Health Care

High-stakes litigation. Increased competition and opportunities for growth. Regulatory compliance. Privacy. Professional ethics. These are but a few of the many complex legal issues with which medical professionals and health care businesses must deal on a daily basis. At Hinshaw, we not only handle such subjects but also the full range of corporate, regulatory, transactional and dispute resolution needs of the health care industry.

In helping our health care clients succeed, we can organize appropriately staffed teams of attorneys skilled not only in health care law, but also antitrust, corporate, insurance, intellectual property, labor and employment, professional liability, real estate and white collar law among other disciplines.

Our clients include:

• Advanced practice nurses and other ancillary providers
• Ambulatory surgery centers
• Dialysis clinics
• Federally qualified health care centers
• Home care providers
• Hospices
• Hospitals and hospital systems
• Independent provider organizations
• Independent testing facilities
• Joint ventures between various types of providers
• Long term care/senior housing providers
• Mental health and substance abuse treatment centers
• Physician hospital organizations
• Physicians and physician practices
• Sleep disorder clinics

Corporate and Transactional Services
We have broad experience in the full range of corporate organization and governance activities. We are also particularly skilled in handling transactions involving the health care industry, including structuring and negotiating joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, purchases, and sales. In these efforts, we have worked with continuing care retirement communities as well as with hospitals, hospital systems and others.

We also provide health care clients a wealth of experience in the areas of:

• Antitrust issues
• Commercial litigation
• Commercial and not-for-profit taxation
• Contract drafting and negotiation
• Employment law subjects, including affirmative action, discrimination, employee benefits, employer’s risk, immigration and policies and procedures
• Financing, including by means of tax-exempt bonds
• Integrated delivery system development
• Organizational and structural matters
• Real estate acquisitions and dispositions, construction and development
• Regulatory practice
• Risk management activities

Regulatory Services
We are well-versed in regulatory compliance, regularly addressing issues such as:

• The Ethics and Patient Referral Act (Stark)
• HIPAA
• Loss of licensure for institutions and individual providers
• Maintenance of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
• Medicare and/or Medicaid decertification
• The Medicare and Medicaid Anti-Kickback Statute
• Medical records
• Pharmacy
• Recoupment
• State self-referral laws

Our health care law attorneys work with clients to draft compliance programs and also develop policies, procedures, standards of conduct, internal monitoring, auditing and corrective action plans. We likewise counsel on whether self-disclosure is necessary in certain cases and on developing remedial action plans. Several Hinshaw attorneys sit on health care providers’ compliance committees. We have also directed internal and external investigations, mindful of both discoverability issues and self-disclosure concerns.

We also aide providers of all types in:

• Obtaining required licenses and certification
• Assuring compliance with licensure standards, Medicare Conditions of Participation, accreditation standards and other licensure-related regulatory requirements
• Negotiating with governmental regulators
• Preparing corrective action plans that address cited deficiencies
• Analyzing how various contemplated business arrangements are impacted by licensure issues
• Determining how reimbursement can be maximized with appropriate licensing, certification and accreditation and credentialing standards in mind
• Representing clients in receiving and maintaining certification within the Medicare and Medicaid programs
• Assisting in defending against alleged violations of standards and/or regulations

Dispute Resolution Services
Hinshaw provides health care clients advice, counsel and representation in disputes concerning issues ranging from antitrust to zoning.

We also offer one of the most accomplished professional liability practices in the U.S. Along with our health care attorneys, they skillfully defend physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in litigation and before public bodies.

We have significant experience representing clients in all stages of grand jury investigations, civil investigative demands, criminal trials, related civil fraud litigation and administrative/regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, we conduct internal investigations for for-profit and not-for-profit health care providers.

We also offer represent health care clients in cases involving:

• Administrative matters
• Antitrust law
• Business and contract disputes
• Employment law
• Labor law
• Health care fraud defense practices
• Privacy issues
• Reimbursement
• White collar crime