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Practice Group Luncheons
Each of the Association's Practice Groups will hold a luncheon at the Annual Meeting. Please check back for more information.
Sponsored by MediTract Inc.
Don't miss this spectacular luncheon! You will be amazed by the creative video highlighting the activities of the Practice Group over the last year. You will also be entertained by real-life, too-weird-to-be-true stories told by fellow health law attorneys competing for the Ninth Annual Golden Ferret Award. As you listen to your colleagues recounting their strangest work-related escapades, you will gain a new appreciation for your own practice environment. The coveted Golden Ferret Award will be presented to the luncheon participant who tells the most entertaining and outrageous true-life anecdote from their in-house practice. The winner will also receive a free registration to next year's In-House Counsel Program.
About the Practice Group: The In-House Counsel Practice Group provides a forum for attorneys employed in the healthcare industry and those who work with them and provide services to them to exchange information. The Practice Group addresses the day-to-day practical legal issues arising from the interpretation and application of law and regulations to the operations of healthcare providers, payors, regulators, manufacturers, and suppliers. The Practice Group presents summaries and brief analyses of forms, models, approaches, structures, and legal analyses relevant to the successful operation of an in-house legal service.
Sponsored by NERA Economic Consulting
Title: Assessing Market Power in Healthcare Markets: Developments in Private Litigation and Government Enforcement
Description: Recent court decisions and enforcement actions have raised questions about how and whether conventional approaches to market power can and should be applied to healthcare markets. These are critical issues for outside and in-house counsel, and the questions that our experts will discuss include:
- Key developments in treatment of market power evidence in private antitrust litigation...and what makes healthcare markets different?
- Use of pricing data or competitive effects evidence in light of FTC v. Evanston Northwestern.
- The Daubert doctrine and the need for reliable economic evidence.
- How these recent developments affect counseling on issues related to pricing, contracting strategies, and acquisition opportunities.
Presenters:
Michael G. Cowie, Esq.
Howrey LLP, Washington, DC
Lawrence Wu, PhD
Senior Vice President, National Economic Research Associates, Inc., San Francisco, CA
About the Practice Group: The Antitrust Practice Group addresses public and private enforcement activity and competition policy affecting all sectors of the healthcare industry, including healthcare providers, health insurers, and medical device and pharmaceutical companies. The Practice Group also maintains a listserve, publishes Member Briefings, and sponsors teleconferences and seminars.
and (joint luncheon) Sponsored by GE Healthcare
Title: Medicare 3.0
Description: In August 2006, President Bush signed an Executive Order to help make America’s healthcare system more transparent. The President’s Order has four cornerstones: advancing interoperable health information technology (HIT); measuring and publishing quality information to enable consumers to make better decisions about their care; measuring and publishing price information to give consumers information they need to make decisions on purchasing healthcare; and promoting incentives for quality and efficiency of care.
CMS is working with the Health and Human Services Department to identify and encourage standards that lower barriers to HIT adoption and interoperability. At Secretary Leavitt’s direction, CMS is implementing a five-year demonstration project that will provide financial incentives to small- and medium-sized physician primary care practices that use electronic health records (EHRs) to improve the quality of care. By revolutionizing the way healthcare data is stored and managed, the EHR project is intended to help transform the way medicine is practiced and delivered, leading to improved health outcomes and greater patient satisfaction. This demonstration will be implemented in 12 communities across the country that are not already part of an ongoing CMS demonstration.
Presenter:
David Sayen
Regional Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Region IX, San Francisco, CA
About the Practice Groups: The Health Information and Technology Practice Group provides a forum for members to exchange information and become educated about legal issues arising from the use of information and communications technology in healthcare, including issues related to the acquisition and operation of health information systems and networks, electronic medical records, telemedicine, electronic prescribing, Internet and email communications, operation of websites, expert diagnostic systems, clinical data repositories and master patient indexes, confidentiality and security, electronic signatures, and ownership of healthcare data.
