Our attorneys have extensive experience in regulatory matters, including representing clients before state and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of Inspector General (OIG). Our professionals counsel clients in all forms of corporate and business operations to create an environment of compliance with state and federal regulations, including Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, Civil Monetary Penalties Law, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, antitrust laws and state privacy provisions. Our attorneys have experience with initial licensing and changes of ownership, rate appeals, Medicare and Medicaid audits, IDRs and IIDRs, ALJ appeals and more.

The best way to deal with litigation is proactive avoidance, so our team also counsels providers on risk-management protocols, procedures and documentation designed to promote legal compliance and quality, thereby reducing exposure to lawsuits. We assist in drafting and reviewing policies and procedures, contracting, investigations and a wide range of other risk-management issues. We offer strategic advice and guidance to reduce exposure to legal, financial, operational and reputational risks.

We assist long-term care providers with day-to-day clinical and business operational matters such as admissions and discharges, treatment, medical records management, internal policies and procedures, state reporting requirements, contracting for clinical and business equipment, contracting for professional and administrative services, securing and maintaining tax-exempt status and end-of-life situations.

Our seasoned trial attorneys have extensive experience defending numerous long-term care and senior housing providers in arbitrations, trials, mediation, state and federal court cases and in guardianship proceedings and other administrative settings. We regularly represent long-term care clients in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and around the nation in a variety of business disputes, contract actions, Uniform Commercial Code actions, premises and general liability matters and tort claims. In addition, we have extensive experience in collection and eviction matters.

We are prepared to defend our clients in negligence, medical malpractice and general liability claims concerning abuse and neglect, decubitus ulcers, dehydration, deterioration of chronic illness, elopement, improper use of restraints, inadequate supervision and staffing, injuries, malnutrition, medication errors, patients’ bill of rights violations, potential misconduct, slips and falls and wrongful death.

We provide legal counsel to our clients to help meet the regulatory and contractual requirements surrounding change of ownership (“CHOW”) transactions, corporate restructuring and similar acquisitions. We assist our clients with a broad range of transactions, including asset and real estate sales and acquisitions, operations transfers, stock transactions, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and other organizational changes. We coordinate all regulatory aspects of healthcare transactions and interact with regulators to help our clients accomplish their goals and streamline the CHOW approval process, along with drafting and negotiating asset purchase agreements, operations transfer agreements and management agreements. We counsel clients of all sizes and types, including tax-exempt owners and operators, for-profit owners and operators, private equity investors, REITs, developers of healthcare facilities and management companies.

We provide legal counsel to clients in all manner of debt transactions in both the commercial and tax-exempt sectors, including financing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), working capital and acquisition financing. We have extensive knowledge of financing requirements for tax-exempt bonds. We assist our clients in documenting hedging transactions to control interest rate risk and credit enhancements to reduce interest costs.

We also regularly represent businesses with structuring and completing debt and equity capital raising transactions that are exempt from federal and state registration requirements. We have extensive experience negotiating financing transactions involving venture capitalists, private placements and other alternative financing sources.

The Long-Term Care Practice Group represents clients in all aspects of corporate restructuring, divestiture, merger, acquisition and development, including licensing, construction contracting, project permitting, due diligence and deal negotiation and documentation. We assist you in the formation of entities and in structuring transactions, with particular emphasis on tax matters, operating control and profit allocation.

The long-term care field is labor intensive. Our attorneys counsel clients on all aspects of the employment relationship, including assistance with staffing; immigration visas; personnel policies and training; employee benefits; wage and hour issues; employment discrimination matters; responding to OSHA citations; whistleblowing; professional misconduct and defending claims of wrongful discharge.

We represent management in labor organizing matters, collective bargaining and contract negotiations, strikes and strike avoidance, and enforcement proceedings before federal and state agencies. In addition, our attorneys provide counseling and education to help management avoid employment problems before they arise.

The attorneys in our Long-Term Care Practice Group have extensive experience working with clients in project turn-arounds. This work includes acquisition of troubled facilities out of bankruptcy, foreclosure and receiverships. We also represent distressed facilities in workouts, restructurings and sales. Receivers and restructuring officers of troubled facilities have often turned to our lawyers for assistance.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys provide legal support in the areas of property acquisition and sale, financing, architectural and construction contracting, leasing, and negotiating with local governments to secure all the necessary approvals by meeting zoning, subdivision and environmental requirements.

Harris Beach Murtha’s health care attorneys routinely help hospitals, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities initiate or defend guardianship when a patient lacks capacity to make decisions for themselves due to cognitive impairment, illness or other incapacity. We counsel our clients on a wide spectrum of guardianship and conservatorship matters, including Medicaid payment, and help them navigate sensitive medical, personal care, living and financial decisions in a dignified and compassionate way that meets all legal requirements.

We recognize situations surrounding guardianships can be complex. Ensuring a patient resides in the most suitable medical facility, receives appropriate medical care, follows prescribed medication schedules, attends necessary medical appointments and deploys assets properly so their needs continue to be met is an immense responsibility. We provide discrete, experienced and informed counsel, empowering our clients to assume a crucial role in the life of a patient and respectfully act on their behalf. We have attorneys experienced serving as court-appointed guardians.

While you’re looking out for your patient’s and facility’s best interest, we’re looking out for yours.