicaid reimbursement rates are reduced or fail to increase as quickly as our costs, or if there are changes in the rules governing the Medicaid program that are disadvantageous to our businesses, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
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Revenue we receive from Medicare and Medicaid is subject to potential retroactive reduction.
Payments we receive from Medicare and Medicaid can be retroactively adjusted after examination during the claims settlement process or as a result of post-payment audits. Payors may disallow our requests for reimbursement, or recoup amounts previously reimbursed, based on determinations by the payors or their third-party audit contractors that certain costs are not reimbursable because either adequate or additional documentation was not provided or because certain services were not covered or deemed to not be medically necessary. Significant adjustments, recoupments or repayments of our Medicare or Medicaid revenue, and the costs associated with complying with investigative audits by regulatory and governmental authorities, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, from time to time we become aware, either based on information provided by third parties and/or the results of internal audits, of payments from payor sources that were either wholly or partially in excess of the amount that we should have been paid for the service provided. Overpayments may result from a variety of factors, including insufficient documentation supporting the services rendered or medical necessity of the services or other failures to document the satisfaction of the necessary conditions of payment. We are required by law in most instances to refund the full amount of the overpayment after becoming aware of it, and failure to do so within requisite time limits imposed by the law could lead to significant fines and penalties being imposed on us. Furthermore, our initial billing of and payments for services that are unsupported by the requisite documentation and satisfaction of any other conditions of payment, regardless of our awareness of the failure at the time of the billing or payment, could expose us to significant fines and penalties. We, and/or certain of our operating companies, could also be subject to exclusion from participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs in some circumstances as well, in addition to any monetary or other fines, penalties or sanctions that we may incur under applicable federal and/or state law. Our repayment of any such amounts, as well as any fines, penalties or other sanctions that we may incur, could be significant and could have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
From time to time we are also involved in various external governmental investigations, audits and reviews. Reviews, audits and investigations of this sort can lead to government actions, which can result in the assessment of damages, civil or criminal fines or penalties, or other sanctions, including restrictions or changes in the way we conduct business, loss of licensure or exclusion from participation in government programs. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and rules could have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, becoming subject to these governmental investigations, audits and reviews can also require us to incur significant legal and document production expenses as we cooperate with the government authorities, regardless of whether the particular investigation, audit or review leads to the identification of underlying issues.
As a result of increased post-payment reviews of claims we submit to Medicare for our services, we may incur additional costs and may be required to repay amounts already paid to us.
We are subject to regular post-payment inquiries, investigations and audits of the claims we submit to Medicare for payment for our services. These post-payment reviews have increased as a result of government cost-containment initiatives. These additional post-payment reviews may require us to incur additional costs to respond to requests for records and to pursue the reversal of payment denials, and ultimately may require us to refund amounts paid to us by Medicare that are determined to have been overpaid.
For a further description of this and other laws and regulations involving governmental reimbursements, see “Business—Sources of Revenue” and “—Regulation and Healthcare Reform” in Item 1.
An economic downturn, state budget pressures, sustained unemployment and continued deficit spending by the federal government may result in a reduction in reimbursement and covered services.
An economic downturn, including the consequences of coronavirus,a pandemic, such as COVID-19, could have a detrimental effect on our revenues. Historically, state budget pressures have translated into reductions in state spending. Given that Medicaid outlays are a significant component of state budgets, we can expect continuing cost containment pressures on Medicaid outlays for our services in the states in which we operate. In addition, an economic downturn, coupled with sustained unemployment, may also impact the number of enrollees in managed care programs as well as the profitability of managed care companies, which could result in reduced reimbursement rates.
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The existing federal deficit, as well as deficit spending by federal and state governments as the result of adverse developments in the economy or other reasons, can lead to continuing pressure to reduce governmental expenditures for other purposes, including government-funded programs in which we participate, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Such actions in turn may adversely affect our results of operations.
We depend upon reimbursement by third-party payors.
Substantially all of our revenues are derived from private and governmental third-party payors. In 2019,2021, approximately 69.4%62.8% of our revenues were derived collectively from managed care plans, commercial health insurers, workers’ compensation payors, and other private pay revenue sources while approximately 30.6%37.2% of our revenues were derived from Medicare and Medicaid. Initiatives undertaken by industry and government to contain healthcare costs affect the profitability of our clinics. These payors attempt to control healthcare costs by contracting with healthcare providers to obtain services on a discounted basis. We believe that this trend will continue and may limit reimbursement for healthcare services. If insurers or managed care companies from whom we receive substantial payments were to reduce the amounts they pay for services, our profit margins may decline, or we may lose patients if we choose not to renew our contracts with these insurers at lower rates. In addition, in certain geographical areas, our clinics must be approved as providers by key health maintenance organizations and preferred provider plans. Failure to obtain or maintain these approvals would adversely affect our financial results.
In recent years, through legislative and regulatory actions, the federal government has made substantial changes to various payment systems under the Medicare program. See “Business—Sources of Revenue”Revenue – Physical Therapy Services” in Item 1 for more information including changes to Medicare reimbursement. Additional reforms or other changes to these payment systems may be proposed or adopted, either by the U.S. Congress or by CMS, including bundled payments, outcomes-based payment methodologies and a shift away from traditional fee-for-service reimbursement. If revised regulations are adopted, the availability, methods and rates of Medicare reimbursements for services of the type furnished at our facilities could change. Some of these changes and proposed changes could adversely affect our business strategy, operations and financial results.
Impact on the business and cash reserves resulting from retirement or resignation of key partners and resulting purchase of their non-controlling interests (minority interests).
As described in Note 5, the redeemable non-controlling interests in our partnerships are held by our partners. Upon the occurrence of certain events, such as retirement or other termination of employment, partners from acquired partnerships may have the right to exercise a “put” to cause us to purchase their redeemable non-controlling interests. Depending on the amount and timing of the exercise of any “put” rights, the funds required could have an adverse impact on our capital structure.
Healthcare reform legislation may affect our business.
In recent years, many legislative proposals have been introduced or proposed in Congress and in some state legislatures that would affect major changes in the healthcare system, either nationally or at the state level. At the federal level, Congress has continued to propose or consider healthcare budgets that substantially reduce payments under the Medicare programs. See “Business—Sources of Revenue” in Item 1 for more information. The ultimate content, timing or effect of any healthcare reform legislation and the impact of potential legislation on us is uncertain and difficult, if not impossible, to predict. That impact may be material to our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our operations are subject to extensive regulation.
The healthcare industry is subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to:
facility and professional licensure/permits, including certificates of need;
conduct of operations, including financial relationships among healthcare providers, Medicare fraud and abuse, and physician self-referral;
addition of facilities and services; and
| • | coding, billing and payment for services. |
In recent years, there have been heightened coordinated civil and criminal enforcement efforts by both federal and state government agencies relating to the healthcare industry. We believe we are in substantial compliance with all laws, but differing interpretations or enforcement of these laws and regulations could subject our current practices to allegations of impropriety or illegality or could require us to make changes in our methods of operations, facilities, equipment, personnel, services and capital expenditure programs and increase our operating expenses. If we fail to comply with these extensive laws and government regulations, we could become ineligible to receive government program reimbursement, suffer civil or criminal penalties or be required to make significant changes to our operations. In addition, we could be forced to expend considerable resources responding to an investigation or other enforcement action under these laws or regulations. For a more complete description of certain of these laws and regulations, see “Business—Regulation and Healthcare Reform” and “Business—Compliance Program” in Item 1.
Both federal and state regulatory agencies inspect, survey and audit our facilities to review our compliance with these laws and regulations. While our facilities intend to comply with the existing licensing, Medicare certification requirements and accreditation standards, there can be no assurance that these regulatory authorities will determine that all applicable requirements are fully met at any given time. A determination by any of these regulatory authorities that a facility is not in compliance with these requirements could lead to the imposition of requirements that the facility takes corrective action, assessment of fines and penalties, or loss of licensure or Medicare certification of accreditation. These consequences could have an adverse effect on us.
Our operations are subject to investigations, legal actions and proceedings that could result in an adverse impact on our business and financial position.
Healthcare providers are subject to investigations, legal actions and proceedings, as well as lawsuits under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act, based on claims that the provider failed to comply with applicable laws and regulations that govern coding and the submission of claims for services provided to Medicare patients, among other things. These matters can involve significant costs, monetary damages and penalties. We have been subject to these proceedings in the past, and future proceedings could result in an adverse impact on our business and financial results.
We face inspections, reviews, audits and investigations under federal and state government programs and contracts. These audits could have adverse findings that may negatively affect our business.
As a result of our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, we are subject to various governmental inspections, reviews, audits and investigations to verify our compliance with these programs and applicable laws and regulations. Managed care payors may also reserve the right to conduct audits. An adverse inspection, review, audit or investigation could result in:
refunding amounts we have been paid pursuant to the Medicare or Medicaid programs or from managed care payors;
state or federal agencies imposing fines, penalties and other sanctions on us;
temporary suspension of payment for new patients to the facility or agency;
decertification or exclusion from participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs or one or more managed care payor networks;
the imposition of the scope of oura new Corporate Integrity Agreement;
damage to our reputation;
the revocation of a facility’s or agency’s license;license; and
loss of certain rights under, or termination of, our contracts with managed care payors.
If adverse inspections, reviews, audits or investigations occur and any of the results noted above occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
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Our facilities are subject to extensive federal and state laws and regulations relating to the privacy of individually identifiable information.
HIPAA required the HHS to adopt standards to protect the privacy and security of individually identifiable health-related information. The department released final regulations containing privacy standards in 2000 and published revisions to the final regulations in 2002. The privacy regulations extensively regulate the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health-related information. The regulations also provide patients with significant rights related to understanding and controlling how their health information is used or disclosed. The security regulations require healthcare providers to implement administrative, physical and technical practices to protect the security of individually identifiable health information that is maintained or transmitted electronically. HITECH, which was signed into law in 2009, enhanced the privacy, security and enforcement provisions of HIPAA by, among other things establishing security breach notification requirements, allowing enforcement of HIPAA by state attorneys general, and increasing penalties for HIPAA violations. Violations of HIPAA or HITECH could result in civil or criminal penalties.
