Health Care Practice

The health care reform bill that ultimately lands on President Obama’s desk is bound to have a far-reaching impact on all segments of the health care industry, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical device companies, Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers, insurers, researchers and educators.  The bill also will have significant consequences for employers, benefits managers and a wide range of other constituencies within the health care industry.  Sonnenschein's Strategic Solutions for Health Care Reform site provides up-to-date news and resources prepared by our attorneys and professionals on the current state of America's health care reform system and its impact on the client communities we serve."
Click here to learn more about Sonnenschein's Strategic Solutions for Health Care Reform.

Congress amended the federal Medicare Secondary Payer ("MSP") statute in December 2007 to impose mandatory reporting obligations on certain entities, including group health plans and liability, no fault and workers’ compensation insurers. A liability insurer is interpreted broadly in this context to include any self-insured entity and, accordingly, CMS has determined that the reporting obligations may apply to a broad range of entities (including, in certain instances, those who settle and pay within insurance deductible amounts).  The statute authorizes CMS to impose civil monetary penalties of $1,000 dollars a day for each instance of non-reporting. Sonnenschein is actively advising many clients on MSP reporting obligations, including insurers and self-insured entities (such as hospitals, retailers and others).
Click here to view Medicare Secondary Payer & Other Coordination of Benefits page.

Thomas Hyatt is recognized by the Washingtonian magazine on the "Washington, D.C., Best Health Care Lawyers of the Year" and "Washington, D.C., Best Non-Profit Charities Lawyers of the Year" list. Also, Robert Joseph is named by the Washingtonian magazine on the "Washington, D.C., Best Franchise Lawyers of the Year" list. These lists are published in the magazine's November 2009 edition.

A second, extensively revised, edition of The Stark Law: A User's Guide to Achieving Compliance has been published by HC Pro.  Authored by Sonnenschein partners Ramy Fayed, Christopher Janney, Marci Rose Levine and Gadi Weinreich, this book (first published in 2005) provides hospitals, physicians and others with practical guidance from seasoned professionals, easy-to-implement tools, and over 175 real world examples -- all designed to help health care organizations comply with the Stark Law and its increasingly complex regulations.