Amedisys Reports Record Third Quarter Revenue and Net Income.

Updates 2008 Revenue and EPS Guidance

Amedisys to Host Conference Call Today at 10:00 A.M. ET

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) ("Amedisys," "we," "us," or "our"), one of America's leading home health nursing companies, today reported its financial results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2008. We posted record financial performance for the three-month period ended September 30, 2008 with net service revenue and net income increasing 77.7% and 16.2%, respectively, over the three-month period ended September 30, 2007. Following are highlights of our performance for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2008:

Three-Month Periods Ended September 30, 2008 and 2007

* Net service revenue increased 77.7% to $321.6 million compared to $180.9 million in 2007.

* Net income increased 16.2% to $23.5 million compared to $20.2 million in 2007.

* Diluted earnings per share increased 13.0% to $0.87 compared to $0.77 per diluted share in 2007. The weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding increased to approximately 27.0 million compared to 26.3 million in 2007.

* Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") increased 46.4% to $49.4 million compared to $33.7 million in 2007.

* After adding back $1.1 million ($0.7 million, net of income tax) or $0.02 per diluted share in certain TLC Health Care Services, Inc. ("TLC") integration costs1 for the three month period in 2008, and excluding the $4.2 million or $0.16 per diluted share Alliance gain2 for the three-month period in 2007, the following would have been our results:

- Adjusted net income increased 50.9% to $24.1 million compared to $16.0 million in 2007;

- Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 45.9% to $0.89 compared to $0.61 per diluted share in 2007; and

- Adjusted EBITDA increased 71.0% to $50.4 million compared to $29.5 million in 2007.

Nine-Month Periods Ended September 30, 2008 and 2007

* Net service revenue increased 68.1% to $847.3 million compared to $503.9 million in 2007.

* Net income increased 24.7% to $60.3 million compared to $48.4 million in 2007.

* Diluted earnings per share increased 21.6% to $2.25 compared to $1.85 per diluted share in 2007. The weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding increased to approximately 26.8 million compared to 26.2 million in 2007.

* EBITDA increased 50.8% to $126.0 million compared to $83.6 million in 2007.

* After adding back $3.7 million ($2.3 million, net of income tax) or $0.08 per diluted share in certain TLC integration costs1 for the nine-month period in 2008, and excluding the $4.2 million or $0.16 per diluted share Alliance gain2 for the nine-month period in 2007, the following would have been our results:

- Adjusted net income increased 41.7% to $62.6 million compared to $44.2 million in 2007;

- Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 37.9% to $2.33 compared to $1.69 per diluted share in 2007; and

- Adjusted EBITDA increased 63.5% to $129.7 million compared to $79.3 million in 2007.

"This has been another exceptional quarter and nine-months with record revenue and earnings per share. All TLC agencies have been converted and are now operating on our corporate operating systems including the Point of Care network," stated William F. Borne, Chief Executive Officer of Amedisys.

Updated 2008 Guidance

* Net service revenue is anticipated to be in the range of $1.150 billion to $1.175 billion, excluding the effects of future acquisitions, if they are made.

* Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $3.20 to $3.25 based on an estimated 26.9 million shares outstanding, after adding back any TLC integration costs and also excluding the effects of future acquisitions, if they are made.

1 See footnote 2 on page 5 for an explanation of these certain TLC integration costs.

2 See footnote 3 on page 5 for an explanation of the Alliance gain.

We urge caution in considering our current trends disclosed in this press release. The home health and hospice industry is highly competitive, and trends and guidance are subject to numerous factors, risks, and influences, some of which are referenced in the cautionary language below and others that are described more fully in our reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K which can be found on the SEC's internet website, http://www.sec.gov , and our internet website, http://www.amedisys.com. We disclaim any obligations to update disclosed information on trends or targets other than in our periodic filings with the SEC.

Earnings Call and Webcast Information

To participate in the conference call, please dial [phone] (Domestic) or [phone] (International) a few minutes before 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. A replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on October 28, 2008 through November 4, 2008. The replay dial in number is [phone] (Domestic) or [phone] (International). The replay pin number is 2408709.

The call will also be available on the internet live and for seven days thereafter at the following web address: http://www.amedisys.com/investors.

We are headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "AMED."

Additional information on us can be found at: http://www.amedisys.com.

Forward-Looking Statements 

When included in this press release, words like "believes," "belief," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "projects," "estimates," "may," "might," "would," "should" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected therein. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general economic and business conditions, changes in or failure to comply with existing regulations or the inability to comply with new government regulations on a timely basis, changes in Medicare and other medical reimbursement levels, our ability to complete acquisitions, we announce from time to time, and any financing related thereto, our ability to meet debt service requirements and comply with covenants in debt agreements, adverse changes in federal and state laws relating to the health care industry, demographic changes, availability and terms of capital, our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, ongoing development and success of new start-ups, our ability to successfully integrate newly acquired agencies, changes in estimates and judgments associated with critical accounting policies, business disruption due to natural disasters or acts of terrorism, and various other matters, many of which are beyond our control.

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on any forward-looking statement as a prediction of future events. Amedisys expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking and it does not intend to release publicly any updates or changes in its expectations concerning the forward-looking statements or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any forward-looking statement may be based.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes the following non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules: EBITDA, defined as net income before provision for income taxes, net interest expense and depreciation and amortization, Adjusted EBITDA, defined as EBITDA plus certain TLC integration costs, Adjusted net income, defined as net income plus certain TLC acquisition costs less the Alliance gain and Adjusted diluted earnings per share, defined as diluted earnings per share plus the earnings per share effect of certain TLC acquisitions costs less the earnings per share effect of the Alliance gain. In accordance with SEC rules, we have provided herein a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") measure. Management believes that these are useful gauges of our performance and are common measures used in our industry to assess relative financial performance among companies.

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(1) Effective January 1, 2008, we have reclassified certain costs (primarily health care insurance) from our general and administrative expenses to our cost of service. As a result, our cost of service consists of the following expenses incurred by our clinical and clerical personnel in our agencies:

* salaries and related benefits (including health care insurance and worker's compensation insurance);

* transportation expenses (primarily reimbursed mileage at a standard rate); and

* supplies and services expenses (including payments to contract therapists).

As a result of this reclassification, we have conformed the prior period results to the current year presentation and thus have reclassified $5.2 million and $14.8 million for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2007, respectively, from general and administrative expenses to cost of service.

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