The Teaching Hospitals and Academic Medical Centers Practice Group provides a forum for attorneys who are employed by and/or service TH/AMCs in the healthcare industry. The Practice Group addresses the practical legal issues arising from the interpretation and application of law and regulations to the operations of healthcare providers, payors, regulators, and suppliers as they affect TH/AMCs. The Practice Group presents summaries and brief analyses of forms, models, approaches, structures, and legal analyses relevant to the successful operation of an in-house legal service for a TH/AMC as well as those attorneys who service a TH/AMC.
Sponsored by IE Discovery Inc.
Title: False Claims Act Update
Description: The Healthcare Liability and Litigation Practice Group luncheon will feature a leading expert on the False Claims Act, who will discuss what recent efforts in Congress to dramatically expand the reach of the FCA could mean for the healthcare industry. This discussion will focus on:
- The substance of the proposed amendments;
- The forces behind efforts to expand the FCA;
- The broader liability and litigation issues raised when false claims cases spawn securities, consumer protection, and RICO suits; and
- An interactive discussion on ways to serve clients and constituents well in light of these new developments.
Presenter:
John T. Boese, Esq.
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, Washington, DC
About the Practice Group: The Healthcare Liability and Litigation Practice Group addresses issues that encompass all areas of potential liability that affect healthcare providers, suppliers, and manufacturers, and keeps its membership apprised of developments in the litigation and trial of healthcare disputes involving hospitals, payors, integrated delivery systems, and individual physicians, as well as manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics.
and (joint luncheon) Title: Breaking Down the Wall: Erosion of Peer Review Confidentiality in Civil Rights Litigation
Description: This presentation will address the following topics:
- Survey of recent federal opinions;
- Access to peer review records regarding Plaintiff;
- Access to records regarding other physicians; and
- Can the damage be limited?
Presenter:
Maria B. Abrahamsen, Esq.
Dykema Gossett PLLC, Bloomfield Hills, MI
About the Practice Groups: The Labor and Employment Practice Group addresses industry concerns related to healthcare employment law, employment discrimination, immigration, union-management disputes and legal matters, NLRB law, alternative dispute resolution in labor and employment, OSHA enforcement, workers' compensation, and other labor and employment issues as they relate to employers in the healthcare and life science industries, including all healthcare providers, facilities, payors, suppliers, and manufacturers.
The Medical Staff, Credentialing, and Peer Review Practice Group provides a forum for those who represent and advise the individual healthcare professional, the collective medical or professional staff, and/or the healthcare entity with issues regarding the organization and operations of medical and professional staffs in healthcare entities and organizations, including but not limited to: the medical staff bylaws and rules; performance of medical staff responsibilities; appointments and credentialing; dealing with disruptive or impaired healthcare professionals; conducting peer review and quality assurance; taking corrective action; providing fair hearings for medical and allied health professional staffs; peer review communications and records confidentiality; National Practitioner Data Bank querying and reporting; peer review immunities; the effect of hospital business arrangements [e.g., exclusive contracts, mergers, acquisitions] upon medical staff membership and privileges; compliance with regulatory and accreditation requirements pertaining to medical staff organizations; and the wide variety of litigation that may arise out of these activities.
Title: Current Issues Impacting Exempt Healthcare Organizations
Description: The Tax & Finance Practice Group's luncheon program will feature remarks from Mr. Steven Grodnitzky from the Internal Revenue Service's National Office in Washington, D.C. Mr. Grodnitzky is the Manager the Exempt Organization Division's Technical Group 1, which is the group within the IRS' National Office that focuses on tax-exempt healthcare matters. Mr. Grodnitzky will address current issues impacting exempt healthcare organizations, and there will be a question and answer session after Mr. Grodnitzky's remarks.
Presenter:
Steven Grodnitzky, JD, LLM
Manager, EO Technical Group 1, Rulings and Agreements, TEGE, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC
About the Practice Group: The Tax and Finance Practice Group addresses issues related to IRS audits and rulings, tax-exempt status, intermediate sanctions, state regulation of nonprofit transactions and operations, charitable trusts, tax credits, bond financing, physician recruitment incentives, physician and executive compensation, fair market value, joint ventures with nonprofits, IRS disclosure requirements, property tax, sales and use tax, fundraising, and other issues faced by nonprofit and for-profit attorneys.
and (joint luncheon) Sponsored by HealthCare Appraisers, Inc.
