Patient care company owes $361M to federal government
THE VILLAGES, Fla. – A major health care group that caters to The Villages retirement community has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it tries to sell to a major health group and deals with hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare overpayments.
The Villages Health System filed for Chapter 11 on July 3, according to records filed in federal bankruptcy court in Orlando.
The filing shows the company owes between $100 million and $500 million, but has assets worth $50 million to $100 million.
Far and away, the largest creditor on the filing is the U.S. government. The filing says The Villages Health System owes $361 million.
Last December, The Villages Health announced it had discovered a Medicare billing problem during a review of procedures and self-reported to multiple agencies.
[WATCH: Nonprofit helps veterans in The Villages with independent living]
In its July 3 announcement about filing for Chapter 11, the company said it was working on a resolution to repay the money, “estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments and likely significant accompanying penalties.
The announcement also says the company is signing an agreement to sell the company to CenterWell, a health care business owned by Humana.
The bankruptcy filing lists CenterWell as a Stalking Horse bidder in the case. A stalking horse bidder is a company that sets a minimum price for potential buyers to bid on a company that is financially distressed and being sold at auction.
Bob Trinh, chief financial officer for The Villages Health, said that while the situation sounds concerning, nothing was going to change for patients.
“This legal process aims to preserve TVH as a highly effective health care system while putting it in the hands of a large national organization with the resources and expertise to grow and enhance the patient care experience,” Trinh wrote in the bankruptcy announcement.
A bankruptcy judge will still have to approve the sale.
The company says the CenterWell sale is independent from the Medicare case.
The Villages Health is a health care center that promotes a holistic approach to care, with an emphasis on team care for patients, a range of specialty doctors and wellness programs, and 10 locations serving 55,000 patients, according to the company’s website.
[READ the Chapter 11 filing for The Villages Health below]
Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.
About the Author
Christie Zizo
Christie joined the ClickOrlando team in November 2021.