Denver Coram Healthcare will take a "significant" charge against second-quarter earnings as a result of its legal dispute with Aetna U.S. Healthcare, company officials said. Also in response to the legal wrangling, the company said it has laid off 113 employees in Whippany, N.J.

The infusion company and the managed care organization have filed dueling lawsuits for breach of contract and misrepresentation, with Coram seeking $50 million and Aetna asking for $100 million and punitive damages.

The lawsuits stem from a dispute over terms of a master agreement entered into in April 1998 that called for Coram to manage the Aetna home health care network in eight states.

Coram claims Aetna misrepresented utilization rates for home health services in the HMOs. Aetna also withheld reimbursement for service, according to Coram.

Aetna, on the other hand, claims that Coram did not honor the agreement for service and contends that Coram never intended to carry out the terms of the agreement.

A trial date of April 3, 2000, has been set, according to Richard Smith, Coram's chief executive officer and president.

Meanwhile, Coram also announced it has signed separate nonexclusive contracts to provide infusion services for three BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee networks, covering more than 560,000 members. -K.G.

Home Care Medical, Milwaukee, was selected the 1999 home medical equipment Provider of the Year by the Wisconsin Association of Medical Equipment Services. The company also won the award in 1997. Also honored were company president John Teevan, who received the first WAMES lifetime achievement award; and director of sales Jeanne Langlois, current president of WAMES, who received the outstanding leadership award.

Community Health Accreditation Program, New York, has introduced CHAP Benchmarks II, an outcomes measurement system designed for Oryx and Oasis compliance. The system is derived from a study funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The software supports home medical equipment, infusion, home health, hospice and private duty.