AHLA's Speaking of Health Law

AHLA's monthly podcast featuring health lawyer and blogger Norm Tabler's informative and entertaining take on recent health law and other legal developments. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

In the current health care landscape, joint ventures between for-profit and tax-exempt entities may trigger tax or other reporting consequences that should be considered and addressed at the outset. Jennifer Noel, Corporate Director of Tax, Christiana Care Health System, Robert Friz, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Gerald Griffith, Partner, Jones Day, discuss why it’s important for a nonprofit to consider IRS guidance and the various tax implications before entering into a joint venture, the types of issues a nonprofit might encounter, and the types of transactions currently taking place. Jennifer, Robert, and Gerald are speaking at AHLA’s upcoming 2023 Tax Issues for Health Care Organizations program in Washington, DC. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

In this series from AHLA’s Early Career Professionals Council, health law professionals share their career paths, what they wish they had known as students, and what a typical day in their job looks like. In this episode, Alé Dalton, Associate, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, speaks with Mara Smith-Kouba, Counsel, Bristol Myers Squibb. Mara talks about how she pursued opportunities and experiences to build her resume in health law, how she uses her AHLA membership to build connections in the industry, her experience as an AHLA leader and the many ways to get involved, and how she balances causes and connections that she’s passionate about. Watch the conversation here. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Mark Silberman, Partner, Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP, and Gary Cantrell, Specialist Leader, Deloitte, discuss government approaches to investigations during and after the pandemic and guidance for providers and practitioners when responding to government investigations. They cover some of the common areas of fraud that the government has identified, pitfalls that can get organizations into trouble, aggravating factors that the government will consider during an investigation, and the use of data. Mark and Gary spoke about this topic at AHLA’s 2023 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

The Pharmacy Benefit Manger (PBM) industry, which is a critical player in transactions that facilitate the pricing and reimbursement of prescription drugs, has experienced a high level of vertical integration and aggregation of market power. Rujul Desai, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP, and Kendra Roberson, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, discuss the rise of PBMs and their role in drug pricing and the increasing scrutiny of the industry at the federal and state levels. Rujul and Kendra are co-authors of AHLA’s brand-new publication, Market Access, Pricing, and Reimbursement of Drugs and Devices: Legal Principles and Practice. Watch the conversation here. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Tynan O. Kugler, Principal, PYA, leads a discussion on some of the current challenges affecting health care business transactions, including trends and motivations related to doing deals, balancing antitrust enforcement, the overlap of federal and state regulatory oversight, and reimbursement and cost constraints. Tynan’s panel includes Douglas K. Anning, Shareholder, Polsinelli PC, Alexis J. Gilman, Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP, and Lawrence W. Vernaglia, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP. They spoke about this topic at AHLA’s 2023 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

When it comes to physician practices, the rate of employment, acquisition, and alignment activity among health care corporate entities like payers, payer-backed groups, private equity, and major vertically integrated retailers has outpaced similar activity among hospitals and health systems. Danielle Bangs, Director, Veralon, speaks with Mike Flammini, Chief Development Officer, Privia Health, and Eric Tower, Partner, Blank Rome LLP, about the changing landscape of physician practice employment and acquisition. They discuss what is driving expanded interest among these corporate entities that are employing and aggregating physicians, what is driving expanded interest among physicians in these new arrangements, and how hospitals and health systems are responding. Sponsored by Veralon. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Brian White, Vice President and General Counsel, Wake Forest University, speaks with Rob Gerberry, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Summa Health, and Aletheia Lawry, about how in-house counsel are responding to some of the key issues currently affecting the health care industry. These issues include remote/hybrid work, legal specialization and diversification, financial challenges and cost pressures, non-legal functions, key performance indicators, and severance. They also discuss AHLA’s recently released resource for in-house counsel, Health Care In-House Counsel Salaries and Departmental Resources 2022-2023 Survey Report. From AHLA’s In-House Counsel Practice Group. Watch the conversation here. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

The value-based Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors and Physician Self-Referral exceptions are some of the most significant rulemaking related to these laws in years. Jennifer Michael, Member, Bass Berry & Sims, and Tony Maida, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery, discuss the background behind the rulemaking and some of the issues they are seeing around value-based arrangements. Jennifer and Tony are speaking at AHLA’s upcoming 2023 Fraud and Compliance Forum in Baltimore, MD. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

What makes a legal team inclusive, collaborative, and successful? Lori Oliver, Shareholder, Polsinelli, leads a discussion on team management and support, navigating different workforce cultural expectations, managing relationships with clients who have law degrees, the role of mentorship, and keeping hybrid teams engaged. Lori’s panel includes Margaret Peyton, Clinical Business and Regulatory Affairs Officer and Associate Vice President, UW Medicine, Miriam Chambliss, Vice President and General Counsel, CommonSpirit Health, and Melanie Curtice, General Counsel, 98point6. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