In addition to HIPAA, there are numerous federal and state laws and regulations addressing patient and consumer privacy concerns, including unauthorized access or theft of personal information. State statutes and regulations vary from state to state. Lawsuits, including class actions and action by state attorneys general, directed at companies that have experienced a privacy or security breach also can occur.
We have established policies and procedures in an effort to ensure compliance with these privacy related requirements. However, if there is a breach, we may be subject to various penalties and damages and may be required to incur costs to mitigate the impact of the breach on affected individuals.
In conducting our business, we are required to comply with applicable laws regarding fee-splitting and the corporate practice of medicine.
Some states prohibit the “corporate practice of therapy” that restricts business corporations from providing physical therapy services through the direct employment of therapist physicians or from exercising control over medical decisions by therapists. The laws relating to corporate practice vary from state to state and are not fully developed in each state in which we have facilities. Typically, however, professional corporations owned and controlled by licensed professionals are exempt from corporate practice restrictions and may employ therapists to furnish professional services. Those professional corporations may be managed by business corporations, such as the Company.
Some states also prohibit entities from engaging in certain financial arrangements, such as fee-splitting, with physicians or therapists. The laws relating to fee-splitting also vary from state to state and are not fully developed. Generally, these laws restrict business arrangements that involve a physician or therapist sharing medical fees with a referral source, but in some states, these laws have been interpreted to extend to management agreements between physicians or therapists and business entities under some circumstances.
We believe that our current and planned activities do not constitute fee-splitting or the unlawful corporate practice of medicine as contemplated by these state laws. However, there can be no assurance that future interpretations of such laws will not require structural and organizational modification of our existing relationships with the practices. If a court or regulatory body determines that we have violated these laws or if new laws are introduced that would render our arrangements illegal, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, our contracts could be found legally invalid and unenforceable (in whole or in part), or we could be required to restructure our contractual arrangements with our affiliated physicians and other licensed providers.
Failure to maintain effective internal control over our financial reporting could have an adverse effect on our ability to report our financial results on a timely and accurate basis.
We are required to produce our consolidated financial statements in accordance with the requirements of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports, to help mitigate the risk of fraud and to operate successfully. We are required by federal securities laws to document and test our internal control procedures in order to satisfy the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
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Testing and maintaining our internal control over financial reporting can be expensive and divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to our business. We may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with applicable law, or our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to issue an unqualified attestation report if we conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, or our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide us with an unqualified attestation report on our internal control, we could be required to take costly and time-consuming corrective measures, be required to restate the affected historical financial statements, be subjected to investigations and/or sanctions by federal and state securities regulators, and be subjected to civil lawsuits by security holders. Any of the foregoing could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and in our company and would likely result in a decline in the market price of our stock and in our ability to raise additional financing if needed in the future.
We may be adversely affected by a security breach, such as a cyber-attack, which may cause a violation of HIPAA or HITECH and subject us to potential legal and reputational harm.
In the normal course of business, our information technology systems hold sensitive patient information including patient demographic data and other protected health information, which is subject to HIPAA and HITECH. We also contract with third-party vendors to maintain and store our patient’spatients’ individually identifiable health information. Numerous state and federal laws and regulations address privacy and information security concerns resulting from our access to our patient’s and employee’s personal information.
Our information technology systems and those of our vendors that process, maintain, and transmit such data are subject to computer viruses, cyber-attacks, or breaches. We adhere to policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with HIPAA and other privacy and information security laws and require our third-party vendors to do so as well. If, however, we or our third-party vendors experience a breach, loss, or other compromise of unsecured protected health information or other personal information, such an event could result in significant civil and criminal penalties, lawsuits, reputational harm, and increased costs to us, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, while our information technology systems, and those of our third-party vendors, are maintained with safeguards protecting against cyber-attacks. A cyber-attack that bypasses our information technology security systems, or those of our third-party vendors, could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. In addition, our future results could be adversely affected due to the theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation, or release of protected health information, other confidential data or proprietary business information, operational or business delays resulting from the disruption of information technology systems and subsequent mitigation activities, or regulatory action taken as a result of such incident. We provide our employees training and regular reminders on important measures they can take to prevent breaches. We routinely identify attempts to gain unauthorized access to our systems. However, given the rapidly evolving nature and proliferation of cyber threats, there can be no assurance our training and network security measures or other controls will detect, prevent, or remediate security or data breaches in a timely manner or otherwise prevent unauthorized access to, damage to, or interruption of our systems and operations. Accordingly, we may be vulnerable to losses associated with the improper functioning, security breach, or unavailability of our information systems as well as any systems used in acquired operations.
We depend upon the cultivation and maintenance of relationships with the physicians in our markets.
Our success is dependent upon referrals from physicians in the communities our clinics serve and our ability to maintain good relations with these physicians and other referral sources. Physicians referring patients to our clinics are free to refer their patients to other therapy providers or to their own physician owned therapy practice. If we are unable to successfully cultivate and maintain strong relationships with physicians and other referral sources, our business may decrease and our net operating revenues may decline.
We depend upon our ability to recruit and retain experienced physical therapists.
Our revenue generation is dependent upon referrals from physicians in the communities our clinics serve, and our ability to maintain good relations with these physicians. Our therapists are the front line for generating these referrals and we are dependent on their talents and skills to successfully cultivate and maintain strong
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relationships with these physicians. If we cannot recruit and retain our base of experienced and clinically skilled therapists, our business may decrease and our net operating revenues may decline. Periodically, we have clinics in isolated communities that are temporarily unable to operate due to the unavailability of a therapist who satisfies our standards.
We may also experience increases in our labor costs, primarily due to higher wages and greater benefits required to attract and retain qualified healthcare personnel, and such increases may adversely affect our profitability. Furthermore, while we attempt to manage overall labor costs in the most efficient way, our efforts to manage them may have limited effectiveness and may lead to increased turnover and other challenges.
Failure to maintain effective internal control over our financial reporting could have an adverse effect on our ability to report our financial results on a timely and accurate basis.
We are required to produce our consolidated financial statements in accordance with the requirements of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports, to help mitigate the risk of fraud and to operate successfully. We are required by federal securities laws to document and test our internal control procedures in order to satisfy the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
Testing and maintaining our internal control over financial reporting can be expensive and divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to our business. We may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with applicable law, or our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to issue an unqualified attestation report if we conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, or our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide us with an unqualified attestation report on our internal control, we could be required to take costly and time-consuming corrective measures, be required to restate the affected historical financial statements, be subjected to investigations and/or sanctions by federal and state securities regulators, and be subjected to civil lawsuits by security holders. Any of the foregoing could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and in us and would likely result in a decline in the market price of our stock and in our ability to raise additional financing if needed in the future.
Our revenues may fluctuate due to weather.
We have a significant number of clinics in states that normally experience snow and ice during the winter months. Also, a significant number of our clinics are located in states along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast which are subject to periodic winter storms, hurricanes and other severe storm systems. Periods of severe weather may cause physical damage to our facilities or prevent our staff or patients from traveling to our clinics, which may cause a decrease in our net operating revenues.
We operate in a highly competitive industry.
We encounter competition from local, regional or national entities, some of which have superior resources or other competitive advantages. Intense competition may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. For a more complete description of this competitive environment, see “Business—Competition” in Item 1. An adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations may require us to write-downwrite down goodwill.
We may incur closure costs and losses.
The competitive, economic or reimbursement conditions in our markets in which we operate may require us to reorganize or to close certain clinics. In the event a clinic is reorganized or closed, we may incur losses and closure costs. The closure costs and losses may include, but are not limited to, lease obligations, severance, and write-down or write-off of goodwill and other intangible assets.
Future acquisitions may use significant resources, may be unsuccessful and could expose us to unforeseen liabilities.
As part of our growth strategy, we intend to continue pursuing acquisitions of outpatient physical therapy clinics.clinics and industrial injury prevention services businesses. Acquisitions may involve significant cash expenditures, potential debt incurrence and operational losses, dilutive issuances of equity securities and expenses that could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including:
the difficulty and expense of integrating acquired personnel into our business;
the diversion of management’s time from existing operations;operations;
the potential loss of key employees of acquired companies;
the difficulty of assignment and/or procurement of managed care contractual arrangements; and
the assumption of the liabilities and exposure to unforeseen liabilities of acquired companies, including liabilities for failure to comply with healthcare regulations.
Employer and other contracted customers may terminate their relationship with us which could adversely affect the business.In our industrial injury prevention services business, we perform services for large employers and their employees pursuant to contracts and other services agreement. These contracts and other services agreements are able to be terminated by the employer-clients on little or short notice, and either a breach or termination of those contractual arrangements by such clients could cause operating results to be less than expected. Similarly, in our rehabilitation business, we have management and other services agreements with hospitals, physician groups and other ancillary providers; either a breach or termination of those contractual arrangements by such clients could cause operating results to be less than expected.Risks related to our common stockIssuance of shares in connection with financing transactions or under stock incentive plans will dilute current stockholders.Pursuant to our stock incentive plans, our Compensation Committee of the Board, consisting solely of independent directors, is authorized to grant stock awards to our employees, directors and consultants. Shareholders will incur dilution upon the exercise of any outstanding stock awards or the grant of any restricted stock. In addition, if we raise additional funds by issuing additional common stock, or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for common stock, further dilution to our existing stockholders will result, and new investors could have rights superior to existing stockholders.21
The number of shares of our common stock eligible for future sale could adversely affect the market price of our stock.
stock.
At December 31, 2019,2021, we had reserved approximately 300,000172,600 shares for future equity grants. We may issue additional restricted securities or register additional shares of common stock under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in the future. The issuance of a significant number of shares of common stock upon the exercise of stock options or the availability for sale, or sale, of a substantial number of the shares of common stock eligible for future sale under effective registration statements, under Rule 144 or otherwise, could adversely affect the market price of the common stock.
Provisions in our articles of incorporation and bylaws could delay or prevent a change in control of our company, even if that change would be beneficial to our stockholders.
