Counsel That Cares

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," healthcare attorney John Arnold and Erika Haanpaa, a managing director at Cain Brothers, discuss mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trends in the behavioral health industry. Mr. Arnold and Ms. Haanpaa highlight increased investor interest in the sector, particularly in autism-related services and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, along with labor challenges and wage inflation that have affected areas including applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) services. The speakers also examine the challenges that value-based care models face because of difficulties in measuring outcomes and aligning incentives across physical and mental health services. Looking ahead to 2025, Mr. Arnold and Ms. Haanpaa predict a moderate increase in deal activity, though not as robust as some are forecasting, with continued interest in behavioral health investments driven by ongoing market needs and maturation of existing private equity portfolios.

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," healthcare attorney John Saran and PitchBook Lead Healthcare Analyst Rebecca Springer, Ph.D., discuss the state of healthcare transaction laws and their future in 2025. Mr. Saran and Ms. Springer examine the new amended version of Pennsylvania House Bill 2344, released just days before this episode was recorded, and look at the implications of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent veto of Assembly Bill (AB) 3129 targeting private equity-backed healthcare transactions.

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," healthcare investigations and litigation attorneys Sandra Heller and Jennifer Weaver provide insights on trends driving government enforcement and commercial payer investigations and audits in the behavioral healthcare space. The attorneys note the importance of maintaining a proactive approach by prioritizing early awareness, open communication and swift resolution of identified concerns to effectively navigate audits and investigations.

The second installment of a two-part "Counsel That Cares" series on hospital conversions features healthcare attorney Jesse Neil, public policy attorney Ty Jackson and Isaac Squires, a partner at Jarrard Inc., a healthcare consulting and strategic communications firm. They dive into the complexities of converting public hospitals into private entities, discussing the importance of understanding regulatory frameworks, ensuring strategic governance and effectively communicating with stakeholders. Their conversation emphasizes the multifaceted issues at play, from adhering to board members' fiduciary duties to ensuring continued care throughout the transition to creating a communications plan that works internally and externally. For a foundation on this topic, catch up with part one of the series: Conversions of Public Hospitals.

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," healthcare attorney Jesse Neil examines the unique challenges and strategic options facing public hospitals, with a focus on navigating the turbulent waters of healthcare transformation. The conversation also looks at converting public hospitals to private status to harness more flexibility and drive growth. Mr. Neil is joined by Anu Singh, a managing director at Kaufman Hall, which is a financial and strategic advisory firm, to dive into today's topic. They discuss the complexity of healthcare markets, the impact of COVID-19 and potential partnership models for public hospitals aiming to remain viable and fulfill their community commitment amid industry shifts.

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," bankruptcy attorney Tyler Layne is joined by Gibbins Advisors managing directors Clare Moylan and Ron Winters to discuss their company's annual healthcare bankruptcy report. Their conversation highlights key findings in the report, specifically data from 2023 bankruptcy filings in the healthcare space.

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," healthcare attorney Colin Luke examines transactions for hospitals and health systems, as well as what's driving that activity across the country with hospitals and health systems, partnering, acquisitions and sales. Mr. Luke is joined by Rex Burgdorfer, a partner at Juniper Advisory, which is an investment bank that partners with hospitals and health systems, to dive into today’s topic.

In this episode of “Counsel That Cares,” healthcare attorney Daniel Patten continues the series of ongoing conversations about value-based care and risk-based reimbursement with special guest Brendan McDonald, the Vice President of Provider Reimbursement and Network Optimization at Highmark Health. Together they discuss the drivers pushing healthcare toward value-based care and higher quality care outcomes and how this push affects payers in healthcare, specifically focusing on the differences between private payers versus Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare Advantage and Medicare plans.

In this episode of Counsel That Cares, healthcare attorney Daniel Patten continues his series of ongoing conversations about the state of value-based care and payment systems with Drew Braucht, the Director of Healthcare Investment Banking at Ziegler. Throughout the episode, Mr. Braucht discusses trends in value-based transactions and investments, providing examples of transactions he has taken part in during 2023. They also discuss the different ways primary care and specialty care providers can participate in value-based risk and the important roles partnerships and enablers play in the space.

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," healthcare policy attorney Lisa Hawke and healthcare attorney Jesse Neil continue a discussion on renewed scrutiny of tax-exempt hospitals. They begin by examining a report recently released by Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, as well as a letter from other senators that raised several concerns about these hospitals. The conversation then moves to what the exemption requirements are and how hospitals can meet them, as well as creative ways boards can strive to fulfill their obligations while putting themselves in a favorable position before Washington. Ms. Hawke and Mr. Neil additionally offer advice and insights for hospitals that find themselves under scrutiny.

