Overview Experience Case Studies Insights Events News Outside the Office Community Leadership

Erin E. Burns

Senior Associate

Denver
phone: 303.749.7229
fax: 303.749.7272

email: [email protected]

Overview Experience Case Studies

Insights Events News

Outside the Office Community Leadership

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Overview

Erin is passionate about delivering effective legal solutions for hospice & palliative care providers.

Erin is a member of the firm’s Hospice & Palliative Care Team, which collectively has over 25 years of experience working with hospice and palliative care providers across the country. Erin is dedicated to working collaboratively with clients to address their needs in an ever-changing, highly regulated industry. Her practice ranges from providing quick answers to immediate day-to-day operational questions to larger, more complex compliance issues. Erin and the Hospice & Palliative Care Team routinely guide hospice providers throughout all phases of government surveys, from strategizing and preparing plans of correction to interfacing with surveyors, as well as audits, including analysis of and response to alleged clinical, technical and statistical errors.

Hospice and palliative care clients also value Erin’s research skills, and her experience drafting and reviewing a wide range of contracts, such as inpatient services agreements, medical director agreements and palliative care consulting agreements, among others. Whether Erin is answering a 15-minute question or navigating a sophisticated Unified Program Integrity Contractor (UPIC) audit, she is deeply passionate about supporting hospice and palliative care providers, along with the dedicated physicians, nurses and clinical social workers who serve and comfort patients and families at their most vulnerable.

Industry

Healthcare

Services

Healthcare Regulatory & Compliance Counseling

Hospice & Palliative Care

Hospice Medicare & Medicaid Audits

Recognition

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Health Care Law, 2021-2024

Education

J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School
B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Legal Studies and Psychology

Admissions

Colorado
Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin

Professional Memberships and Certifications

American Health Law Association (AHLA)
State Bar of Wisconsin
Dane County Bar Association (DCBA)

Experience

Assisted a hospice provider through redetermination and reconsideration appeals of a Unified Program Integrity Contractor (UPIC) audit to reduce their initial overpayment determination of more than $400,000 by 60+ percent.
Through advocacy during the Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) discussion and education session and re-review process, helped client reduce initial high error rate to less than 14 percent.
Assisted in guiding multiple hospice providers through survey responses, both from state agencies and accreditation organizations.
Through Medicare administrative appeal process, decreased hospice client's alleged $8.6 million audit overpayment to just $77,000.
Reduced nonprofit hospice client's alleged Medicare audit overpayment by approximately $20 million, saving client from potential closure or sale.
Represented hospice in appeal of a Medicare audit that resulted in an extrapolated overpayment of more than $12 million. Advocated for the hospice through the appeal process including a hearing before an administrative law judge. The extrapolation was thrown out and the ALJ returned a fully favorable ruling, resulting in a final overpayment amount of $0.00.

Podcast | August 09, 2023

Survey Woes: CMS Ramps Up Hospice Survey Program and Consequences

Podcast | October 26, 2022

Strategic Restructuring for the Future | Not Just an Org Chart: Corporate and Regulatory Considerations for Hospice Transactions

Podcast | August 17, 2022

Beyond Hospice: Home Health Agencies Plagued by UPICs and SMRCs

Podcast | August 03, 2022

Hospice Audit Series | And They're Off! The OIG's Nationwide Review of Hospice Eligibility Has Begun

Podcast | July 06, 2022

Beyond Hospice: The OIG Renews Its Scrutiny of Home Health Agencies

Podcast | March 16, 2022

Hospice Audit Series: Beyond Part D, OIG Scrutinizes the Hospice Industry to the Tune of $6.6 Billion

Podcast | October 20, 2021

Hospice Audit Series: Insights for Winning at Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Hearings, Part II

Podcast | October 06, 2021

Hospice Audit Series: Insights for Winning at Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Hearings, Part I

Podcast | September 08, 2021

Hospice Audit Series: A Beginning and an End from CMS - TPE Resumes While QIC Demonstration Ends

Podcast | June 16, 2021

Privacy Series: HIPAA Breaches - When It Is, and When It Is Not a Breach

Podcast | April 14, 2021

Hospice Audit Series: The Second Guessing of Billed Hospice Physician Visits

Podcast | March 31, 2021

Hospice Audit Series: Spring Audit Bloom—Medicaid UPICs and MAC ADRs

Podcast | July 22, 2020

COVID-19 Hasn't Interrupted Everything: Certain Hospice Audit Activity Continues Despite Public Health Emergency

Podcast | April 03, 2020

COVID-19 Hospice How-To Series: Recent Developments Regarding Telehealth, Virtual Visits, and Medicare Audits and Appeals

