Healthcare

Healthcare providers, managed care providers, and healthcare vendors, including medical products and equipment suppliers, are heavily regulated, and keeping up with continual changes to the law can be difficult and complicated; yet, the potential liability for not adhering to new regulations can be devastating to any healthcare organization.

Crowley Fleck ‘s Healthcare practice group daily handles complex matters affecting the healthcare industry involving business transactions, compliance, healthcare reform, health information systems, HIPAA, joint ventures, labor and employment, licensing and certificates of need, managed care, Medicare and Medicaid matters, medical staff relations, joint ventures, including physician and physician hospital joint ventures,   business transactions, compliance, health care reform, health information systems, HIPAA, joint ventures, labor and employment, licensing, managed care, Medicare and Medicaid payments, medical staff relations, patient care, real estate and construction, regulatory, risk management, tax, and tax-exempt matters, and tax exempt financing matters.  Our clients include hospitals, including teaching hospitals, physician groups and organizations, community health centers, dental providers, medical associations, hospital foundations, ancillary service providers, for-profit and nonprofit affiliates, pharmaceutical and medical products manufacturers and vendors, managed care organizations, and health insurers/captives. Our attorneys’ varied practices and experiences allow us to provide our clients with coordinated, up-to-date legal healthcare representation. When litigation becomes necessary, Crowley Fleck litigators possess substantial experience in complex commercial litigation and medical malpractice defense, as well as representation before peer review panels, medical legal panels, Professional Licensing Boards, and other State and Federal regulatory agencies.

Business, Governance, Operations, and Transactions

This practice area deals with federal, state, and local business law; regulatory matters; and operational issues faced by healthcare organizations.

Working with our clients as a team, we address business, governance, operations and transactional issues for all sectors of the healthcare industry, including:

  • Hospitals and health systems in the for-profit, non-profit and public sectors
  • Physicians and physician organizations, including multi-specialty practices
  • Hospital and physician transactions, arrangements and relations
  • Exclusive and non-exclusive provider arrangements
  • Dental, oral surgery, orthodontia, and other dental practice specialties and service providers
  • Ancillary services providers and ambulatory surgery centers
  • For-profit and non-profit entities and affiliates
  • Financial institutions and authorities
  • Pharmaceutical and medical products manufacturers and vendors
  • Managed care organizations
  • Federally qualified health centers
  • Naturopathic providers
  • Chiropractic providers
  • Long term care facilities
  • Home care and hospice providers
  • Infrastructure development and financing
  • Clinical services and patient care issues
  • Government relations and health policy
  • Public health

We work with our clients to resolve issues like:

  • Organizational, operational and governance matters
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Transactions involving physician and hospital alignment, mergers, sales, acquisitions, joint ventures arrangements, and affiliations arrangements
  • Management services and professional services arrangements
  • Risk management matters
  • Arrangements between providers and vendors
  • Graduate medical education

Electronic Information, Technology, and Security [HIPAA]

We work as a team with our clients to navigate federal and state, laws and regulations relating to the security and privacy of health care information.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • Operation of information systems and health information networks involving electronic medical records, telemedicine, electronic prescribing, Internet and e-mail communications, and website operations
  • Electronic health records
  • Diagnostic systems
  • Clinical data repositories and master patient indexes
  • Ownership of healthcare data and records management
  • Intellectual property matters, trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets
  • Developing and updating privacy and security policies and procedures
  • Risk assessments,
  • Security and Privacy breach, compliance, assessments, breach notification analysis and disclosures
  • US Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights investigations and actions

Healthcare Fraud and Abuse, False Claims , STARK (physician referral prohibition)

We work as a team with our clients  concerning payment issues and issues related to fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • Compliance counseling
  • Fraud and abuse prevention, investigation and resolution, including resolution of State and federal government investigations
  • Fraud and abuse/Stark compliance matters
  • Healthcare payment and reimbursement matters
  • Self reporting
  • Survey responses, corrective actions and enforcement matters

Healthcare Education

This practice area offers clients education and training in the complex and ever-changing world of healthcare law. Our experienced attorneys provide educational seminars and materials, lead customized training sessions, and direct “roundtable” discussions on particular legal topics. Examples of popular educational topics include “Stark Law,” HIPAA/HITECH compliance, limiting ERISA fiduciary liability, EMTALA, Fraud and abuse, survey responses, corrective actions and enforcement matters, and drug enforcement administration and professional assistance matters.

