Regulatory Counseling

Companies and organizations furnishing health care items and services operate in one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States.  Health Care Group attorneys have decades of experience counseling providers, suppliers, manufacturers, payers, clinicians and others concerning how to structure their transactions and day-to-day operations to comply with the complex array of federal and state health care laws and regulations.  These attorneys focus on providing constructive, useful advice informed by current developments in the law and a sophisticated understanding of government regulatory and enforcement priorities and concerns.  For example:

• Health Care Group attorneys counsel health care organizations with respect to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state health care programs.  This advice covers the full range of issues relating to the fee-for-service and managed care components of these programs, including issues relating to provider certification, provider conditions of participation, provider contracting, coverage and reimbursement (including administrative appeals to the Provider Reimbursement Review Board) and EMTALA.
• Sonnenschein attorneys advise clients on research laws and regulations including the requirements of the NIH, OHRP and NSF.
• Sonnenschein attorneys counsel hospitals and other providers on issues relating to state licensure, Joint Commission compliance, consent to treatment, organ donation, advance directives, chemical dependency treatment, commitments and guardianships.
• Firm attorneys counsel providers on issues relating to medical staff activities and hospital bylaws.  This work includes advising hospitals on malpractice insurance issues, peer review activities, immunity and National Practitioner Data Bank issues, disciplinary activities, and a wide range of hospital staff membership issues.