Certain provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws may delay, discourage, prevent or render more difficult an attempt to obtain control of our company, whether through a tender offer, business combination, proxy contest or otherwise. These provisions include the charter authorization of “blank check” preferred stock and a restriction on the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting.
| ITEM 1B. | UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None
We lease the properties used for our clinics under non-cancelable operating leases with terms ranging from one to five years, with the exception of the property for one clinic which we own. We intend to lease the premises for any new clinic locations except in rare instances where leasing is not a cost-effective alternative. Our typical clinic occupies 1,000 to There are 17 clinics occupying space in the range of over 7,000 square feet to 13,500 square feet. We also lease our executive offices located in Houston, Texas, under a non-cancelable operating lease expiring in February 2028. We currently lease approximately 44,000 square feet of space (including allocations for common areas) at our executive offices.
We are a party to various legal actions, proceedings, and claims (some of which are not insured), and regulatory and other governmental audits and investigations in the ordinary course of our business. We cannot predict the ultimate outcome of pending litigation, proceedings, and regulatory and other governmental audits and investigations. These matters could potentially subject us to sanctions, damages, recoupments, fines, and other penalties. The Department of Justice, CMS, or other federal and state enforcement and regulatory agencies may conduct additional investigations related to our businesses in the future that may, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations, and liquidity. Healthcare providers are subject to lawsuits under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act. Qui tam lawsuits typically remain under seal for some time while the government decides whether or not to intervene on behalf of a private qui tam plaintiff (known as a relator) and take the lead in the litigation. These lawsuits can involve significant monetary damages and penalties and award bounties to private plaintiffs who successfully bring the suits. We
Settlement of a Legal Matter On August 19, 2019, we received notice of a qui tam lawsuit (“the Complaint”) filed by a relator on behalf of the United States, titled U.S. ex rel. Bonnie Elsdon, v. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc., U.S. Physical Therapy, Ltd., Rehab Partners #2, Inc., The Hale Hand Center, Limited Partnership (the “Hale Partnership”), and Suzanne
former employee of The Hale Hand Center, Limited Partnership (“Hale Partnership”), a majority-owned subsidiary of the Company, on May 25, 2018. The U.S Government declined to intervene in the case and unsealed the Complaint on July 17, 2019. The Complaint On October 3, 2019, we filed Motions to Dismiss based on numerous grounds on behalf of each of the named defendants. On October 29, 2019, the plaintiff-relator dismissed three of the named defendants, Rehab Partners #2, Inc., U.S. Physical Therapy, Ltd., and Suzanne Hale. The Motions to Dismiss In January 2022, to avoid the
Not Applicable. PART II
Our common stock has traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) since August 14, 2012 under the symbol “USPH.” Prior to that, our common stock was traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “USPH”. As of DIVIDENDS On February
FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GRAPH The performance graph and related description shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or under the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate this information by reference. In addition, the performance graph and the related description shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C. On August 14, 2012, our common stock began trading on NYSE. The following performance graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return of our common stock to The NYSE Composite Index and the NYSE Health Care Index for the period from December 31, Comparison of Five Years Cumulative Total Return for the Year Ended December 31,
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Our Business. Our reportable segments include the physical therapy operations segment and the industrial injury prevention services segment. Through our subsidiaries, we operate outpatient physical therapy clinics that provide
During the last three years we
Besides the multi-clinic acquisitions referenced in the
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we sold two clinics. The We intend to continue to pursue additional acquisition opportunities, develop new clinics and open satellite clinics. Impact of COVID-19 As previously disclosed in a series of filings with the SEC and further described in detail in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first three quarters of 2020 and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, our results were negatively impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. For the 2021 period as compared to the 2020 period, the increase in revenues and expenses are primarily due to our business returning to and now exceeding pre-pandemic results. We have put preparedness plans in place at our facilities to maintain continuity of operations, while also taking steps to keep employees and patients safe. In line with recommendations to reduce large gatherings and increase social distancing, we continue to allow a large number of office-based employees to work remotely. We are monitoring the situation and will adjust work environments accordingly. In March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act provides numerous tax provisions and other stimulus measures, including temporary changes regarding the prior and future utilization of net operating losses, temporary changes to the prior and future limitations on interest deductions, temporary suspension of certain payment requirements for the employer portion of Social Security taxes, technical corrections from prior tax legislation for tax depreciation of certain qualified improvement property, and the creation of certain payroll tax credits associated with the retention of employees. We have received a number of benefits under the CARES Act including, but not limited to: The CARES Act allowed for qualified healthcare providers to receive advanced payments under the existing Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Program (“MAAPP funds”) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this program, healthcare providers could choose to receive advanced payments for future Medicare services provided. We applied for and received approval to receive MAAP funds from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) in April 2020. We recorded the $14.1 million in advance payments received as a liability. During the quarter ended March 31, 2021, we repaid the MAAPP funds of $14.1 million rather than applying them to future services performed. We elected to defer depositing the employer’s share of Social Security taxes for payments due from March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2020, interest-free and penalty-free. In December 2021, we paid $4.1 million related to these deferred payments. As of December 31, 2021, $4.2 million related to these deferred payments is included in accrued liabilities. The CARES Act provided additional waivers, reimbursement, grants and other funds to assist health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including $100.0 billion in appropriations for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, also referred to as the Provider Relief Fund, to be used for preventing, preparing, and responding to the coronavirus, and for reimbursing eligible health care providers for lost revenues and health care related expenses that are attributable to COVID-19. For the years ended December 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the Company’s consolidated subsidiaries recorded income of approximately $4.6 million and $13.5 million, respectively, of payments under the CARES Act (“Relief Funds”). Under the Company’s accounting policy, these payments were recorded as Other income – Relief Funds. These funds are not required to be repaid upon attestation and compliance with certain terms and conditions, which could change materially based on evolving grant compliance provisions and guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, the Company can attest and comply with the terms and conditions. We will continue to monitor the evolving guidelines and may record adjustments as additional information is released.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES Critical accounting policies are those that have a significant impact on our results of operations and financial position involving significant estimates requiring our judgment. Our critical accounting policies are: Revenue Recognition. Revenues are recognized in the period in which services are rendered. Net patient Management contract Revenues from the industrial injury prevention services business, which are also included in other revenues in the consolidated statements of net income, are derived from onsite services we provide to clients’ employees including injury prevention, rehabilitation, ergonomic assessments and performance optimization. Revenue from the industrial injury prevention services business is recognized when obligations under the terms of the contract are satisfied. Revenues are recognized at an amount equal to the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for providing injury prevention services to Additionally, other
We implemented
For ASC 606, there is an implied contract between us and the patient upon each patient visit. Separate contractual arrangements exist between us and We determine allowances for The following table details the revenue related to the various
The following table sets forth information regarding our patient accounts receivable as of the dates indicated (in thousands):
The following table presents our patient accounts receivable aging by payor class as of the dates indicated (in thousands):
Goodwill. The fair value of goodwill and
We operate a services business, as a separate reporting unit. As part of the impairment analysis, we are first required to assess qualitatively if we can conclude whether goodwill is more likely than not impaired. If goodwill is more likely than not impaired, we are then required to complete a quantitative analysis of whether a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount. In evaluating whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, we consider relevant events or circumstances that affect the fair value or carrying amount of a reporting unit. We consider both the income and market approach in determining the fair value of its reporting units when performing a quantitative analysis. An impairment loss generally would be recognized when the carrying amount of the net assets of a reporting unit, inclusive of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets, exceeds the estimated fair value of the reporting unit. The For our annual assessment of goodwill, we December 31, 2021. Redeemable Non-Controlling On the date we acquire a controlling interest in a partnership and the limited partnership agreement for such partnerships contains redemption rights not under our control, the fair value of the non-controlling interest is recorded in the consolidated balance sheet under the
statements of income, current accounting rules require that we reflect the adjustments, net of tax, in the earnings per share calculation. The amount of net income attributable to redeemable non-controlling interest owners is included in consolidated net income on the face of the consolidated statement of income Effective December 31, 2017, we entered into amendments to our limited partnership agreements for our acquired partnerships replacing the mandatory redemption feature. No monetary consideration was paid to the partners to amend the agreements. The amended limited partnership agreements provide that, upon the triggering events, we have a Call Right and the selling entity or individual has a Put Right for the purchase and sale of the limited partnership interest held by the partner. Once triggered, the Put Right and the Call Right do not expire, even upon an individual partner’s death, and contain no mandatory redemption feature. The purchase price of the partner’s limited partnership interest upon the exercise of either the Put Right or the Call Right is calculated per the terms of the respective agreements. We accounted for the amendment of the limited partnership agreements as an extinguishment of the outstanding mandatorily redeemable non-controlling interests, which were classified as liabilities, through the issuance of new redeemable non-controlling interests classified in temporary equity. Pursuant to Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 470-50-40-2, we removed the outstanding liabilities at their carrying amounts, recognized the new temporary equities at their fair value, and recorded no gain or loss on extinguishment as management believes the redemption value (i.e. the carrying amount) and fair value are the same. In summary, the redemption values of the mandatorily redeemable non-controlling interest (previously classified as liabilities) were reclassified as redeemable non-controlling interest (temporary equity) at fair value on the December 31, 2017, consolidated balance sheet. Non-Controlling SELECTED OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA The following table and discussion
The following table presents selected operating and financial data, used by management as key indicators of our operating performance:
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
2021 COMPARED TO For 2021, the net income attributable to our shareholders was $40.8 million
For
The above Operating Results
Reported total revenue Reported total revenue for 2021 increased $72.1 million, or 17.0% to $495.0 million as compared to $423.0 million for 2020. See table below for a detail of reported total revenue (in thousands):
Net patient Net patient revenue from physical therapy operations increased $65.0 million, or 17.4%, to The average net patient revenue per visit $105.66 for 2020, including all clinics operational during such periods. Total patient visits Net patient revenues are based on established billing rates less allowances and discounts for patients covered by contractual programs and workers’ compensation. Net patient revenues reflect contractual and other adjustments, which we evaluate monthly, relating to patient discounts from certain payors. Payments received under these contractual programs and workers’ compensation are based on predetermined rates and are generally less than the established billing rates of the clinics.
