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Hal has focused his practice on the healthcare industry during the last 20 years, representing for-profit, nonprofit and governmental entities. He has been on the front line of healthcare evolution and innovation, witnessing firsthand successes and failures at both the industry and business levels.

Engaging in management and investor conversations about maintaining and growing a business is critical, no matter the industry. Whether you’re discussing normal business sustainability, organic growth, or contemplating a sale, these discussions become more complex when practicing physicians are the business’s revenue generators. These conversations must be handled carefully to comply with the spirit and letter of healthcare’s strict fraud and abuse laws. To ensure these discussions are both productive and compliant, it’s essential to navigate these complex regulations effectively.

Exiting a business, whether you are a serial entrepreneur looking to move on to the next project or a healthcare provider like a physician or therapist who has nurtured your practice for decades, can be difficult. After all, corporate transactions are complex affairs that often hang on small details. That’s to say nothing of the emotions that business owners sometimes experience when stepping away from an enterprise into which they have poured their sweat and passion.

For those in the healthcare industry, the complexities only get tougher to tackle. As one of the most heavily regulated industries, healthcare embodies a level of regulatory risk—from merely annoying to existential—that most businesses don’t have to contemplate, making succession and exit plans hard to develop and harder still to execute.

As the health care industry shifts from fee-for-service to value-based arrangements, providers are facing a lot of challenges. A provider’s relationship with payers is often strained by the new business model, and a provider’s ability to collaborate with payers has never been more important.

On this episode of Value-Based Care Insights, host Daniel J. Marino

Recent conversations with associates at Husch Blackwell reminded me of my days as an associate. I recall wondering whether I was doing a good job, if more billable hours meant significantly more money, and what it would really take to be made partner. The firm had a mentor program, and associate reviews, but I still

Please join Husch Blackwell as we go virtual with our Health Law Conference. The series will include a range of important topics relevant to the healthcare industry and will be moderated by Curt Chase, leader of the firm’s Healthcare, Life Sciences and Education team; Hal Katz, American Bar Association, Health Law Section, Chair; and Tom Shorter, American Health Law Association, President-Elect Designate. The webinar programs will be offered every Thursday through November 19.

Deal activity among hospitals, physicians and health plans will continue at a swift pace into 2021. In our fifth session, hear from industry thought leaders on how the pandemic is impacting private equity and strategic investments in the healthcare space.

Please join Husch Blackwell as we go virtual with our Health Law Conference. The series will include a range of important topics relevant to the healthcare industry. The webinar programs will be offered every Thursday from October 1 through November 19.

Our first session will include a panel discussion on a potential COVID-19 vaccine. The

Within the vision space there has been some question regarding the authority of Texas Optometry Board (“TOB”) over retailers of ophthalmic goods and optometrists that are in business with or employed by a physician licensed by the Texas Medical Board. On March 30, 2020, the Texas Attorney General published an opinion that may impact retailers of ophthalmic goods and optometrists that are in business with or employed by a physician licensed by the Texas Medical Board (“TMB”). Ophthalmology practices should review the opinion to determine whether changes to their business relationships with optometrists are necessary.

physicians

COVID-19 Update: CMS Waiver Information for Private Practice Physicians and Non-Physician Practitioners

By Hal Katz and Tamar E. Hodges

President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a National Emergency on March 13, 2020. This declaration granted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar authority to relax certain Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements set forth in Section 1135 of the Social Security Act. The primary purpose of this waiver is to give providers greater flexibility to meet the needs of Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries during an emergency.  CMS may issue “blanket waivers” after a declaration of a public health emergency when it determines many “similarly situated providers” would require certain waivers. CMS requires providers to put the state licensing agency and CMS Regional Office on notice if it intends to modify their operations in light of such waivers, although the blanket waivers are essentially automatic and, therefore, do not require the provider to submit a request. The waiver is in effect through the duration of the emergency or until CMS terminates the waiver.

Part V: Material Deal Terms to Negotiate in Private Equity Transactions

This is the fifth article in our series on “Closing a Private Equity Transaction.” In Part I, the benefits of preparing for a transaction were explained, along with how best to prepare. In Part II, the letter of intent was discussed, and key terms were identified. In Part III, we walked through what to expect during the due diligence process. In Part IV, we outlined the various healthcare regulatory issues that arise in private equity transactions. Here, we highlight some of the more material terms typically negotiated in the definitive transaction documents.

The primary definitive document will be the purchase agreement (which will either be an asset purchase agreement or a stock purchase agreement, depending on the structure of the transaction). The first step will be to confirm the agreement contains the various terms negotiated in the letter of intent. (See Part II for a discussion of the terms that should be negotiated.) While the LOI will cover the major deal terms, the purchase agreement will expand upon those terms in more detail, and include other provisions necessary to effectuate the transaction.