Health

General Corporate

• Developed and analyzed models for restructuring a major U.S. university health care system and implemented the chosen model
• Completed two complex financing transactions involving two of the largest start-up continuing care retirement community financings ever undertaken in New Jersey. The first transaction involved the issuance of $65 million in fixed rate and variable rate tax-exempt bonds and more than $7 million in private construction financing. Similarly, the financing for the second transaction involved the issuance of more than $57 million of fixed rate, adjustable rate, and floating rate tax-exempt bonds.
• Worked with hospitals to structure, organize, and finance limited liability companies for the purpose of constructing and operating free-standing ambulatory surgery centers; the LLCs are jointly owned by the hospitals and surgeons in the hospitals' service areas
• Provided strategic planning, corporate, tax, regulatory, and charitable trust advice to an acute-care hospital system that transitioned a recently acquired acute-care hospital into a facility focused on ambulatory care and inpatient and outpatient elder services
• Advised a consortium of acute-care hospitals on the establishment of EMTALA-compliant policies and procedures while preserving a system of guidelines for transfers within the consortium based on individual hospital labor, delivery, and nursery capabilities
• Represented a regional for-profit provider of senior housing and health care services with the licensing and development of a continuing care retirement community in New Jersey, including preparation of a residence and care agreement, disclosure statement, and application to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services for a certificate of authority
• Currently serve as outside general counsel to five continuing care retirement communities on a wide range of legal issues

Transactions

• Advised an international pharmaceutical company in its $2.1 billion sale of a medical device unit
• Represented a prominent rehabilitation hospital in its affiliation with one of the largest health care systems in Pennsylvania, and also merged two hospitals within that system
• Assisted a hospital system in organizing a joint venture MSO to purchase and operate physician practices and to provide practice management services to the remaining independent physician practices
• Advised a client in its acquisition of the stock of several European clinical research organizations
• Negotiated an alliance of 26 long-term care providers interested in pursuing joint contracting opportunities
• Negotiated a ten-year $31 million comprehensive systems integration agreement on behalf of a leading local hospital in Pennsylvania
• Represented a nursing home management company in the acquisition and financing of two nursing homes for $38.5 million

Regulatory Compliance/Government Investigations/Health Care Fraud

• Represented a major independent clinical laboratory in connection with a government investigation into its marketing, sales, and billing practices that resulted in a civil and administrative settlement with the United States, 42 states, and the District of Columbia, including the settlement of several qui tam actions brought under the False Claims Act. The investigation, now closed, did not result in criminal charges against the company or any of its employees. We continue to represent this company in connection with various litigation matters related to the government investigation and settlement, including a suit brought by a large group of private insurers, numerous class action lawsuits, and additional qui tam cases. We also helped create a corporate compliance program for this client that eventually was used by the OIG as its Model Compliance Guidelines for Clinical Laboratories.
• Represented a hospital system in connection with a government investigation and qui tam case relating to a partial hospitalization program operated by one of the member hospitals of the system
• Advised two hospitals with respect to a government investigation into their coding of pneumonia cases under DRG 79
• Represented a hospital in a Physicians at Teaching Hospitals ("PATH") review by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Represented a large U.S. nursing home company in connection with a government investigation into quality of care issues at one of its Pennsylvania facilities
• Settled a qui tam action and related labor litigation for a hospital client involving an affiliation agreement
• We are advising a pediatric health system and a regional perinatal cooperative in their efforts to comply with HIPAA and state privacy and security requirements, including structuring their HIPAA business associate agreements, consent forms, and policies

Litigation

• Represented one client in numerous qui tam cases throughout the United States, including cases in Pennsylvania, California, Georgia, and Louisiana
• Represented a hospital in its internal investigation of its CEO's and CFO's fraudulent actions and in its subsequent suit to recoup stolen funds. A favorable $5.5 million settlement was reached between the hospital and various parties, including the hospital's insurance carrier
• Represented a health care system in a disciplinary proceeding involving a medical staff member. After a five-day hearing, the hearing panel ruled in favor of the system. We then defeated the physician's related request for an injunction on the basis of preliminary objections to the physician's complaint
• Served in the capacity of hearing officer in three different disciplinary hearings. We represented the medical director of a hospital who was a defendant in a Pennsylvania case; a division director who was named as a defendant in a case filed in federal court; and a health care system against a suit filed by one of its residents
• Represented an MRI company in its dispute with a physician/owner of an MRI center. We obtained an injunction for our client, requiring the physician to discontinue the offending practices, and negotiated a settlement that included the purchase of businesses from the physician
• Defended a Philadelphia law firm that was named as one of the defendants in a medical staff privileging case involving antitrust and civil rights claims. We successfully persuaded the federal district court to dismiss the claims against our client and obtained sanctions against plaintiff's counsel. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both the dismissal and sanctions. The case is proceeding to trial against the other defendants.
• Represented one of five hospital defendants that had been sued under the antitrust laws by a home health care provider excluded from a home health care venture created in part by the five hospitals. Our defense was based on a sophisticated antitrust and economic analysis that resulted in summary judgment for our clients, which was upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Defended a hospital against the chairman of pediatric cardiology who sued in federal court for antitrust claims and related state court claims. We defeated the antitrust claims on summary judgment, which was affirmed by the Third Circuit. The state court claims were tried to verdict.
• Represented an acute-care hospital in defending its award of a certificate of need to initiate a cardiac surgery program
• Represented a hospital in its efforts to obtain coverage from its insurance carrier for the hospital's employed physicians and residents