Other
Other revenue the acquisition of an industrial injury prevention services business on November 30, 2021. Operating cost Total operating cost, excluding closure costs,
Closure costs in 2020 were $3.9 million, which includes estimates of remaining lease obligations, derecognition of goodwill and Operating Salaries and related costs increased to 2020. Salaries and related costs for physical therapy operations were $57.81 per visit in 2021 as compared to $58.10 per visit in 2020, a decrease of 0.5%. See table below for a detail of salaries and related costs (in thousands):
Operating Rent, supplies, contract labor and other costs increased to 2020. Rent, supplies, contract labor and other costs for physical therapy operations were $20.63 per visit in 2021 as compared to $22.37 per visit in 2020, a decrease of 7.8%. See table below for a detail of rent, supplies, contract labor and other costs (in thousands):
Operating Credit Losses The provision for
The average accounts receivable days outstanding were Gross Profit Gross profit, 2020. See table below for details on gross profit, excluding closure costs (a non-GAAP measure) (in thousands) and a reconciliation against Gross Profit (in thousands):
Corporate Office Costs Corporate office costs Operating Income Operating income for 2021 was $70.6 million, an increase of $18.2 million, or 34.8%, as compared to $52.4 million for Other Income—Relief Funds Relief Funds recognized in other income were
Other Income - Resolution of a Payor Matter and Other Expense – Other income for the 2021 Year includes $1.2 million of income related to the positive resolution of a payor matter and other expense includes a $2.6 million increase in a reserve related to a settlement of a legal matter. In January 2022, the Company paid $2.75 million related to this matter. Interest Interest expense—debt and other was
Provision for Income Taxes The provision for income tax thousands):
Net Income Attributable to Non-controlling
Net income attributable to redeemable non-controlling
for 2020. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES We believe that our business is generating sufficient cash flow from operating activities to allow us to meet our short-term and long-term cash requirements, other than those with respect to future significant acquisitions. At December 31, Effective December 5, 2013, we entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with a commitment for a $125.0 million revolving credit facility. This agreement was amended in August 2015, January 2016, March 2017, November 2017, January 2021, and November The 2021 amendment to the Amended Credit Agreement allows for cash and noncash consideration for acquisitions permitted under the Amended Credit Agreement of up to $50,000,000 for any fiscal year, and allows for payments in cash dividends to shareholders in an aggregate amount not to exceed $50,000,000 in any fiscal year. The Amended Credit Agreement is unsecured and includes certain financial covenants which include a consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio and a consolidated leverage ratio, as defined in the agreement. The Amended Credit Agreement is unsecured and has loan covenants, including requirements that we comply with a consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio and consolidated leverage ratio. Proceeds from the Amended Credit Agreement may be used for working capital, acquisitions, purchases of our common stock, dividend payments to our common stockholders, capital expenditures and other corporate purposes. The pricing grid is based on our consolidated leverage ratio with the applicable spread over LIBOR ranging from 1.25% to 2.0% or the applicable spread over the Base Rate ranging from 0.1% to 1%. Fees under the Amended Credit Agreement include an unused commitment fee ranging from 0.25% to 0.3% depending on our consolidated leverage ratio and the amount of funds outstanding under the Amended Credit Agreement.
On December 31, Cash
. On December 31, 2021, we acquired a 75% interest in a three-clinic physical therapy practice with the practice founder retaining 25%. The purchase price for the 75% interest was approximately $3.7 million, of which $3.5 million was paid in cash and $0.2 million in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on December 31, 2023. On November 30, 2021, we acquired an approximate 70% interest in a leading provider of industrial injury prevention services. The previous owners retained the remaining interest. The initial purchase price for the 70% equity interest, not inclusive of the $2.0 million contingent payment in conjunction with the acquisition if specified future operational objectives are met, was approximately $63.2 million, of which $62.2 million was paid in cash, and $1.0 million is in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% and the principal and interest is payable on November 30, 2023. The business generates approximately $27.0 million in annual revenue at a margin of approximately 20%. As part of the transaction, we also agreed to the potential future purchase of a separate company under the same ownership that provides physical therapy and rehabilitation services to hospitals and other ancillary providers in a distinct market area. The current owners have the right to put this transaction to us in approximately five years, with such right having a $3.5 million fair value at December 31, 2021, as reflected on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet in Other long-term liabilities. The value of this right will be adjusted in future periods, as appropriate, with any change in fair value reflected in the Company’s consolidated statement of income. On September 30, 2021, we acquired a company that specializes in return-to-work and ergonomic services, among other offerings. The business generates more than $2.0 million in annual revenue. We acquired the company’s assets at a purchase price of approximately $3.3 million (which includes the obligation to pay an amount up to $0.6 million in contingent payment consideration in conjunction with the acquisition if specified future operational objectives are met) and contributed those assets to our industrial injury prevention services subsidiary. The initial purchase price, not inclusive of the $0.6 million contingent payment, was approximately $2.7 million, of which $2.4 million was paid in cash, and $0.3 million is in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on September 30, 2023. On June 30, 2021, we acquired a 65% interest in an eight-clinic physical therapy practice with the previous owners retaining 35%. The purchase price was approximately $10.3 million, of which $9.0 million was paid in cash, $1.0 million is payable based on the achievement of certain business criteria and $0.3 million is in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on June 30, 2023. Additionally, we have an obligation to pay an additional amount up to $0.8 million in contingent payment consideration in conjunction with the acquisition if specified future operational objectives are met. We recorded acquisition-date fair value of this contingent liability based on the likelihood of the contingent earn-out payment. The earn-out payment will subsequently be remeasured to fair value each reporting date. On March 31, 2021, we acquired a 70% interest in a five-clinic physical therapy practice with the previous owners retaining 30%. When acquired, the practice was developing a sixth clinic which has been completed. The purchase price for the 70% interest was approximately $12.0 million, of which $11.7 million was paid in cash and $0.3 million in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on March 31, 2023. On November 30, 2020, we acquired a 75% interest in a three-clinic physical therapy practice with the previous owners retaining 25%. The purchase price for the 75% interest was $8.9 million (net of cash acquired), of which $8.6 million was paid in cash and $0.3 million in the form of a note payable that is payable in two principal installments totaling $162,500 each. The first principal payment plus accrued interest was paid in November 2021 with the second installment to be paid in November 2022. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum. On September 30, 2020, we acquired a 70% interest in an entity which holds six management contracts that have been in place for a number of years and had five years remaining on their term as of the acquisition date. The previous owners retained the remaining 30%. The purchase price for the 70% interest was approximately $4.2 million, with $3.7 million payable in cash and $0.5 million in notes payable. One of the notes payable of $0.2 million was paid in September 2021 and the note of $0.3 million was paid in November 2020. On February 27, 2020, we acquired interests in a four-clinic physical therapy practice. The four clinics are operated in four separate partnerships. The Company’s interests in the four partnerships range from 10.0% to 83.8%, with an overall 65.0% based on the initial purchase transaction. The aggregate purchase price was $11.9 million, of which $11.6 million was paid in cash and $0.3 million in the form of a seller note. The note accrues interest at 4.75% per annum and the principal and interest was paid in February 2022. On September 30, 2019, we acquired a 67% interest in an eleven-clinic physical therapy
On April 11, 2019, we acquired a company that is a provider of industrial injury prevention services. The acquired company specializes in delivering injury prevention and care, post offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations and return-to-work services. It performs these services across a network
April 2021. Historically, we have generated sufficient cash from operations to fund our development activities and to cover operational needs. We plan to continue developing new clinics and making additional acquisitions. We have from time to time purchased the non-controlling interests of limited partners in our Clinic Partnerships. We may purchase additional non-controlling interests in the future. Generally, any acquisition or purchase of non-controlling interests is expected to be accomplished using a combination of cash and financing. Any large acquisition would likely require financing. We make reasonable and appropriate efforts to collect accounts receivable, including applicable deductible and co-payment amounts. Claims are submitted to payors daily, weekly or monthly in accordance with our policy or payor’s requirements. When possible, we submit our claims electronically. The collection process is time consuming and typically involves the submission of claims to multiple payors whose payment of claims may be dependent upon the payment of another payor. Claims under litigation and vehicular incidents can take a year or longer to collect. Medicare and other payor claims relating to new clinics awaiting CMS approval initially may not be submitted for six months or more. When all reasonable internal collection efforts have been exhausted, accounts are written off prior to sending them to outside collection firms. With managed care, commercial health plans and self-pay payor type receivables, the write-off generally occurs after the account receivable has been outstanding for 120 days or longer.
