Health Care

The combination of an aging population, ongoing medical advancements and health care reform brings even more complexity to the already intricate arena of health care law. Foster Swift's team of experienced health law attorneys has been serving the industry long before its current rise in the public eye.

Complementing the experience of our Health Care Practice Group is the unique blend of regulatory, transactional and litigation attorneys all of whom are knowledgeable with the myriad of health care issues. We represent:

Hospitals
Physician groups
Home health and hospice providers
Long-term care and assisted living providers
Health care systems and networks
Managed care organizations
PACE organizations
Physical therapy providers
Pharmacies and durable medical equipment companies
Integrated delivery systems
Health information technology companies
E-health businesses
Health-care-related supplier trade associations
Non-profit health care foundations and organizations
Waiver Organizations

With Foster Swift, clients have the benefit of counsel who have a thorough understanding of the clinical and business realities of health care as well as the legal and regulatory requirements.

Clients have retained us for assistance in:

Regulatory and Reimbursement

Clients seek our assistance on a variety of regulatory and reimbursement matters before local, state, and regulatory agencies, including:

Licensure and certification matters
Provider-based status matters
Medicare and Medicaid appeals
Health care insurance provider audits
Certificate of Need matters
Third party reimbursement matters, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan audits
Anti-Kickback and Stark II matters
False claims investigations and litigation
Tax exemption and TBOR II matters

Transactions

In this fast-paced health care environment, our attorneys assist clients with the formation, development and management of affiliations, acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures and newly integrated organizations. This includes clinically integrated networks and accountable care organizations. Our role can be as simple as reviewing documents or as complex as heading up a multi-member transactional team.

Fraud and Abuse Matters

Members of the Foster Swift Health Care Group regularly assist clients in structuring transactions to minimize Anti-Kickback, Stark II, and False Claims. Assisting our clients with the development and implementation of effective compliance programs is key to our practice. We also help our clients with self-referral disclosures to centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.

Managed Care, Insurance and Employee Benefits

With multiple attorneys with decades of experience, health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, self-funded plans and third party administrators seek us out for representation before the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Service. In addition we regularly provide advice to networks of hospitals and physician providers on contractual matters, regulatory filings, appeals, credentialing and all aspects of litigation that may arise.

Licensing and Credentialing

The first step in the career of any health professional is obtaining the state and federal licenses needed to engage in practice. The next is successfully receiving credentials from hospitals, provider organizations, health plans, private and governmental payors, and other entities. Once embarked on their careers, health professionals face the dreaded risk of a licensing investigation by state or federal authorities or a peer review and privileging action by a hospital or other credentialing organization. The number of licensing and disciplinary actions has increased greatly in recent years, and even good health professionals can become embroiled in these stressful and career-threatening matters.

Our attorneys routinely and successfully advise health professionals in:

Obtaining licensing, staff privileges, and credentialing, especially when there are issues that could delay or interfere with application and approval
Challenging denials of licenses, privileges, and credentialing
Responding to investigation requests from professional licensing agencies
Defending against licensing complaints
Assisting in responding to peer review requests from hospitals and other facilities
Handling medical staff and credentialing disputes and fair hearing proceedings
Reporting requirements imposed by licensing agencies, hospitals, provider organizations, and health plans
Contesting and correcting adverse action reports to the National Practitioner Data Bank
Pursuing and defending against lawsuits related to these matters

Information Technology

Minimizing client risk is always our goal as we assist vendors and purchasers in addressing the legal considerations surrounding the acquisition and implementation of information technology systems in the health care industry. Our expertise includes:

Formation, financing and governance of business entities
Development, marketing and distribution arrangements
Drafting licensing agreements, systems implementation agreements, joint development agreements and outsourcing agreements
Advising on Internet and new technology issues
Product liability
Information Technology clients also rely on our attorneys to negotiate and draft employment and non-compete agreements.

General Counsel

As general counsel to more than 100 health care industry-related clients, many have spanned decades, we become involved in matters unique to individual clients needs and operating goals of the organization, such as:

Risk management issues
Employment, labor and benefits issues
Matters involving the privatization of health care facilities
Agreements and joint ventures with physicians
Medical records
Compliance issues
Utilization review
Provider policies
Hospital finance and bond issuances

HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules AND HITECH ACT

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules are a concern of every health care provider, and our attorneys are committed to helping clients avert risk through the implementation of compliance programs as well as on-going training for all staff. In accomplishing this, we have extensive experience in helping health care providers transition their practices to electronic medical records and the Internet. We also advise clients on the day-to-day issues arising from the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, as well as represent clients in Electronic Health Records (EHR) incentive program audit and appeals.

Litigation

Foster Swift attorneys are top-tier litigators with an impressive track record of handling complex litigation on behalf of health care clients, including cases involving reimbursement, contract disputes, employment and medical staff issues, fraud and abuse, antitrust, licensing and many more.

Over the years, Foster Swift attorneys have been involved in many important cases before state and federal appellate courts. This includes authoring numerous amicus briefs which have been referenced in many key state and federal appellate court opinions.

RECOGNITION FOR OUR ATTORNEYS

Well respected by their peers, more than half the members of this practice area are included in the Health care category of Best Lawyers in America and have AV® Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell. Based on the breadth of their skill, Foster Swift Health Care attorneys have been asked for over two decades to provide the “Michigan Health Law Update” at the annual meeting of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education Health Law Institute.

Foster Swift Health Care attorneys are committed to providing excellent legal counsel in an efficient and economical manner to help clients keep pace with the ongoing change.

Foster Swift has been named a Tier 1 firm in Health Care Law in Lansing and Detroit by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Recent Blog Posts

Publications & Alerts

MDHHS Director Updates and Expands Emergency Order, Foster Swift Legal Update E-blast, October 9, 2020
How Do Recent Michigan Supreme Court and MDHHS Orders Regarding COVID-19 Impact Employers?, Foster Swift Legal Update E-blast, October 6, 2020
MDHHS Revives Face Mask Requirement, Gathering Limits, and Bar Restrictions through Emergency Order, Foster Swift Coronavirus Resource Page and Eblast, October 5, 2020
Michigan Supreme Court Upends Governor Whitmer's Authority to Issue Executive Orders, Foster Swift Eblast & Coronavirus Resource Page, October 2, 2020
Judge Upholds MDHHS Order Requiring COVID-19 Testing of Migrant Workers, Foster Swift Agricultural Law News, September 28, 2020
HIPAA Business Associate Agreements - What Are They and When Are They Required?, Foster Swift Health Care Law News E-blast, July 29, 2020

Events

Emerging Trend: A Defined Contribution Approach to Health Care Coverage, Lansing Economic Club, October 27, 2016
ESOP Administration Q+A- Get Your Questions Answered, Great Lakes Regional ESOP Conference, October 20, 2016
ERISA Fiduciary Duties and Retirement Plan, July 21, 2016
Legal Issues for the Medical Professional, Health Care Financial Management Association's Western Michigan Chapter, September 16, 2015
Legal Consideration for the Treatment of Minors, Kent County Dental Society, March 11, 2015
The Problems and Solutions Involving Healthcare, Michigan State International Law Review, February 20, 2015
What Family Law Attorneys Need to Know about Health Care Reform, Grand Rapids Bar Association Family Law Section, October 22, 2014