Title: Enforcement in the Health Industry: The Government's Perspective on What's to Come
Description: Assistant U.S. Attorney and Criminal Health Care Fraud Coordinator Consuelo Woodhead, from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, will offer a government perspective on upcoming enforcement initiatives in the health industry. Ms. Woodhead leads the healthcare fraud efforts for the largest U.S. Attorney's Office in the country and will discuss important areas of enforcement focus in the provider, payor, device, and pharma sectors.
Presenter:
Consuelo Woodhead, Esq.
Assistant U.S. Attorney and Criminal Health Care Fraud Coordinator, U.S. Attorney's Office,
Los Angeles, CA
About the Practice Groups: The Fraud and Abuse, Self-Referrals, and False Claims Practice Group provides issue summaries and brief analysis of relevant judicial, administrative, and settlement decisions as well as regulatory developments regarding enforcement efforts and compliance responses; provides a resource to members facing enforcement initiatives and/or designing compliance strategies.
The Physician Organizations Practice Group addresses issues encountered in physician-hospital joint ventures and contractual arrangements; credentialing practices; physician group practice structures; compensation methodologies; and the current professional liability insurance crisis.
Sponsored by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
Title: The California Experiment: Stem Cell Science and Public Policy
Description: Whether viewed from a scientific, political, or health policy perspective, the implications of Prop. 71, California's $3 billion voter initiative to fund stem cell research, are profound and far-reaching. Dr. David Gollaher will present California's bold new chapter in the history of life sciences and assess the prospects for future medical and policy advances in stem cell research.
Presenter:
David L. Gollaher, PhD
President and Chief Executive Officer, California Healthcare Institute, La Jolla, CA
About the Practice Group: The Life Sciences Practice Group provides educational and informational services and resources to in-house attorneys; outside counsel; government attorneys; compliance officers; finance and reimbursement executives, FDA, research, clinical trials, and regulatory affairs professionals; and consultants who practice in the traditional life sciences field with respect to issues involving pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical device manufacturers, biotechnology companies, research, and site management organizations, manufacturing and supplier vendors, prescription drug plans, wholesale distributors, retail and specialty pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, and the financial services firms that invest in these entities.
Sponsored by LTCQ, Inc. and Zimmet Healthcare Services Group LLC
Title: Understanding Survey and Quality Data: National Trends and Appropriate Responses
Description: Publicly available Survey and Certification data along with CMS' Quality Measures can create an accurate profile of facility risk management issues and identify quality of care priorities. These same datasets can also distract or mislead, yielding unjust conclusions by the public, policy makers, and patient advocates. Our speaker for this session will be reviewing and discussing some of the CMS datasets. The focus of the discussion will be to evaluate differences in performance by facility ownership type and to assist in interpreting and critically responding to the use of public data that purports to explain outcomes. Case examples will illuminate the extent of survey bias and the impact of care mix on reported care outcomes.
Presenter:
Steven Littlehale, MS, APRN, BC
Executive Vice President/Chief Clinical Officer, LTCQ, Inc., Lexington, MA
About the Practice Group: The Long Term Care Practice Group provides a forum for attorneys who represent providers across the entire spectrum of long term care services including skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, senior housing, home health, hospice, and long term care pharmacy; follows and addresses developments in the long term care segment of the healthcare industry including legal trends, regulatory policy, and operational and transactional issues; attempts to provide practical analysis of these legal and business trends by producing summaries and brief analyses of forms, models, approaches, structures, and legal analyses relevant to the providers of long term care services; the goal is to keep the members informed of the most up-to date and relevant case law, legislative initiatives, and important trends in the industry.
and (joint luncheon) Sponsored by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
Title: Hindsight is 20/20: Evaluating the 2008 Top Ten Health Law Predictions
Description: This luncheon will feature a panel discussion on the status of AHLA’s January 2008 "top ten" law predictions on changes to the health law landscape, as well as commentary about the critical issues that few foresaw.
Panelists:
Marc D. Goldstone, Esq.
Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Community Health Systems Inc., Franklin, TN
William W. Horton, Esq.
Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker LLC, Birmingham, AL
Richard D. Sanders, Esq.
Balch & Bingham LLP, Atlanta, GA
Joseph V. Truhe, Jr., Esq.