In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," data privacy attorney Paul Bond sits down with J.S. Held Digital Investigations and Discovery Practice Managing Director Antonio Rega to discuss how metapixels can become a threat for healthcare patient privacy. Their conversation provides insight on recent lawsuits involving allegations that the tech giant was profiting from the information by using it to deliver targeted ads.

This episode was originally released on October 9, 2023 | In this episode of Holland & Knight's “Counsel That Cares" podcast, tax attorney Don Stuart and Public Policy & Regulation attorney Chris Armstrong discuss the criteria that grant hospitals tax-exempt status, including several newly adopted standards impacting the industry. Their conversation provides insight on a bipartisan letter recently authored by a group of senators and sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) citing concerns that some not-for-profit hospitals may be failing to fulfill their required obligations to maintain tax-exempt status. Using Congress’s interest in this topic as a starting point, the group shifts into a larger discussion about increased oversight of tax-exempt hospitals. They also highlight previous Congressional efforts to oversee tax-exempt hospitals, including a number of investigations and inquiries into various industry practices, explaining how those findings resulted in additional regulations. They conclude this episode by sharing advice for hospitals and hospital systems to consider in order to remain compliant with tax-exemption requirements and avoid a potential government inquiry.

This episode was originally released on October 5, 2023 | In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," Holland & Knight HIPAA and healthcare privacy attorneys Beth Pitman and Shannon Hartsfield dissect the highly publicized Dinerstein v. Google case. They address the implications and concerns of sharing public health information (PHI) to be used for research in developing artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare as it relates to complying with HIPAA and state privacy laws.

This episode was originally released on September 21, 2023 | In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," Holland & Knight healthcare attorney Daniel Patten is joined by Susan Dentzer, president and CEO of America's Physician Groups (APG), to discuss the benefits and incentives for healthcare providers to switch from the current healthcare fee-for-service model to payment models that put more emphasis on value-based care and quality outcomes of patient care. Together they explore alternative payment models and how artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the value of care by providing patients with care outside of conventional settings, plus share their advice for new groups who are just beginning their transition into value-based care arrangements.

This episode was originally released on September 7, 2023 | In this episode of “Counsel That Cares,” Holland & Knight healthcare regulatory compliance attorney Jennifer Rangel is joined by Founder and Chief Operating Officer of WeInfuse, Reece Norris, to discuss and dissect the rapidly growing infusion therapy market in the healthcare sector. They discuss how the transition from hospital-based care to lower cost care settings like at-home treatment and ambulatory infusion centers has benefitted the infusion market, how technology is utilized by this sector to optimize patient care and what owners, operators and investors should know before entering into the infusion space.

This episode was originally released on August 24, 2023 | In this episode of “Counsel That Cares,” Holland & Knight healthcare and private equity attorney David G. Marks is joined by Stephen Scott, managing director at Bailey & Company, and Dana Jacoby, president and CEO of Vector Medical Group, to discuss contributing factors for the increased industry demand for cardiology services and the sudden spike of private equity interest in the sector.

This episode was originally released on August 16, 2023 | In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," Holland & Knight privacy and cybersecurity attorney Ashley Thomas discusses the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and its more stringent approach toward digital health companies. She discusses the FTC's proposed rule, concerns and navigations in regard to pixel tracking and general advice for these companies in the digital healthcare sector.

This episode was originally released on July 13, 2023 | In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," Holland & Knight privacy and cybersecurity attorney Bess Hinson discusses the shifting oversight by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on cybersecurity requirements. This digital health conversation focuses on the SEC's proposed rule and provides helpful steps companies can take to prepare.

This episode was originally released on July 10, 2023 | In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," Holland & Knight healthcare attorney Jennifer Rangel is joined by Dudley Baker, a managing director at Canaccord Genuity, to discuss the state of digital healthcare and tech-enabled healthcare services. The conversation centers on the digital healthcare market, the various parties that are investing in this space, regulatory restraints and their outlook for the rest of the year.

This episode was originally released on June 29, 2023 | In this episode of "Counsel That Cares," Holland & Knight antitrust attorney David Kully and labor and employment attorney Mark Peters take a deep dive into the latest updates regarding non-solicitation and non-compete agreements in the healthcare space. Their conversation provides insight into what's happening at a federal level regarding employment-related matters, the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule, the impact of potentially banning non-competes and more.