Decades as dedicated counsel for post-acute and long-term care providers.
As the population ages and patient care models evolve, the demand for long-term and post-acute care services continues to rise. Providers in this sector face a complex regulatory environment, with frequent changes in reimbursement, licensing, and provider enrollment requirements. Our nationally ranked Healthcare group includes a dedicated Post-Acute Care team that has served providers for decades, with attorneys who bring more than 50 years of direct experience supporting the unique needs of post-acute care organizations.
We represent a broad range of post-acute care providers, including those operating independently and those affiliated with larger health systems. Our team works with skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), assisted living facilities (ALFs), independent living facilities, home health agencies, hospice providers, continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE programs), Medicaid Waiver personal care providers, and many other senior living and home care providers.
Our services span the full spectrum of regulatory, corporate, and transactional work, as well as litigation and malpractice defense. We regularly assist clients with:
- Compliance with Medicare participation requirements, including survey defense,
- Compliance with conditions of payment,
- Payer audits and appeals, including Medicare and Medicaid audit and appeals,
- Certificate of Need (CON) applications,
- Licensing enrollment and defense,
- Medicaid enrollment, participation, and reimbursement,
- Medicare enrollment and reimbursement,
- Buy-side and sell-side equity and asset transactions,
- M&A and joint ventures, corporate restructuring, and nonprofit affiliations,
- Change of ownership (CHOW) and change of information (CHOI) applications,
- Vendor contracts and medical professional agreements, and
- Medical malpractice defense and involuntary discharges.
Our post-acute care attorneys draft and negotiate contracts with clinicians, payers, and vendors, supporting providers in building strong operational foundations. The team’s transactional attorneys routinely advise post-acute care clients throughout the lifecycle of the deal on both corporate and regulatory aspects of post-acute care transactions.
Navigating Medicare’s shifting landscape is a core part of our practice. We help our post-acute clients adapt to new rules, address audit findings, and manage appeals. Our team regularly handles survey, certification, and enforcement matters, and we have experience with state and federal agencies across the country, including the HHS Office of Inspector General. Whether a client is seeking approval for a new project, responding to a regulatory inquiry, or acquiring a new facility, we provide clear, practical guidance at every step.
Hospice
Our Hospice & Palliative Care attorneys advise hospice agencies and palliative care providers across the country on proactive compliance, audits and investigations, licensing, corporate transactions, litigation, and growth. We also have a dedicated Hospice Medicare & Medicaid Audits team that has defended hospices in payer audits for more than a decade.
Home health agencies
We work regularly with home health agencies, including assistance with Medicare and Medicaid enrollment and licensing, regulatory and compliance counseling, audits and investigations, and corporate and transactional matters. We have advised dozens of these organizations on contract matters and transactions, including careful evaluation of the 36-month rule.
Long-term care facilities
Our team has extensive experience with SNFs, ALFs, CCRCs, independent living, and other senior living communities. We have contested deficiencies on behalf of these facilities through informal dispute resolution and the federal administrative appeal process, advised on appeals to the CMS Departmental Appeals Board, and successfully handled hundreds of involuntary discharge matters in multiple states. In addition, we have assisted in their relationships with other providers and vendors, advising on the acquisition of hospice and home health lines of service, the sale or acquisition of a facility, joint venture agreements, management company agreements, and medical director agreements.