Healthcare Labor and Employment

This practice area addresses federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations concerning healthcare employment.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • Employment agreements
  • Executive compensation
  • Employment handbooks and policies
  • Employment discrimination
  • Human resources counseling
  • Immigration
  • Wrongful discharge from employment
  • Union organizing activity
  • Collective bargaining
  • Unfair labor practices
  • Labor arbitration
  • State and federal wage and hour laws
  • OSHA compliance and enforcement
  • Education and counseling on labor and employment laws and regulations
  • Risk management

Healthcare Litigation

Crowley Fleck is one of the leading healthcare litigation firms in the region. Our experienced attorneys have successfully represented clients before the Board of Medical Examiners, the Montana Medical Legal Panel, and in state and federal courts.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • Defending professional licensing complaints, including representation before peer review panels, medical legal panels, and other State and Federal regulatory agencies
  • Requests for information and witness assistance
  • Medical credentials and peer review matters
  • Defending claims of professional negligence

Long Term and Elder Care, In-Home Care, Hospice, and Rehabilitation

This practice area addresses issues involving long-term and elder care services, in-home care, hospice services, and rehabilitation matters.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • Skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities
  • Assisted living
  • Home health
  • Hospice
  • Long term care
  • Compensation recovery and payment issues
  • Survey responses, corrective actions and enforcement matters

Medical Staff, Credentialing, Peer Review, and Physician Matters

This practice area addresses matters involving healthcare professionals, medical or professional staff, and/or healthcare entities regarding their organization and operations.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • Patient safety and quality
  • Medical staff bylaws and hospital rules and regulations
  • Peer review matters
  • Providing fair hearings for medical and allied health professional staffs
  • National Practitioner Data Bank querying and reporting
  • The effect of hospital business arrangements upon medical staff membership (e.g., exclusive contracts, mergers, acquisitions)
  • Administrative matters including, but not limited to, impaired physicians and medical board proceedings involving professionals
  • Provider credentialing
  • DEA investigations and enforcement matters

Physician Organizations and Issues

This practice area addresses issues related to Physicians and Physician Groups.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • Physician and group practice organization, operation and governance
  • Physician-hospital joint ventures, contractual arrangements, alignments and affiliations
  • Stark /physician referral matters
  • Credentialing practices
  • Licensing issues
  • Physician group practice structures
  • Compensation methodologies
  • DEA Enforcement matters
  • Professional licensing board proceedings

Plans, Managed Care, Employee Benefits, and Executive Compensation

This practice area addresses legal issues concerning compliance of health and benefit plans and providers.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • HIPAA
  • COBRA
  • Medicare Secondary Payor rules
  • ERISA Title I rules
  • Self-insured plans
  • Plan operations and management
  • Managed care
  • Executive compensation including IRS Section 409A

Tax and Finance

This practice area addresses federal, state and local tax issues related to the healthcare industry.

Work we engage in with our clients includes:

  • IRS audits and rulings
  • Tax-exemption matters
  • Intermediate sanctions
  • State regulation of nonprofit transactions and operations
  • Charitable trusts
  • Tax credits
  • Bond financing
  • Physician and executive compensation
  • Fair market value
  • Joint ventures with nonprofits
  • IRS disclosure requirements
  • Property, sales, and use taxes
  • Fundraising
  • Other issues of for-profit and nonprofit matters, including IRS Section 409A
  • Debt and equity financing
  • Limited securities law