We have future obligations for debt repayments, employment agreements and future minimum rentals under operating leases. The obligations as of December 31,
We generally enter into various notes payable as a means of financing our acquisitions. Our present outstanding notes payable primarily relate to the The
The limited partnership agreements, as amended, provide that, upon the triggering events, we have a Call Right and the selling entity or individual has a Put Right for the purchase and sale of the limited partnership interest held by the partner. Once triggered, the Put Right and the Call Right do not expire, even upon an individual partner’s death, and contain no mandatory redemption feature. The purchase price of the partner’s limited partnership interest upon the exercise of either the Put Right or the Call Right is calculated per the terms of the respective agreements and classified as redeemable non-controlling interest (temporary equity) in our consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of the redeemable non-controlling interest at December 31, As of December 31, 2022. From September 2001 through December 31, 2008, our Board of Directors (“Board”) authorized us to purchase, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, up to 2,250,000 shares of our common stock. In March 2009, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to 10% or approximately 1,200,000 shares of our common stock (“March 2009 Authorization”). Our Amended Credit Agreement permits share repurchases of up to $15,000,000 in the aggregate, subject to compliance with covenants. We are required to retire shares purchased under the March 2009 Authorization. There is no expiration date for the share repurchase program. As of December 31,
We have an investment in a joint venture that is accounted for using the accounting. FACTORS AFFECTING FUTURE RESULTS The risks related to our business and operations include: the multiple effects of the impact of public health crises and epidemics/pandemics, such as the COVID-19 and its variants, for which the total financial magnitude cannot be currently estimated; changes in Medicare rules and guidelines and reimbursement or failure of our clinics to maintain their Medicare certification and/or enrollment status;
revenue we receive from Medicare and Medicaid being subject to potential retroactive reduction; changes in the deductibles and co-pays owed by patients; compliance with federal and state laws and regulations relating to the privacy of individually identifiable patient information, and associated fines and penalties for failure to comply; competitive, economic or reimbursement conditions in our markets which may require us to reorganize or close certain clinics and thereby incur losses and/or closure costs including the possible write-down or write-off of goodwill and other intangible the impact of COVID-19 related vaccination and/or testing mandates at the federal, state and/or local level, which could have an adverse impact on staffing, revenue, costs and the results of operations: changes as the result of government enacted national healthcare reform; business and regulatory conditions including federal and state regulations; governmental and other third party payor inspections, reviews, investigations and audits, which may result in sanctions or reputational harm and increased costs; revenue and earnings expectations; legal actions, which could subject us to increased operating costs and uninsured liabilities; general economic conditions; availability and cost of qualified physical therapists; personnel productivity and retaining key personnel; competitive environment in the industrial injury prevention services business, which could result in the termination or non-renewal of contractual service arrangements and other adverse financial consequences for that service line; acquisitions, impact on the business and cash reserves resulting from retirement or resignation of key partners and resulting purchase of their non-controlling interest (minority interests); maintaining our information technology systems with adequate safeguards to protect against cyber-attacks; a security breach of our or our third party vendors’ information technology systems may subject us to potential legal action and reputational harm and may result in a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act; maintaining clients for which we perform management and other services, as a breach or termination of those contractual arrangements by such clients could cause operating results to be less than expected; maintaining adequate internal controls; maintaining necessary insurance coverage; availability, terms, and use of capital; and weather and other seasonal factors. See also Risk Factors in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We do not maintain any derivative instruments such as interest rate swap arrangements, hedging contracts, futures contracts or the like. Our only indebtedness as of December 31,
Board of Directors and Shareholders U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. Opinion on the financial statements We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (a Nevada corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31,
Basis for opinion These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence Critical audit matters The critical audit they relate. Measurement of Patient Revenue Net of Contractual Adjustments As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, revenues are recognized in the period in which services are rendered. Net patient revenues (patient revenues less estimated contractual adjustments) are recognized at the estimated net realizable amounts from third-party payors, patients and others in exchange for services rendered when obligations under the terms of the contract are satisfied. The Company has agreements
with third-party payors that provides for payments at amounts different from its established rates. Each month the Company estimates its contractual adjustment for each clinic based on the terms of third-party payor contracts and the historical collection and write-off experience of the clinic and applies a contractual adjustment reserve percentage to the gross accounts receivable balances. The Company then performs a comparison of cash collections to corresponding net revenues for the prior twelve months. We identified the measurement of contractual adjustments as a critical audit matter. The principal consideration for our determination that the measurement of contractual adjustments is a critical audit matter is that the estimate requires a high degree of auditor subjectivity in evaluating management’s assumptions related to developing future collection patterns across the various clinic locations. Our audit procedures related to the Company’s measurement of contractual adjustments included the following, among others. We tested the design and operating effectiveness of controls relating to billing and cash collection, net rate trend analysis by clinic and cash collection versus net revenue trend analysis. For a sample of patient visits, we inspected and compared underlying documents for each transaction, which included gross billing rates and cash collected (net revenue). For a sample of patient visits, we traced gross billings and net revenue to net revenue recorded in the general ledger and to each report used in determining and assessing the contractual adjustment calculation. We compared cash collections to recorded net revenue over a twelve month period ending December 31, /s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2004. Houston, Texas March 1, 2022 REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM Board of Directors and Shareholders U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. Opinion on internal control over financial reporting We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (a Nevada corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended December 31, Basis for opinion The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. Our audit of, and opinion on, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting does not include the internal control over financial reporting of the acquisition made in November 2021 (“Acquired Entity”), whose financial statements reflect total assets and revenues constituting 13.3% and 0.4%, respectively, of the related consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021. As indicated in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, the Acquired Entity was acquired on November 30, 2021. Management’s assertion of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting excluded internal control over financial reporting of the Acquired Entity. Definition and limitations of internal control over financial reporting A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
U.S. PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
U.S. PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
(In thousands)
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
U.S. PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
See notes to consolidated financial statements.
U.S. PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 2019 1. Organization, Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. and its The Company operates its business through 2 reportable business segments. The Company’s reportable segments include the physical therapy operations segment and the industrial injury prevention services segment. The Company’s physical therapy operations consist of physical therapy and occupational therapy clinics that provide pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventive care, rehabilitation of injured workers and neurological injuries. Services provided by the industrial injury prevention services segment include onsite injury prevention and rehabilitation, performance optimization and ergonomic assessments. Prior to the second quarter of 2020, the Company operated as a single segment. All prior year segment information has been reclassified to conform to the current segment presentation. See Note 12 - Segment Information. During the last three years we completed the acquisitions of 7 multi-clinic practices and 3 industrial injury prevention businesses as detailed below.
Physical Therapy Operations The physical therapy operations segment primarily operates through subsidiary clinic partnerships, in which the Company generally owns a 1% general partnership interest The Company continues to seek to attract for employment physical therapists who have established relationships with physicians and other referral sources, by offering these therapists a competitive salary and incentives based on the profitability of the clinic that they manage. For multi-site clinic practices in which a controlling interest is acquired by the Company, the prior owners typically continue on as employees to manage the clinic operations, retain a non-controlling ownership interest in the clinics and receive a competitive salary for managing the clinic operations. In addition, the Company has developed satellite clinic facilities as part of existing Clinic Partnerships and Wholly-Owned Facilities, with the result that a substantial number of Clinic Partnerships and Wholly-Owned Facilities operate more than 1 clinic location. Besides the multi-clinic acquisitions referenced in the table above, during 2021and 2020, we purchased the assets and business of 5 and 3 physical therapy clinics, respectively, in separate transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold 2 clinics. The aggregate sales price was $0.1 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we sold 14 previously closed clinics. The aggregate sales price was $1.1 million, of which $0.7 million was paid in cash and $0.4 million in a note receivable due in 2 equal installments of principal and any accrued interest. The first payment was received in June 2021 and the next payment is due on June 15, 2022. Clinic Partnerships For non-acquired Clinic Partnerships, the earnings and liabilities attributable to the non-controlling interests, typically owned by the managing therapist, directly or indirectly, are recorded within the balance sheets and income statements as non-controlling
—temporary equity. Wholly-Owned Facilities For Wholly-Owned Facilities with profit sharing arrangements, an appropriate accrual is recorded for the amount of profit sharing due the clinic partners/directors. The amount is expensed as compensation and included in clinic operating costs—salaries and related costs. The respective liability is included in current liabilities—accrued expenses on the consolidated balance sheets. Industrial Injury Prevention Services Services provided in the industrial injury prevention services segment include onsite injury prevention and rehabilitation, performance optimization, post offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations, and ergonomic assessments. The majority of these services are contracted with and paid for directly by employers, including a number of Fortune 500 companies. Other clients include large insurers and their contractors. The Company performs these services through Industrial Sports Medicine Professionals, consisting of both physical therapists and specialized certified athletic trainers (ATCs). Impact of COVID-19 As previously disclosed in a series of filings with the SEC and further described in detail in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first three quarters of 2020 and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company’s results were negatively impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. For 2021 periods as compared to 2020 periods, the increase in revenues and expenses are primarily due to the Company returning to and now exceeding pre-pandemic results. The Company has put preparedness plans in place at our facilities to maintain continuity of operations, while also taking steps to keep employees and patients safe. In line with recommendations to reduce large gatherings and increase social distancing, the Company has continued to allow a large number of office-based employees to work remotely. The Company is continuing to monitor the situation and will adjust work environments accordingly. In March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act provides numerous tax provisions and other stimulus measures, including temporary changes regarding the prior and future utilization of net operating losses, temporary changes to the prior and future limitations on interest deductions, temporary suspension of certain payment requirements for the employer portion of Social Security taxes, technical corrections from prior tax legislation for tax depreciation of certain qualified improvement property, and the creation of certain payroll tax credits associated with the retention of employees. Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program (“MAAPP Funds”) In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act allowed for qualified healthcare providers to receive advanced payments under the MAAPP Funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this program, healthcare providers could choose to receive advanced payments for future Medicare services provided. The Company applied for and received approval from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) in April 2020. The Company recorded the $14.1 million in advance payments received as a liability. During the first quarter of 2021, the Company repaid the MAAPP Funds of $14.1 million rather than applying them to future services performed.
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was enacted. The CARES Act provided additional waivers, reimbursement, grants and other funds to assist health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including $100.0 billion in appropriations for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, also referred to as the Provider Relief Fund, to be used for preventing, preparing, and responding to the coronavirus, and for reimbursing eligible health care providers for lost revenues and health care related expenses that are attributable to COVID-19. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company’s consolidated subsidiaries recorded income of approximately $4.6 million and $13.5 million, respectively, from payments under the CARES Act (“Relief Funds”). Under the Company’s accounting policy, these payments were recorded as Other income – Relief Funds. These funds are not required to be repaid upon attestation and compliance with certain terms and conditions, which could change materially based on evolving grant compliance provisions and guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, the Company can attest and comply with the terms and conditions. The Company will continue to monitor the evolving guidelines and may record adjustments as additional information is released. 2. Significant Accounting Policies Cash Equivalents The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalents at financial institutions. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The combined account balances at several institutions typically exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance coverage and, as a result, there is a concentration of credit risk related to amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurance coverage. Management believes that this risk is not significant. Long-Lived Assets Fixed assets are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Estimated useful lives for furniture and equipment range from three to eight years and for software purchased from three to seven years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the related lease term or estimated useful lives of the assets, which is generally three to five years. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Long-Lived Assets to Be Disposed Of The Company reviews property and equipment and intangible assets with finite lives for impairment upon the occurrence of certain events or circumstances that indicate the related amounts may be impaired. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. Investment in unconsolidated affiliate Investments in unconsolidated joint ventures in which the Company has less than a controlling interest, are accounted for under the equity method of accounting and, accordingly, are adjusted for capital contributions, distributions and the Company’s equity in net earnings or loss of the respective joint venture. Goodwill Goodwill represents the excess of the amount paid and fair value of the non-controlling interests over the fair value of the acquired business assets, which include certain identifiable intangible assets. Historically, goodwill has been derived from acquisitions and, prior to 2009, from the purchase of some or all of a particular local management’s equity interest in an existing clinic. Effective January 1, 2009, if the purchase price of a non-controlling interest by the Company exceeds or is less than the book value at the time of purchase, any excess or shortfall is recognized as an adjustment to additional paid-in capital. Goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized but are instead subject to periodic impairment evaluations. The fair value of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets with indefinite lives are The Company operates a As part of the impairment analysis, the Company is first required to assess qualitatively if it can conclude whether goodwill is more likely than not impaired. If goodwill is more likely than not impaired, the Company is then required to complete a quantitative analysis of whether a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount. In evaluating whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the Company considers relevant events or circumstances that affect the fair value or carrying amount of a reporting unit. The Company considers both the income and market approach in determining the fair value of its reporting units when performing a quantitative analysis. An impairment loss generally would be recognized when the carrying amount of the net assets of a reporting unit, inclusive of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets, exceeds the estimated fair value of the reporting unit. The
As part of the annual assessment, the Company The Company will continue to monitor for any triggering events or other indicators of impairment.