San Juan Capistrano, CA
About the Practice Groups: The Regulation, Accreditation, and Payment Practice Group addresses issues related to reimbursement and coverage, including Medicare and other government payor laws, regulations, and instructions, as well as issues related to healthcare organizational accreditation such as JCAHO and other accrediting entity standards.
The Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group addresses the legal, financial, and operational issues raised by healthcare business strategies and transactions from the perspective of hospitals and health systems, including those involving other nonprofit, for-profit, public, and private hospitals and health systems, physicians and physician organizations, ancillary services providers, for-profit affiliates, financial institutions and authorities, pharmaceutical and medical products manufacturers and vendors, and managed care organizations.
Register for this inaugural luncheon and receive an automatic complimentary enrollment in the new Business Law and Governance Practice Group until December 31, 2008 (effective July 1, 2008)! Current members of the five Practice Groups that sponsor the Corporate Governance Task Force will be automatically enrolled for one free year of membership in the new Practice Group.
Title: The Trends and Current Environment for Mergers and Acquisitions in the Healthcare Sector
Description: Carsten Beith and Court Houseworth, both Managing Directors at Cain Brothers, and Reggie Hill, partner with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP, will discuss trends and the current environment for mergers and acquisitions in certain sectors of the healthcare industry. The presentation will include an overview of healthcare mergers and acquisitions and a review of transaction activity. The status of financing transactions will be addressed. The speakers will also address the status of certain terms and provisions in transactions, such as material adverse change clauses, reasonable best efforts clauses, financing conditions, and remedies.
Presenters:
Carsten Beith, CPA, MBA
Managing Director, Cain Brothers, San Francisco, CA
J. Reginald Hill, Esq.
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP, Nashville, TN
Court H. Houseworth, MBA
Managing Director, Cain Brothers, San Francisco, CA
About the Practice Group: Welcome to the newest AHLA Practice Group! The Business Law and Governance Practice Group addresses the fundamentals of business law, as well as the financial, regulatory, and operational issues faced by for-profit and not-for-profit entities in the healthcare industry. The scope of topics includes mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, management agreements, and professional services agreements involving healthcare organizations, business partners, providers, and vendors. Additionally, governance, debt and equity financing as well as securities law are addressed. The Practice Group also highlights select bankruptcy law matters and criminal law issues arising from the internal and external operations of the business entity.
Title: "A Eulogy for R&C" or "Billed Charges are Irrelevant"
Description: This presentation will cover the following topics:
- The history of R&C.
- Decisional law relating to "reasonable charges."
- How do providers set charges?
- Who should pay "billed charges"? Payors, the uninsured, no one?
- What role do regulators play? What role should they play?
- Shouldn't provider's fees be transparent to patients or is transparency a one way street?
- How should reasonableness of provider fees be measured?
Presenter:
Kenneth T. Bowden, II, Esq. Senior Counsel, CIGNA HealthCare, Hartford, CT
About the Practice Group: The HMOs and Health Plans Practice Group addresses all legal issues concerning health plans and insurers, including but not limited to plan operations and management, managed care, litigation, regulations, privacy, and security.
These breakfast meetings are designed to give Annual Meeting attendees the opportunity to network with colleagues. The following groups will hold breakfast discussion meetings during the Annual Meeting:
Children's Hospital Affinity Group of In-House Counsel Practice Group Networking Breakfast
Donation after Cardiac Death; a Pediatric Hospital's Perspective
Fair Market Value Affinity Group of Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group Networking Breakfast
Recap and Discussion of Recent Fair Market Value Developments
Health Information and Technology Practice Group — Affinity Groups Networking Breakfast:
Electronic Health Records
Emerging Uses of Health Information
Privacy and Security Compliance and Enforcement
Tech Licensing and Intellectual Property
Telemedicine and E-Health
Life Sciences Practice Group — Affinity Groups Networking Breakfast:
Coverage, Coding, Payment, and Pricing
FDA Regulatory
Intellectual Property
Research and Development
State Law
Risk Management Affinity Group of Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group Networking Breakfast
Note: Please check the AHLA website or on-site in San Francisco for additional details and the meeting dates and times for these meetings.
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