Healthcare Attorneys

FRB’s Healthcare Practice Group defines itself by its unique, firm-wide multidisciplinary approach that it brings to its work in the healthcare industry, representing a wide range of healthcare providers, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, physician groups, hospitals, physician/hospital organizations, home care agencies, independent practice associations, diagnostic and treatment centers, and office-based and ambulatory surgery centers.  With a broad understanding of the regulatory landscape of healthcare, we have the expertise and insight into the laws, regulations, risks, and market pressures affecting healthcare companies necessary to help clients anticipate and respond to the increasingly complex rules governing the delivery, financing, compliance, and regulation of healthcare services.

How Our Healthcare Attorneys Can Help 

The expertise and vast capabilities of our attorneys in different areas of law across our firm’s various departments allow us to collaborate with our healthcare clients and assist them with virtually any aspect of their operations and the growth of their healthcare businesses. We provide legal representation and consulting services to healthcare clients in a variety of different areas, including the following:

General Counsel Services

Our firm often acts as General Counsel to healthcare clients, advising and assisting them in all aspects of their business operations. Our healthcare attorneys provide consulting and advisory services to businesses and can help providers navigate relatively small or complex legal issues.

Corporate Services 

Our attorneys assist with all aspects of the formation of healthcare business entities, including assisting clients with the structuring of business relationships, preparing and negotiating management and shareholder agreements, and with healthcare company reorganization.  Our attorneys prepare contracts to comply with fraud and abuse, IRS, and other applicable guidelines, and analyze and negotiate managed care contracts for healthcare providers.

Healthcare Mergers, Acquisitions, and Joint Ventures

Our attorneys are experienced antitrust counselors to health care companies contemplating mergers or acquisitions and have been retained to opine on antitrust matters relating to several significant hospital mergers. We negotiate the purchase and sale of physician practices, as well as many other practice types, including podiatric, chiropractic, and dental practices.  

Licensing and Certification Services

Our team of experienced healthcare attorneys works closely with our healthcare provider clients to provide them the necessary support to navigate any licensure or certification procedures they may need to operate their businesses or practices and maintain their professional good standing.

Our healthcare attorneys are intimately familiar with all aspects of the CON (Certificate of Need) licensure process under Article 28 of the NYS Public Health Law, including preparation and support of applications themselves, as well as post-approval and pre-opening compliance. Our attorneys have successfully guided numerous clients through this rigorous process. Our team also works closely with our healthcare provider clients following a merger or acquisition to assist them in maintaining or applying for various licenses they will require to continue or begin healthcare operations. 

Our attorneys have also represented physicians and other licensed health care professionals in matters relating to their own practice in regulatory, professional licensure, and administrative matters before state licensing boards and other governing bodies (including OPMC, OPD, and OMIG).  

Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management 

Our healthcare attorneys assist our clients in fulfilling and complying with all federal and state licensure requirements and guide them through the corporate practice of medicine doctrine, both in their day-to-day operations and in the context of business transactions (whether private/public transactions or joint ventures). 

We counsel healthcare providers in the development, implementation, review, and revision of their compliance programs, and ensure that clients are up-to-date on changes in the laws governing their practices. We provide guidance on internal audit and monitoring, risk assessment, and corrective measures, such as self-disclosure, employee discipline, and enhanced training. 

We advise clients on privacy matters under federal and New York State laws and provide risk management assistance on issues related to fraud and abuse, including the physician self-referral law (Stark) and the anti-kickback statute. Our experience includes representing clients in the evolving area of telemedicine, mobile health, and social media, with an emphasis on federal and state regulatory compliance.

Nonprofit Organization and Governance Issues

Our firm has extensive experience representing nonprofit organizations, regularly advising nonprofit health care boards on best practices in corporate governance and regulatory compliance. Our attorneys assist in the development of charters and bylaws and the formulation of compliance policies. We also assist in conducting internal investigations relating to potential compliance violations, including whistleblower allegations, and in responding to inquiries from governmental agencies.

HIPAA and Privacy Issues

Our healthcare attorneys advise and represent covered entities and business associates on privacy matters under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the federal rules governing the confidentiality of substance abuse treatment services, and New York State confidentiality laws. We assist providers in negotiating contractual relationships and managing privacy breaches and breach notifications.

Audits, Investigations, and Appeals

We represent healthcare providers in Medicare and Medicaid audits, private insurance audits, investigations, and appeals. We also represent health care providers in government investigations and enforcement proceedings before the New York State Department of Health, Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Litigation

Our relationships with our healthcare providers often allow us to intervene before a dispute reaches the point of litigation and negotiate a favorable resolution of our clients’ issues to avoid potential litigation. When litigation becomes necessary, our skilled team of healthcare litigators is well-equipped to protect our healthcare clients’ rights and advance their interests in these matters. Our healthcare litigators represent healthcare providers in federal and state court litigation, administrative challenges to governmental action, and arbitration proceedings with managed care organizations. We also litigate matters relating to patient financial accounts and employ creative solutions to help facilities maintain their bottom line, as well as guardianship litigation, Fair Hearings, and Article 78 appeals of adverse Medicaid determinations.

Nursing Home and Assisted Living Facility Representation

Our attorneys have extensive experience working with nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, Assisted Living Facilities, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (“CCRC”) to address a myriad of legal issues and concerns, ranging from resident payment issues to more complex litigation matters. Our unique and in-depth understanding of the operations of senior care facilities and the challenges they face allows us to tailor our legal services and guidance to the specific needs of our clients.

Further, FRB represents medical technology, device, and pharmaceutical companies, as well as private equity and financial services firms with healthcare companies in their portfolios, especially given our experience and understanding of the intersection of FDA regulation, intellectual property law, and healthcare regulatory issues affecting these companies. 

If you have any questions relating to healthcare matters, please contact us to learn how we can help.