Redeemable Non-Controlling Interest The non-controlling On the date the Company acquires a controlling interest in a partnership, and the limited partnership agreement for such partnership contains redemption rights not under the control of the Company, the fair value of the non-controlling interest is recorded in the consolidated balance sheet under the
Non-Controlling
The Company recognizes non-controlling When the purchase price of a non-controlling interest by the Company exceeds the book value at the time of purchase, any excess or shortfall is recognized as an adjustment to additional paid-in capital. Additionally, operating losses are allocated to non-controlling interests even when such allocation creates a deficit balance for the non-controlling interest partner. Revenue Recognition In May 2014, March 2016, April 2016, and December 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, Principal versus Agent Considerations, ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, Narrow Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, and ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customer (collectively the “standards”), respectively, which supersede most of the current revenue recognition requirements (“ASC 606”). The core principle of the new guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The Company implemented the new standards beginning January 1, 2018 using a modified retrospective transition method. The principal change relates to how the new standard requires healthcare providers to estimate the amount of variable consideration to be included in the transaction price up to an amount which is probable that a significant reversal will not occur. The most common forms of variable consideration the Company experiences are amounts for services provided that are ultimately not realizable from a customer. There were no changes to revenues or other revenues upon implementation. Under the new standards, the Company’s estimate for unrealizable amounts will continue to be recognized as a reduction to revenue. The bad debt expense historically reported will not materially change. For ASC 606, there is an implied contract between us and the patient upon each patient visit. Separate contractual arrangements exist between us and The following table details the revenue related to the various
Patient revenue Revenues are recognized in the period in which services are rendered. Net patient Medicare Reimbursement The Medicare program reimburses outpatient rehabilitation providers based on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”). For services provided in 2017 through 2019, a In the 2020 MPFS Final Rule, CMS revised coding, documentation guidelines, and increased the code values for office/outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) codes and cuts to other codes to maintain budget neutrality of the MPFS beginning in 2021. Under the 2021 MPFS Final Rule, CMS increased the values for the E/M office visit codes and cuts to other specialty codes to maintain budget neutrality. As a result, CMS projected a 9% decrease in fee schedule payment rates for therapy services set to take effect in 2021. However, Congress intervened with passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and reimbursement for the codes applicable to physical/occupational therapy services provided by our clinics received an estimated 3.5% decrease in the aggregate in payment from Medicare in calendar year 2021 as compared to 2020. In the 2022 MPFS Final Rule published on November 2, 2021, there was to be an approximately 3.75% reduction to Medicare payments for physical/occupational therapy services. This was due to the expiration of the additional funding to the conversion factor provided by Congress in 2021 In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 includes reductions in Medicare payment rates of approximately 3% in each of calendar years 2023 and 2024, unless regulatory or Congressional action results in modifications to 2022. The Budget Control Act of 2011 increased the federal debt ceiling in connection with deficit reductions over the next ten years and requires automatic reductions in federal spending by approximately $1.2 trillion. Payments to Medicare providers are subject to these automatic spending reductions, subject to a 2% cap. On April 1, 2013, a 2% reduction to Medicare payments was implemented. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, enacted on November 2, 2015, extended the 2% reductions to Medicare payments through fiscal year 2025. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, enacted on February 9, 2018, extends the 2% reductions to Medicare payments through fiscal year 2027.
Beginning in 2021, payments to individual therapists (Physical/Occupational Therapist in Private Practice) paid Company’s therapist providers currently participate in MIPS. Under the Under the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (“MCTRA”), since October 1, 2012, patients who met or exceeded $3,700 in therapy expenditures during a calendar year have been subject to a manual medical review to determine whether applicable payment criteria are satisfied. The $3,700 threshold is applied to Physical Therapy and Speech Language Pathology Services; a separate $3,700 threshold is applied to the Occupational Therapy. The MACRA directed
CMS adopted a multiple procedure payment reduction (“MPPR”) for therapy services in the final update to the MPFS for calendar year 2011. The MPPR applied to all outpatient therapy services paid under Medicare Part B — occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology. Under the policy, the Medicare program pays 100% of the practice expense component of the Relative Value Unit (“RVU”) for the therapy procedure with the highest practice expense RVU, then reduces the payment for the practice expense component for the second and subsequent therapy procedures or units of service furnished during the same day for the same patient, regardless of whether those therapy services are furnished in separate sessions. Medicare claims for outpatient therapy services furnished by Statutes, regulations, and payment rules governing the delivery of therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries are complex and subject to interpretation. respectively. Management Contract Revenue Management contract Industrial Injury Prevention Services Revenue Revenue from the industrial injury prevention services business, which Other Revenue Additionally, other
Contractual Allowances The allowance for estimated contractual adjustments is based on terms of payor contracts and historical collection and write-off experience. Contractual allowances result from the differences between the rates charged for services performed and expected reimbursements by both insurance companies and government sponsored healthcare programs for such services. Medicare regulations and the various 2021. Allowance for Credit Losses The Company determines allowances for Income Taxes Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company recognizes the financial statement benefit of a tax position only after determining that the relevant tax authority would more likely than not sustain the position following an audit. For tax positions meeting the more-likely-than-not threshold, the amount to be recognized in the financial statements is the largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority. The 2021.
The Company did Fair Values of Financial Instruments The carrying amounts reported in the balance sheets for cash and cash equivalents, contingent earn-out payments, accounts receivable, accounts payable and notes payable approximate their fair values due to the short-term maturity of these financial instruments. The carrying amount under the Amended Credit Agreement event LIBOR ceases to exist. The Redeemable non-controlling interest included on the consolidated balance sheets and the put right associated with the potential future purchase of the separate company in the November 2021 acquisition are both marked to fair value on a recurring basis using level 3 inputs. The redemption value of Redeemable non-controlling interests approximates the fair value. The put right associated with the potential future purchase of the separate company in the November 2021 acquisition is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model utilizing unobservable inputs such as asset volatility and discount rates. The unobservable inputs in the valuation include asset volatility of 25% and a discount rate of 8.96%. See Note 5 for the changes in the fair value of Redeemable non-controlling interest. There were no changes in the fair value of put right associated with the potential future purchase of the separate company in the November 2021 acquisition for the year ended December 31, 2021. Segment Reporting Operating segments are components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by chief operating decision makers in determining the allocation of resources and in assessing performance. The Company industrial injury prevention services. Use of Estimates In preparing the Company’s consolidated financial statements, management makes certain estimates and assumptions, especially in relation to, but not limited to, goodwill impairment, tradenames, allocations of purchase price, allowance for receivables, tax provision and contractual allowances, that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. Actual results may differ from these estimates. Self-Insurance Program The Company utilizes a self-insurance plan for its employee group health and dental insurance coverage administered by a third party. Predetermined loss limits have been arranged with the insurance company to minimize the Company’s maximum liability and cash outlay. Accrued expenses include the estimated incurred but unreported costs to settle unpaid claims and estimated future claims. Management believes that the current accrued amounts are sufficient to pay claims arising from self-insurance claims incurred through December 31, 2021. Restricted Stock Restricted stock issued to employees and directors is subject to continued employment or continued service on the board, respectively. Generally, restrictions on the stock granted to employees lapse in equal annual installments on the following four anniversaries of the date of grant. For those shares granted to directors, the restrictions will lapse in equal quarterly installments during the first year after the date of grant. For those granted to officers, the restriction will lapse in equal quarterly installments during the four years following the date of grant. Compensation expense for grants of restricted stock is recognized based on the fair value per share on the date of grant amortized over the vesting period. The Company recognizes any forfeitures as they occur. The restricted stock issued is included in basic and diluted shares for the earnings per share computation. Recently Adopted Accounting
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, which added a new impairment model (known as the current expected credit loss (CECL) model) that is based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. Under the new guidance, an entity recognizes as an allowance its estimate of expected credit losses. The CECL model applies to most debt instruments, including trade receivables. The
CECL model does not have a minimum threshold for recognition of impairment losses and entities will need to measure expected credit losses on assets that have a low risk of loss. The standard is required to be applied using the modified retrospective approach with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings, if any, upon adoption. The Company
In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (Topic 350), which eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill to measure a goodwill impairment charge. ASU 2017-04 is effective prospectively for fiscal years, and the interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company completed the adoption of the standard effective January 1, 2020 and there was no impact to goodwill from the Company’s adoption of this change. In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740)–Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”). The objective of ASU 2019-12 is to simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and to provide more consistent application to improve the comparability of financial statements. The amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and early adoption was permitted. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements. In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06 Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which simplifies the accounting for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, including convertible instruments and contracts on an entity’s own equity. As part of this update, convertible instruments are to be included in diluted earnings per share using the if-converted method, rather than the treasury stock method. Further, contracts which can be settled in cash or shares, excluding liability-classified share-based payment awards, are to be included in diluted earnings per share on an if-converted basis if the effect is dilutive, regardless of whether the entity or the counterparty can choose between cash and share settlement. The share-settlement presumption may not be rebutted based on past experience or a stated policy. This pronouncement was effective for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2021.The Board specified that an entity should adopt the guidance at the beginning of its annual fiscal year. The Company Recently Issued Accounting Guidance In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. This ASU provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the guidance on contractmodifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens of the expected market transition from LIBOR and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. The event LIBOR ceases to exist. 3. Acquisitions of Businesses During
