HMA feels fallout from '60 Minutes' story

The negative impact of a "60 Minutes" story was seen Monday in shares of Health Management Associates, with the hospital chain's stock down nearly 6% in trading. Health Management was at $7.50 at the close, a day after the CBS News magazine show aired a story criticizing HMA's admission practices. It featured a number of former HMA employees who said on the record that there was pressure to admit patients from emergency rooms into the company?s hospitals to maximize profits. Two doctors, an administrator at one hospital, an executive vice president of the chain and the company's compliance director—all former employees—were interviewed for the segment, which contended that HMA's profit-oriented admission practices were systemic.