Health Care

Health care is one of the most heavily regulated, fast-moving and high-stakes industries in the country. Providers face an evolving slate of pressures: tightening regulation and enforcement, accelerating consolidation, reimbursement uncertainty, workforce challenges, data privacy demands and rising litigation exposure.

Organizations that can adapt quickly, manage risk and seize new opportunities will lead. That takes a legal partner who understands both the business realities and the regulatory framework you operate within.

How We Help

Phelps meets the needs of health care clients through deep, hands-on experience with providers and the organizations that support them. We counsel clients on regulatory and operational strategy, corporate transactions and strategic partnerships, government investigations and enforcement matters. Supported by a multidisciplinary team, we also advise on labor and employment, privacy and data security, reimbursement, fraud and abuse compliance, physician practice management and litigation—giving clients practical guidance across the full range of health care legal needs. Whether you are launching, growing, restructuring or defending your organization, our team works alongside you to deliver focused, practical counsel that keeps you compliant and competitive.

Our Services

We represent the full range of health care organizations across the care continuum on the regulatory, transactional and litigation matters that define their success:

Regulatory & Operations

Health care organizations must navigate a dense and shifting web of federal and state regulation. We provide regulatory counseling and compliance program guidance across the issues that matter most, including:

• Fraud and abuse counseling, including the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, EKRA, and the False Claims Act
• New service line development and regulatory structuring
• Compliant business model design and operational implementation, strategic contracting for provider alignment, management arrangements and clinical operations
• Ancillary profit distribution counseling
• Affordable Care Act compliance
• Reimbursement, payor audits and overpayment matters
• Licensing, certification and certificate of need (CON)
• Corporate compliance programs and self-disclosure
• Managed care contracting
• 340B Drug Pricing Program
• EMTALA
• HIPAA and HITECH privacy and security compliance

Corporate & Transactions

Health care operations demand significant capital and careful structuring. Our transactional team guides clients through:

• Mergers, acquisitions and dispositions
• Joint ventures, syndications and strategic partnerships
• Private equity investment in physician practices and provider platforms
• Transactional regulatory due diligence
• Entity formation, governance and reorganization
• Financing, securities and capital-raising transactions
• Real estate acquisition, development, leasing and financing for health care facilities

Litigation, Enforcement Defense & Dispute Resolution

When disputes arise, our litigators respond quickly to protect your interests and resolve matters efficiently. Our experience spans:

• Health care litigation and risk management
• Medical staff disputes
• Government investigations and enforcement actions before the OIG, DOJ and U.S. Attorneys’ offices
• White collar defense and fraud and abuse allegations
• False Claims Act and qui tam defense
• Antitrust and competition disputes
• Medical malpractice and professional liability
• Managed care and reimbursement litigation

Labor & Employment

Your workforce is your most valuable asset, and health care employers face distinct workforce challenges. We advise on policies, training, benefits, physician noncompetes, workplace safety, and the protection of trade secrets and confidential information.

Data Privacy & Security

Protecting patient information is key. We counsel clients on HIPAA and HITECH compliance, data security, website and tracking-technology risk, data breach prevention and response, government investigations, and privacy and security challenges raised by emerging technologies, including AI.

Nonprofit & Tax-Exempt Organizations

For providers and health-related organizations structured as nonprofits, we help steer them through the evolving rules that govern tax-exempt status, governance and operations.

Providers We Serve

Our multidisciplinary, team-based approach supports clients across a broad range of health care sectors and facilities:

• Hospitals and health systems
• Academic medical centers
• Private equity and investors in health care
• Physician practices and management services organizations
• Pharmacies
• Federally Qualified Health Centers
• Medical spas and wellness clinics
• Medical marijuana dispensaries
• Ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient services
• Behavioral health providers
• Diagnostic imaging and clinical laboratories
• Home health and hospice
• Senior housing and long-term care
• Health plans, managed care and benefit management companies
• Health care information technology and digital health
• Telemedicine providers
• Urgent and retail care clinics
• Nonprofit providers and research organizations
• Revenue cycle management companies