On December 31, 2021, the Company acquired a 75% in 3-clinic physical therapy
On November 30, 2021, the Company acquired an approximate 70% interest in a leading provider of industrial injury prevention services. In each case, the previous owners retained the remaining interest. The purchase price for the approximate 70% equity interest, not inclusive of a $2.0 million contingent payment, was approximately $63.2 million of which $60.7 million was paid in cash and $1.0 million in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on November 30, 2023. As part of the transaction, the Company also agreed to the potential future purchase of a separate company under the same ownership that provides physical therapy and rehabilitation services to hospitals and other ancillary providers in a distinct market area. The current owners have the right to put this transaction to the Company in approximately five years, with such right having a $3.5 million value at December 31, 2021, as reflected on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet in Other long-term liabilities. The value of this right will be adjusted in future periods, as appropriate, with any change in value reflected in the Company’s consolidated statement of income. The Company does not currently possess more than 50% of the controlling interests in this separate company, does not control this company through contract or governance rights and currently does not exercise significant influence over this separate company. Due to the aforementioned reasons, and based on current accounting guidance, the Company did not consolidate the separate company through the variable interest or voting interest model. On September 30, 2021, the Company acquired a company that specializes in return-to-work and ergonomic services, among other offerings. The Company acquired the company’s assets at a purchase price of approximately $3.3 million (which includes the obligation to pay an amount up to $0.6 million in contingent payment consideration in conjunction with the acquisition if specified future operational objectives are met), and contributed those assets to Briotix Health. The initial purchase price, not inclusive of the $0.6 million contingent payment, was approximately $2.7 million, of which $2.4 million was paid in cash, and $0.3 million is in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on September 30, 2023. On June 30, 2021, the Company acquired a 65% interest in an 8-clinic physical therapy with the previous owners retaining 35%. The purchase price was approximately $10.3 million, of which $9.0 million was paid in cash, $1.0 million is payable based on the achievement of certain business criteria and $0.3 million is in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on June 30, 2023. Additionally, the Company has an obligation to pay an additional amount up to $0.8 million in contingent payment consideration in conjunction with the acquisition if specified future operational objectives are met. The Company recorded acquisition-date fair value of this contingent liability based on the likelihood of the contingent earn-out payment. The earn-out payment will subsequently be remeasured to fair value each reporting date. On March 31, 2021, the Company acquired a 70% interest in a 5-clinic physical therapy practice with the previous owners retaining 30%. When acquired, the practice was developing a sixth clinic which has been completed. The purchase price for the 70% interest was approximately $12.0 million, of which $11.7 million was paid in cash and $0.3 million in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum and the principal and interest is payable on March 31, 2023. The purchase price for the 2021 acquisitions has been preliminarily allocated as follows (in thousands):
*Industrial injury prevention services On November 30, 2020, the Company acquired a 75% interest in a 3-clinic physical therapy practice with the previous owners retaining 25%. The purchase price for the 75% interest was $8.9 million (net of cash acquired), of which $8.6 million was paid in cash and $0.3 million in the form of a note payable that is payable in 2 principal installments totaling $162,500 each. The first principal payment plus accrued interest was paid in November 2021 with the second installment to be paid in November 2022 totaling $162,500. The note accrues interest at 3.25% per annum. On September 30, 2020, the Company acquired a 70% interest in an entity which holds 6-management contracts that have been in place for a number of years. The purchase price for the 70% interest was approximately $4.2 million, of which $3.7 million was paid in cash and $0.5 million in the form of two notes payable. One of the notes payable of $0.3 million was paid in November 2020. The remaining note payable of $0.2 million was paid on September 30, 2021. On February 27, 2020, the Company acquired interests in a 4-clinic physical therapy practice. The 4 clinics are in 4 separate partnerships. The Company’s interests in the 4 partnerships range from 10.0% to 83.8%, with an overall 65.0% based on the initial purchase transaction. The aggregate purchase price was $11.9 million, of which $11.6 million was paid in cash and $0.3 million in the form of a note payable. The note accrues interest at 4.75% per annum and the principal and interest was paid on February 2022. The purchase price for the 2020 physical therapy operations acquisitions has been allocated as follows (in thousands):
On September 30, 2019, the Company acquired a 67% interest in an On April 11, 2019, the Company acquired a company that is a provider of industrial injury prevention services. The acquired company specializes in delivering injury prevention and care, post offer employment testing, functional capacity evaluations and return-to-work services. It performs these services across a network of 45 states including onsite at The results of operations of the acquired clinics have been included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements since the date of their respective acquisition. The Company intends to continue to pursue additional acquisition opportunities, develop new clinics and open satellite clinics.
The purchase price for the 2019 acquisitions
services
The finalized purchase prices plus the fair value of the non-controlling interests for the
For the acquisitions in For the acquisitions in For the The consideration paid for each of the acquisitions was derived through arm’s length negotiations. Funding for the cash portions was derived from proceeds from the Company’s revolving credit facility. The results of operations of the acquisitions have been included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements since their respective date of acquisition. Unaudited proforma consolidated financial information for the acquisitions in 4. Acquisitions and Sale of Non-Controlling Interests During During 2020, the Company acquired additional interests in 5 partnerships which are included in non-controlling interest. The additional interests purchased in each of the partnerships ranged from 20% to 35%. The aggregated purchase price for these acquired interests was $0.3 million. The Company also sold an interest in a partnership for $0.1 million. Also during 2020, the Company sold 14 previously closed clinics. The aggregate sales price was $1.1 million, of which $0.7 million was paid in cash and During 2019, the Company acquired additional interests in 4 partnerships which are included in non-controlling interest. The additional interests purchased in each of the partnerships ranged from 1% to 20%. Also in 2019, the Company sold a 1% interest in a partnership. The net after-tax difference between the payments and the portion of undistributed earnings of
5. Redeemable Non-Controlling Interest Therapy Practice Acquisitions Since October 2017, when the Company acquires a majority interest (the “Acquisition”) in a physical therapy clinic
The Partnership Agreement contains provisions for the redemption of the Seller Entity Interest, either at the option of the Company (the “Call Right”) or at the option of the Seller Entity (the “Put Right”) as follows:
An Employed Selling Shareholder’s ownership of his or her equity interest in the Seller Entity predates the Acquisition and the Company’s purchase of its partnership interest in NewCo. The Employment Agreement and the Non-Compete Agreement do not contain any provision to escrow or “claw back” the equity interest in the Seller Entity held by such Employed Selling Shareholder, nor the Seller Entity Interest in NewCo, in the event of a breach of the employment or non-compete terms. More specifically, even if the Employed Selling Shareholder is terminated for “cause” by NewCo, such Employed Selling Shareholder does not forfeit his or her right to his or her full equity interest in the Seller Entity and the Seller Entity does not forfeit its right to any portion of the Seller Entity Interest. The Company’s only recourse against the Employed Selling Shareholder for breach of either the Employment Agreement or the Non-Compete Agreement is to seek damages and other legal remedies under such agreements. There are no conditions in any of the arrangements with an Employed Selling Shareholder that would result in a forfeiture of the equity interest held in the Seller Entity or of the Seller Entity Interest.
On November 30, 2021, the Company acquired a majority interest in ProgressiveHealth Companies, LLC (“Progressive”), which owns a majority interest in certain subsidiaries (“Progressive Subsidiaries”) that operate in the industrial injury prevention and therapy services businesses. The Progressive transaction was completed in a series of steps which are described below.
The Operating Agreement contains provisions for the redemption of the Selling Shareholder’s Interest, either at the option of the Company (the “Call Right”) or at the option of the Selling Shareholder (the “Put Right”) as follows:
Neither the Operating Agreement nor the Non-Compete Agreement contain any provision to escrow or “claw back” the equity interest in NewCo held by the Selling Shareholders, in the event of a breach of the operating agreement or non-compete terms, or the management services agreement pursuant to which the Selling Shareholders perform services on behalf of NewCo. The Company’s only recourse against the Selling Shareholder for breach of any of these agreements is to seek damages and other legal remedies under such agreements. There are no conditions in any of the arrangements with a Selling Shareholder that would result in a forfeiture of the equity interest in NewCo held by a Selling Shareholder. An Employed Selling Shareholder’s ownership of his or her equity interest in the Seller Entity predates the Acquisition and the Company’s purchase of its partnership interest in NewCo. The Employment Agreement and the Non-Compete Agreement do not contain any provision to escrow or “claw back” the equity interest in the Seller Entity held by such Employed Selling Shareholder, nor the Seller Entity Interest in NewCo, in the event of a breach of the employment or non-compete terms. More specifically, even if the Employed Selling Shareholder is terminated for “cause” by NewCo, such Employed Selling Shareholder does not forfeit his or her right to his or her full equity interest in the Seller Entity and the Seller Entity does not forfeit its right to any portion of the Seller Entity Interest. The Company’s only recourse against the Employed Selling Shareholder for breach of either the Employment Agreement or the Non-Compete Agreement is to seek damages and other legal remedies under such agreements. There are no conditions in any of the arrangements with an Employed Selling Shareholder that would result in a forfeiture of the equity interest held in the Seller Entity or of the Seller Entity Interest. For the
The following table categorizes the carrying amount (fair value) of the redeemable non-controlling interests (in thousands):
6. Goodwill The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill as of December 31,
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company derecognized (wrote off) goodwill in the amount of $1.9 million related to closed clinics due to COVID-19.
7. Intangible Assets, net Intangible assets, net as of December 31,
Tradenames, customer and referral relationships and non-compete agreements are related to the businesses acquired. The value assigned to tradenames has an indefinite life and is tested at least annually for impairment using the relief from royalty method in conjunction with the Company’s annual goodwill impairment test. The value assigned to customer and referral relationships is being amortized over their respective estimated useful lives which range from 6 to 16 years. Non-compete agreements are amortized over the respective term of the agreements which range from 5 to 6 years. The following table details the amount of amortization expense recorded for intangible assets for the years ended December 31,
For The remaining balances of the customer and referral relationships and non-compete agreements
8. Accrued Expenses Accrued expenses as of December 31,
Federal taxes payable includes $4.2 million related to deferred employer payroll taxes pursuant to the CARES ACT offset by a federal income tax receivable of $1.5 million.