AHLA's monthly podcast featuring health lawyer and blogger Norm Tabler's informative and entertaining take on recent health law and other legal developments. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Lynn Sessions, Partner, Baker & Hostetler LLP, speaks with Jim Vint, Managing Director, Secretariat Advisors, about what the health law community needs to know about advertising technology on health care websites. They discuss what the technology is and how organizations are using it, why this is such a priority for the HHS Office for Civil Rights and other regulators, who is reviewing how organizations are using these technologies and the legal consequences that can arise from those reviews, recent OCR guidance, and steps that organizations can take to proactively mitigate risk. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

In this series from AHLA’s Early Career Professionals Council, health law professionals share their career paths, what they wish they had known as students, and what a typical day in their job looks like. In this episode, Rob Yates, Managing Consultant, Berkeley Research Group, speaks with Mikayla Garvey, Senior Compliance Associate, Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. Mikayla talks about her work on Northwestern’s privacy team, how she pivoted from a clinical educational path to a compliance one, why a Master of Jurisprudence was suited to her career in compliance, and the importance of taking advantage of law school resources. Watch the conversation here. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Jim Yanci, Principal, Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting, speaks with Anjana Patel, Partner, Epstein Becker & Green PC, and Kristen McDermott Woodrum, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP, about some of the trends and market conditions that are impacting private equity (PE) physician deals. They discuss reasons physicians are exploring private equity opportunities and what PE tends to look for in a physician practice, regulatory considerations for PE transactions, best practices physicians should keep in mind as they go into a potential transaction, and post-closing considerations. Anjana and Kristen spoke about this topic at AHLA’s 2023 Health Care Transactions Program in Nashville, TN. Sponsored by Pinnacle. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

The digital health landscape has changed the way that patients are tracking and managing their health care, raising new concerns around data privacy and security risks. Wes Morris, Senior Director, Consulting Services, Clearwater, speaks with Bethany Corbin, an attorney who provides strategic guidance and legal counsel to health care innovation companies and Femtech, about the major privacy and security concerns that have arisen under the current landscape, specifically around telehealth, apps, and wearables. They also discuss emerging enforcement trends, including the Federal Trade Commission’s increasing role, and privacy and security best practices. Sponsored by Clearwater. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Joe Wolfe, Attorney, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC, speaks with Crane Pomerantz, Member, Clark Hill LLP, about trends and developments related to recent health care fraud settlements, including the key drivers of False Claims Act (FCA) settlements, the Department of Justice’s February 2023 report on FCA settlements, criminal pleas, and reverse false claims cases. They also discuss AHLA brand-new publication, Health Care Fraud Settlement Index. From AHLA’s Fraud and Abuse Practice Group. Watch the conversation here. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Stephanie Haywood, Senior Vice President, Sales and Client Engagement, Ntracts, speaks with Jerry Lear, Chief Internal Audit/ERM Officer, Bon Secours Mercy Health, and Ken Zeko, Principal Advisor, Hall Render Advisory Services, about steps health care organizations can take to conduct a thorough risk assessment in relation to Stark and Anti-Kickback compliance. They discuss how to use DOJ compliance guidance, focus arrangements CIAs, and organizational contract data, and they offer advice to legal and compliance leaders on how to ensure that stakeholders in their organizations are aware of risks. Sponsored by Ntracts. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Health care real estate leasing and space sharing arrangements present thorny legal and valuation issues that must be dealt with carefully to maintain compliant arrangements. Mike Vetter, Partner, HMS Valuation Partners, speaks with Joel Swider, Attorney, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC, about some of the legal and valuation issues surrounding these arrangements. They discuss the different types of space sharing arrangements, past and recent regulatory guidance, recent cases, and best practices for implementing a compliant arrangement. Sponsored by HMS Valuation Partners. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

AHLA's monthly podcast featuring health lawyer and blogger Norm Tabler's informative and entertaining take on recent health law and other legal developments. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Andrea Ferrari, Principal and General Counsel, Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting, speaks with Michael Lemell, Director of Value-Based Care Contracting, AdventHealth, and Kristen McDermott Woodrum, Partner, McGuireWoods, about trends and developments pertaining to transactions in value-based care. They discuss the meaning of value-based care, the types of health care stakeholders that are currently participating in value-based care and how that is changing, recent examples of transactions in value-based care, and key trends to watch. Sponsored by Pinnacle. To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.