Blog | April 03, 2020

COVID-19 Hospice How-To Series: Application of the FFCRA "Health Care Provider" Exemption to Hospices

Podcast | March 27, 2020

COVID-19 Hospice How-To Series: Insights and Strategies for Virtual Visits, Telehealth and Medicare Appeals

Podcast | March 19, 2020

COVID-19 Hospice How-to Series: Navigating and Troubleshooting Coronavirus Challenges

Podcast | February 06, 2020

Breaking Down TPEs: Facts and Strategies

Podcast | January 23, 2020

Your Hospice Team Has a New Home

Speaking Engagements | October 3, 2023

Speaker, "Discerning When Audits Trigger Internal Investigations," 2023 NHPCO Annual Leadership Conference

Speaking Engagements | September 30, 2023

Speaker, "Hospice Quality Certificate Program (HQCP)," The National Hospice and Palliative Care Association Annual Conference

Speaking Engagements | September 30, 2023

Speaker, "Hospice Compliance Certificate Program," 2023 NHPCO Annual Leadership Conference

Speaking Engagements | October 13, 2022

Speaker, "Getting Upstream: Palliative Care Opportunities, Trends & Updates," Hospice & Home Care Webinar Network

Speaking Engagements | November 5, 2021

Speaker, "Medicare's 60-Day Repayment Rule: Intersection of Audits and Investigations," HCCA Regional Healthcare Compliance Conference

Speaking Engagements | October 1, 2020

Speaker, "Hospice Compliance and Legal Update," Hospice Fundamentals 2020 Fall Workshop

Speaking Engagements | January 2020

Speaker, "Payment reform & OIG reports: year-end recap & future projections for hospice," Hospice & Home Care Webinar Network (webinar)

Media Mentions | January 02, 2024

Hospice News: Investigating Medicare Hospice Overpayments

News Releases | August 17, 2023

More than 140 Husch Blackwell Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America® Ones to Watch

Media Mentions | November 27, 2022

Hospice News: Regulatory Focus in Hospice Giving Buyers Pause in M&A Deals

News Releases | August 18, 2022

More than 80 Husch Blackwell Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America® Ones to Watch

Media Mentions | August 10, 2022

Home Health Care News: Why Home Health Insiders Expect Uptick In Audits, Inquiries From Federal Watchdogs

News | July 11, 2022

Home Health Care News: What Home Health Providers Can Learn from Hospice OIG Audits

News Releases | August 19, 2021

More than 70 Husch Blackwell Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America® "Ones to Watch"

Media Mentions | October 2020

Best Lawyers® 2021: The Midwest Issue

News Releases | August 20, 2020

Media Mentions | January 29, 2020

Wisconsin Law Journal: Husch Blackwell expands Madison health care team (log-in required)

Media Mentions | January 27, 2020

Law360: Health Hires: Latham, Husch Blackwell, Verrill Dana

Media Mentions | January 15, 2020

The American Lawyer: With 12 Laterals From 2 Firms, Husch Blackwell Expands Health Care Heft in Wisconsin

News Releases | January 13, 2020

Husch Blackwell Lands Two Healthcare Groups in Wisconsin

“That two prominent groups of lawyers from two different firms see the same potential and opportunity at Husch Blackwell speaks volumes about our firm’s commitment to Madison and the larger Wisconsin market,” said Paul Eberle, Husch Blackwell’s Chief Executive.

Media Mentions | January 13, 2020

Milwaukee Business Journal: Husch Blackwell adds 12 health care attorneys from competing firms in Madison

Media Mentions | January 13, 2020

Urban Milwaukee: Husch Blackwell Lands Two Healthcare Groups in Wisconsin

Media Mentions | January 13, 2020

Wisconsin Law Journal: Husch Blackwell adds 12 attorneys to Madison practice (log-in required)

Outside the Office

Erin shares her home with four-legged and three-legged friends.

In her spare time, Erin loves being outdoors, especially at her family’s lake cottage just an hour outside Madison, and spending time with her friends and family. She also enjoys hiking, reading and listening to podcasts. Erin is also an animal lover. She spends time with her black lab, Maverick, and her three-legged cat, Millie, a rescue from the Dane County Humane Society.

Erin’s dog, Maverick.

Erin’s cat, Millie.

View of the lake at Erin’s family cottage at sunset.

Community Leadership

Chrysalis, Inc., Board Vice President

Chrysalis promotes mental health recovery in the Madison community by supporting work opportunities that encourage hope, healing and wellness.