9. Notes Payable Notes payable as of December 31,
Effective December 5, 2013, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with a commitment for a $125.0 million revolving credit facility. This agreement was amended in August 2015, January 2016, March 2017, November 2017, January 2021, and November The Amended Credit Agreement is unsecured and has loan covenants, including requirements that The agreement. On December 31, The Company generally enters into various notes payable as a means of financing a portion of its acquisitions and purchasing of non-controlling interests. In conjunction with
10. Leases The Company has operating leases for its corporate offices and operating facilities. The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at the inception of a contract. Effective January 1, 2019, right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities are included in the consolidated balance sheet. Right-of-use assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset during the lease term and operating lease liabilities represent net present value of the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the net present value of the fixed lease payments over the lease term. The Company’s operating lease terms are generally five years or less. The Company’s lease terms include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. As most of the Company’s operating leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Operating fixed lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. In accordance with ASC 842, the Company records on its consolidated balance sheet leases with a term greater than 12 months. The Company has elected, in compliance with current accounting standards, not to record leases with an initial For the
Lease For the
The aggregate future lease payments for operating leases as of December 31,
Average lease terms and discount rates were as follows:
11. Income Taxes Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities included in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31,
The deferred tax assets and liabilities related to purchased interests not yet finalized may result in an immaterial adjustment. During
The differences between the federal tax rate and the Company’s effective tax rate for the years ended December 31,
Significant components of the provision for income taxes for the years ended December 31,
For The Company is required to establish a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. Based upon the level of historical taxable income and projections for future taxable income in the periods which the deferred tax assets are deductible, management believes that a valuation allowance is not required, as it is more likely than not that the results of future operations will generate sufficient taxable income to realize the deferred tax assets. The Company’s U.S. federal returns remain open to examination for 2020 .The Company does not believe that it has any significant uncertain tax positions at December 31, The Company did 12. Segment Information
The Company’s reportable segments include the physical therapy operations segment and the industrial injury prevention services segment. Also included in the physical therapy operations segment are revenues from management contract services and other services which include services the Company provides on-site, such as schools for athletic trainers. The Company evaluates performance of the segments based on gross profit. The Company has provided additional information regarding its reportable segments which contributes to the understanding of the Company and provides useful information. The following table summarizes selected financial data for the Company’s reportable segments. Prior year results presented herein have been changed to conform to the current presentation.
13. Investment in Unconsolidated Affiliate Through one of the subsidiaries, the Company has a 49% joint venture interest in a company which provides physical therapy services for patients at hospitals. Since the Company is deemed to not have a controlling interest in the company, the Company’s investment is accounted for using the equity method of accounting. The investment balance of this joint venture as of December 31, 2021, is $12.2 million, of which $12.3 million related to the fair value on the date of acquisition. The $12.2 million includes earnings of $112 thousand less a distribution received of $153 thousand.
14. Equity Based Plans The Company has the following The Amended and Restated 1999 Employee Stock Option Plan (the “Amended 1999 Plan”) permits the Company to grant to non-employee directors and employees of the Company up to 600,000 non-qualified options to purchase shares of common stock and restricted stock (subject to proportionate adjustments in the event of stock dividends, splits, and similar corporate transactions). The exercise prices of options granted under the Amended 1999 Plan are determined by the Compensation Committee. The period within which each option will be exercisable is determined by the Compensation Committee. The Amended 1999 Plan was approved by the shareholders of the Company at the 2008 Shareholders Meeting on May 20, 2008. The Amended and Restated 2003 Stock Option Plan (the “Amended 2003 Plan”) permits the Company to grant to key employees and outside directors of the Company incentive and non-qualified options and shares of restricted stock covering up to 2,100,000 shares of common stock (subject to proportionate adjustments in the event of stock dividends, splits, and similar corporate transactions). The material terms of the Amended 2003 Plan was reapproved by the shareholders of the Company at the 2015 Shareholders Meeting on May 19, 2015 and an increase in the number of shares authorized for issuance from 1,750,000 to 2,100,000 was approved at the 2016 Shareholders Meeting on March 17, 2016. A cumulative summary of equity plans as of December 31,
During
During
Generally, restrictions on the stock granted to employees lapse in equal annual installments on the following four anniversaries of the date of grant. For those shares granted to directors, the restrictions will lapse in equal quarterly installments during the first year after the date of grant. For those granted to officers, the restriction will lapse in equal quarterly installments during the four years following the date of grant. There were 2025. Compensation expense for grants of restricted stock is recognized based on the fair value on the date of grant. Compensation expense for restricted stock grants was
The Board is empowered, without approval of the shareholders, to cause shares of preferred stock to be issued in one or more series and to establish the number of shares to be included in each such series and the rights, powers, preferences and limitations of each series. There are no provisions in the Company’s Articles of Incorporation specifying the vote required by the holders of preferred stock to take action. All such provisions would be set out in the designation of any series of preferred stock established by the Board. The bylaws of the Company specify that, when a quorum is present at any meeting, the vote of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote who are present, in person or by proxy, shall decide any question brought before the meeting, unless a different vote is required by law or the Company’s Articles of Incorporation. Because the Board has the power to establish the preferences and rights of each series, it may afford the holders of any series of preferred stock, preferences, powers, and rights, voting or otherwise, senior to the right of holders of common stock. The issuance of the preferred stock could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company.
16. Common Stock From September 2001 through December 31, 2008, the Board authorized the Company to purchase, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, up to 2,250,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. In March 2009, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to 10% or approximately 1,200,000 shares of its common stock (“March 2009 Authorization”). The Amended Credit Agreement permits share repurchases of up to $15,000,000, subject to compliance with covenants. The Company is required to retire shares purchased under the March 2009 Authorization. Under the March 2009 Authorization, the Company has purchased a total of 859,499 shares. There is no expiration date for the share repurchase program. There are currently an additional estimated
17. Defined Contribution Plan The Company has several 401(k) profit sharing plans covering all employees with three months of service. For certain plans, the Company makes matching contributions. The Company may also make discretionary contributions of up to 50% of employee contributions. The Company did
18. Commitments and Contingencies
Employment Agreements At December 31, In addition, the Company has outstanding employment agreements with most of the managing physical therapist partners of the Company’s physical therapy clinics and with certain other clinic employees which obligate subsidiaries of the Company to pay compensation of
Litigation Settlement of a Legal Matter On August 19, 2019, we received notice of a qui tam lawsuit (“the Complaint”) filed by a relator on behalf of the United States, titled U.S. ex rel. Bonnie Elsdon, v. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc., U.S. Physical Therapy, Ltd., Rehab Partners #2, Inc., The Hale Hand Center, Limited Partnership (the “Hale Partnership”), and Suzanne Hale. This whistleblower lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeking damages and civil penalties under the federal False Claim Act. This lawsuit was originally filed under seal by a former employee of The Hale Hand Center, Limited Partnership (“Hale Partnership”), a majority-owned subsidiary of the Company, on May 25, 2018. The U.S Government declined to intervene in the case and unsealed the Complaint on July 17, 2019. The Complaint alleged that the Hale Partnership engaged in conduct to purposely “upcode” its billings for services provided to Medicare patients. The plaintiff - relator also claimed that similar false claims occurred on other days and at other Company-owned partnerships. On October 3, 2019, we filed Motions to Dismiss based on numerous grounds on behalf of each of the named defendants. On October 29, 2019, the plaintiff-relator dismissed 3 of the named defendants, Rehab Partners #2, Inc., U.S. Physical Therapy, Ltd., and Suzanne Hale. The Motions to Dismiss were denied on November 30, 2020. In January 2022, to avoid the legal fees and discovery costs in defending this matter and the uncertainty of protracted litigation, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with the plaintiff-relator. In the settlement agreement, the plaintiff-relator released all defendants from liability for all conduct alleged in the Complaint, and the Company admitted no liability or wrongdoing. In connection with the settlement, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas agreed to a dismissal of the claims against the Hale Partnership and the Company. Under the terms of the settlement, the Company agreed to make payments to the government, the plaintiff-relator and her counsel. Such payments, in the aggregate, amounted to $2.75 million of which $2.6 million was recorded as an expense in 2021. 19. Earnings Per Share The computations of basic and diluted earnings per share for the years ended December 31,
20. Related Party Transactions
Settlement of Short Swing Profit Claim For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded approximately $20,000 related to the short swing profit settlement remitted by a shareholder of our company under Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company recognized the proceeds as an increase to additional paid-in capital in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 and consolidated statements of stockholders’ equity, as well as in cash provided by financing activities included in Other, in the consolidated statements of cash flows, for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for consistency with the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the reported results of operations.
Not applicable. Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the fiscal period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that the information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure. Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. and subsidiaries’ (the “Company”) internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that: Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of the Company’s management and Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Internal control over financial reporting cannot provide absolute assurance of achieving financial reporting objectives because of its inherent limitations. Internal control over financial reporting is a process that involves human diligence and compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures. Internal control over financial reporting can also be circumvented by collusion or improper management override. Because of such limitations, there is a risk that material misstatements may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control over financial reporting. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial reporting process. Therefore, it is possible to design into the process safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, the risk. Management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, Based on this assessment, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting has been audited by Grant Thornton LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report included on page
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
In November 2021, we completed an acquisition of a leading provider of industrial injury prevention services. As part of our ongoing integration activities, we are currently in the process of implementing internal controls and procedures at the newly acquired entity. Except for the integration of the newly acquired entity noted above, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31,
Not applicable. PART III
The information required in response to this Item 10 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our
The information required in response to this Item 11 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our
The information required in response to this Item 12 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our
The information required in response to this Item 13 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our
The information required in response to this Item 14 is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our PART IV
None.
EXHIBIT INDEX LIST OF EXHIBITS
FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE* SCHEDULE II — VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS U.S. PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
(In Thousands)
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: March 1, 2022 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated as of the date indicated above.
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