Health Care
Hospitals, health care executives, clinicians, and patients, face enormous financial uncertainty in an ever-evolving industry. To complicate matters, the policy environment is facing a period of accelerated, and often, unpredictable change.
We keep abreast of emerging regulatory initiatives, regularly advise our clients concerning new policies that could impact their businesses, identify ways to avoid and address allegations of billing or insurance fraud, and develop strategies to minimize and recover wrongful claim denials and underpayments .
Led by the former General Counsel and former Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), our Health Care industry team combines an unusual depth of governmental and private sector experience to inform our strategic approach—whether representing hospitals and trade associations in judicial challenges, aiding start-up clients in navigating regulatory hurdles, or steering organizations through HHS Inspector General investigations. This team is bolstered by a bench of nationally recognized litigators and trial lawyers, who are well-equipped to go toe-to-toe with government regulators, private sector adversaries, and their legal counsel.
Fraud and qui tam
We handle a broad spectrum of health care fraud cases—regulatory, civil, and criminal—including claims of billing fraud, false claims, kickbacks, off-label promotions, and an array of other matters. We have served as counsel in proceedings filed against health care providers by the DOJ, HHS, and state authorities, and have extensive experience defending clients in matters relating to the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act.
Our team includes former members of DOJ’s Fraud Section and a current co-chair of the Health Care Fraud Sub-Committee of the ABA White Collar Crime Committee.
Commercial Health Insurance Disputes
Zuckerman Spaeder has developed a trailblazing and nationally recognized practice focused on expanding provider and patient rights in their relationships with commercial health insurers.
Drawing upon nearly three decades of experience—primarily involving Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), a statute governing federal benefit plans—we are at the vanguard of an entirely new health insurance recovery legal practice. We have developed a collection of innovative legal theories that are central to the fight and have built strong relationships with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). We regularly handle disputes concerning improperly assessed administrative fees, attacks on out-of-network services, reimbursement rates, and recoupments and offsets for supposedly overpaid claims, andrecover wrongful claim denials and underpayments. These efforts have resulted in the recovery of over $600 million.
Investigations
Described as “a haven for clients in trouble” by The American Lawyer, Zuckerman Spaeder has helped hundreds of clients navigate investigations, respond to government inquiries, and work to minimize or avoid enforcement actions and litigation.
We understand the impact these investigations have on our clients’ day-to-day commercial and professional activities. For businesses, the damage to day-to-day operations, reputation, and finances can be significant; for individuals, the toll on their lives and families can be extraordinary. Our representation of clients takes these factors into account in seeking resolutions that can achieve our clients’ goals and objectives, while minimizing internal interruptions.
Regulatory and compliance
Our health care attorneys help clients navigate the process of obtaining advisory opinions and other guidance from the HHS Office of the Inspector General and elsewhere, enabling them to pursue their work while confident about the regulatory process. We also work with the HHS OIG to obtain clarity and resolution for our clients who are under investigation.
Compliance programs not only protect health care providers against misconduct, but also help them demonstrate that they are satisfying statutory and administrative regulations.
We frequently advise health care transactions attorneys on relevant enforcement initiatives, and we have helped clients design, implement, and document programs to train and monitor employees. We also counsel health care providers on complying with corporate integrity agreements.
News
Meet the team
Nathan M. Berman
Partner
Gregg L. Bernstein
Partner
Blair G. Brown
Partner
Trillium Chang
Associate
R. Miles Clark
Partner
Justin R. Cochran
Counsel
Jason S. Cowart
Partner
Eric R. Delinsky
Partner
Nicholas M. DiCarlo
Partner
Margaret "Peggy" Dotzel
Partner
Devon Galloway
Partner
Aitan D. Goelman
Partner
Andrew N. Goldfarb
Partner
Marcos E. Hasbun
Partner
Martin S. Himeles, Jr.
Partner
Alyssa Howard
Associate
Paul B. Hynes, Jr.
Partner
Samantha Miller Kavanagh
Associate
Jason M. Knott
Partner
Carl S. Kravitz
Partner
Sara Alpert Lawson
Partner
Kirk E. MacKinnon Morrow
Associate
Ezra B. Marcus
Counsel
Andrew S. McWilliams
Staff Attorney
Caroline Judge Mehta
Partner and Firm Chair
Daniel P. Moylan
Partner
William J. Murphy
Partner
Nell Zora Peyser
Partner
Caroline E. Reynolds
Partner
David M. Rody
Partner
William B. Schultz
Partner
Sepaass Shahidi
Staff Attorney
Cy Smith
Partner
Morris "Sandy" Weinberg Jr.
Founder of the Tampa office and Senior Counsel
David Wong
Staff Attorney
Roger E. Zuckerman
Firm Founder and Senior Counsel
