Lewisville, Texas-based Adeptus Health will refund up to $250,000 to an undisclosed number of patients as part of an attempt to save face by the nation’s largest operator of freestanding emergency rooms, the Dallas Business Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Stacey G. Jernigan last week approved a request by Adeptus to make refunds to patients who were owed money before the ER operator filed for bankruptcy protection in April. The company sought the court's permission to make the refunds to avoid “bad publicity,” according to court filings. The Adeptus bankruptcy filing in the Northern District of Texas court came amid a sharp decline in the company’s earnings, the departure of top executives and a consumer lawsuit alleging fraud.
