Long-Term Care Providers

As a nationally recognized leader in health law, Ober|Kaler has been serving a broad range of long-term care providers across the country for more than three decades. Our experience and depth allows us to deliver a wide range of legal services to clients that include:

• Skilled nursing facilities
• Assisted living facilities
• Continuing care retirement communities
• Home health agencies and other home care providers
• Hospices
• Adult day care facilities
• Rehabilitation service providers

Because of our long history in the industry and the experience many of our attorneys bring from backgrounds working as health care practitioners, facility administrators or with regulatory agencies, we are thoroughly familiar with the issues our clients face every day. We have provided counsel through a variety of major legislative initiatives and regulatory changes that have shaped the industry, including Medicaid and Medicare revisions, the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act, the creation of the Medicare SNF Part A prospective payment system, the use of the False Claims Act and the introduction of the Five-Star Quality Rating System for facilities.

Our practice focuses on all aspects of the operational, regulatory, reimbursement and transactional environment in which our long-term care clients do business. These include:

• Licensing and Certification
  • Licensing application and provider enrollment issues and filings
  • Certificate of Need (CON) issues
  • Surveys, certification reviews and agency enforcement actions
• Regulatory & Compliance / Government Investigations
  • Survey and certification issues
  • Quality of care matters
  • Five-Star rating issues
  • Developing plans of correction
  • Special Focus Facilities counsel
  • Internal investigations
  • Crisis management
  • Implementation and updating of corporate compliance plans and the negotiation of corporate integrity agreements
  • Dispute resolution filings
  • Representation before the Federal Departmental Appeals Board and other agencies
  • Cases involving the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, state Medicaid fraud and control units and other law enforcement agencies including responses to investigations and representation at all levels
• Reimbursement
  • Fraud and abuse issues
  • Federal and State False Claims Acts
  • RAC audits and similar reviews by federal and state contractors
  • State Medicaid reimbursement advice and appeals
  • Medicare and Medicaid (Parts A, B, D, TriCare, Medicare Advantage and other reimbursement issues), including advice and appeals
• Business transactions
  • Ownership and control change documentation, including CMS Form 855 and related filings
  • Structure and implementation of acquisitions and joint ventures
  • Contractual relationships with vendors
  • Contractual relationships with physicians, nurse practitioners, therapy companies, pharmacies and other suppliers of services
  • Commercial financing, real estate, and related matters for health care facilities

Our Health Law Group attorneys regularly collaborate with Ober|Kaler lawyers from other disciplines, including business, tax, commercial financing and lending, construction and real estate, intellectual property, litigation, employment and others. This firm-wide focus on health law means nearly every Ober|Kaler attorney has a working knowledge of the health care system and the types of issues our health care clients may encounter.

Long-term care clients are served by talented attorneys whose background and experience ensures a thorough understanding of the issues at hand and the ability to deliver top quality legal counsel with value and efficiency. Our practice includes attorneys who have worked inside the industry as clinicians, administrators and service providers; those with significant experience in federal and state government oversight; and former federal and state prosecutors

With decades of experience in working with long-term care providers, we pride ourselves in being legal advocates who are responsive to the day-to-day operational needs and strategic vision of our clients.