|
Health Care
For over three decades, the Health Care Practice at Ropes & Gray has been providing our clients with creative and innovative representation. Our Health Care Practice spans each of our offices and is comprised of more than forty professionals, many of whom have over twenty years of experience representing health care clients at Ropes & Gray.
How We Help Our Clients
As the health care industry is constantly evolving and incorporating developing legislation, many organizations find it daunting to navigate the changing landscape. Our Health Care Practice has strength in both our seasoned resources and our diverse experience. Ropes & Gray is also in-house counsel at many of its client companies throughout the U.S. Our client experience includes:
- Representing hospitals and other providers in mergers, disaffiliations, and joint ventures;
- Converting non-profit hospitals to for-profit status through purchase by an acquirer or establishment of joint ownership vehicles;
- Advising the boards of financially troubled organizations, particularly multi-corporate systems, on their fiduciary duties to various constituencies, including creditors;
- Representing financially troubled organizations’ interest in discussions with attorneys general and other regulators;
- Conducting and participating in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance assessments for a variety of health care clients;
- Advising researchers and their organizations on achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance as well as responding to investigations by federal agencies;
- Defending clients in various investigations, audits, and proceedings conducted by the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General; and
- Helping health care clients borrow over $3 billion through the tax-exempt bond market and restructuring many bond issues over $1 billion.
Practice Focus Areas
Mergers, Disaffiliations, and Joint Ventures
The Health Care Practice regularly works on all types of mergers, disaffiliations, and joint ventures, including:
- Non-profit affiliations and divestitures;
- Non-profit to for-profit "conversions";
- Non-profit/for-profit joint ventures; and
- Hospital, physician practice, and other provider acquisitions.
As corporate transaction counsel we can manage each deal in its entirety, from letter of intent negotiations to implementation after the closing. Drawing on firm resources, Ropes & Gray is able to provide the expertise to handle all aspects of a transaction, including: antitrust; tax; bond financing; labor, employment and benefits; governmental approvals; and real estate.
Academic Medical Centers
Ropes & Gray possesses particular expertise in representing many of the top academic medical centers across the country, both as general counsel to provide comprehensive representation on an ongoing basis, and as special counsel on specific transactions. We have worked with academic medical centers on such diverse matters as:
- Forming and restructuring affiliated faculty group practices;
- Creating acquisition or affiliation vehicles for community-based providers;
- Securing contracts with pharmaceutical companies for sponsored research arrangements;
- Working with medical center management and scientists to help capitalize on technology transfers; and
- Developing organizational and governance structures for provider networks and managed care contracting.
HIPAA/Privacy Expertise
The Health Care Practice has completed numerous HIPAA survey and educational engagements. We continue to advise clients on the wide-ranging impact of HIPAA regulations on their operations and help them develop a HIPAA compliance strategy. We have conducted, participated in, and overseen HIPAA compliance assessments for a broad group of health care providers, health plans, universities, health-related companies, and governmental agencies. The Practice has also advised clients on other federal and state privacy laws and conducted preemption analyses to determine the impact of state laws in comparison to HIPAA requirements.
Troubled Institutions
We have represented many financially distressed organizations in their effort to improve operations and manage multiple constituencies. This often includes coordinating simultaneous negotiations with state attorneys general, departments of health, creditors (including bond insurers, bond trustees, and state bonding authorities), donors, medical staff, and community groups. We help boards of trustees of parent and subsidiary corporations assess their respective fiduciary duties in making difficult decisions about closing, restructuring, or selling facilities and assets and in restructuring relations among members of obligated bond groups.
Research Compliance Services
Human trials and basic research programs are targets for heightened public scrutiny and compliance enforcement. The Health Care Practice represents many participants in the biomedical and basic science research field in their efforts to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance, including:
- Advising investigators and clinical sites concerning the integration of research and clinical activities;
- Helping researchers design and implement compliance programs;
- Conducting routine and focused compliance reviews of research policies and procedures;
- Serving as outside counsel to members of IRBs; and
- Advising researchers and their organizations in their responses to "whistleblowers" as well as other allegations or investigations by federal agencies.
Managed Care
Since working on the formation of the first HMO in New England in 1969, Ropes & Gray has worked with clients in the formation, management, and growth of managed care plans and provider networks for managed care contracting. As general and special counsel to HMOs and other managed care entities, the Health Care Practice has advised clients on:
- All forms of contracts, mergers and acquisitions, and restructurings;
- Antitrust, tax and bankruptcy, and receivership matters; and
- Federal and state regulatory and reimbursement issues.
Provider and Medical Service Organizations
The Health Care Practice has formed a wide variety of provider and medical service organizations. In addition to acting as special counsel in the creation of these enterprises, we often serve them as general counsel and assist them in negotiating managed care contracts and in acquiring and managing physician practices.
Hospitals and Multiprovider Networks
We have extensive experience working with hospitals and multiprovider networks to address all of their legal needs on an ongoing basis, including:
- Network formation and development;
- Restructuring physician practices due to acquisition or divestiture;
- Physician contracting;
- Managed care contracting;
- Licensure and CON matters;
- Reimbursement;
- PRRB appeals, stark, fraud, and abuse; and
- HIPAA and other regulatory compliance.
Nonprofit Tax Matters
Ropes & Gray has one of the largest exempt organization tax practices in the nation. We provide advice to our health care clients regarding charitable giving, endowment management, unrelated business income, executive compensation, and tax-exempt financing. We also have extensive experience in structuring joint ventures or other transactions between non-profit and for-profit entities. Please click here to learn more about our Tax Practice.
Government Enforcement and Compliance
The health care industry is now the subject of unprecedented government scrutiny. Ropes & Gray is committed to helping clients respond to this scrutiny, by offering both proactive advice and representation in enforcement proceedings. We work with health care clients to design and implement compliance programs aimed at preventing violations of law or detecting – and correcting – high risk practices before government enforcement activity is begun. The Health Care Practice has collaborated with specialists, including the Practice’s health care financial consultants, to develop educational modules to supplement compliance programs and educate staff. Our practice is differentiated by the experience of several lawyers who are former federal prosecutors and are uniquely positioned to represent clients in enforcement matters.
Antitrust and Regulatory Matters
Health care organizations face antitrust issues in all facets of their operations. Ropes & Gray helps health care clients structure their acquisitions, affiliations, joint ventures, and managed care contracting to minimize antitrust risk. We have also represented health care clients before the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as before state attorneys general.
Other Health Care Legal Services
The Health Care Practice’s experience covers a broad range of services encompassing all areas of health law. Additional health care legal services include representation of:
- Health benefit plans/HMOs licensure and regulation;
- Patient care treatment issues;
- State and federal health care reform initiatives;
- Specialized providers; and
- Capital financing.
Our Clients
We represent participants in virtually every sector of the health care industry: academic medical centers, community hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy benefit managers, managed care organizations and insurance companies, health care provider organizations, physician practice groups, health care technology and biomedical companies, and long-term care and skilled nursing home providers.
For additional information, please click here to learn more about our Health Care Litigation Practice.
Ropes & Gray serves our health care clients across a spectrum of needs. Please click on the links below to learn more about our expertise.
©2008 Ropes & Gray LLP. All rights reserved.
|