Practice Group Manager

Greg Cox
Phone: (815) 229-5789
e-mail: greg@nicolosilaw.com

In today's dynamic health care environment in Northern Illinois, dramatic change, extraordinary competition, and rising regulatory complexity mean more attention must be paid to the efficient delivery of health care services - without sacrificing quality or compliance. Our health care practice includes lawyers from several of the firm's practice areas who provide coordinated representation in all aspects of health care law.

Nicolosi & Associates’ Health Care Group has extensive familiarity with the healthcare industry and regularly provides services to health care suppliers. Our clients include, multi-specialty clinics, and physicians.

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Our services cover:

• Medical Staffing Disputes. Mistakes in the handling of medical staff disputes can lead to expensive and complicated liability problems. We have a background in all aspects of medical staff issues, ranging from interpretation of medical staff bylaws to representation of hospitals and individual physicians in "fair hearings."
  
  
• Compliance. We advise our clients on the significant array of compliance issues (HIPAA, "Stark Law," anti-kickback) facing health care organizations including the development compliance programs and the internal checks and balances required of these programs. We also assist our clients with employee training programs to ensure full support of, and compliance with, the compliance programs. Additionally, we represent our clients in Medicare and Medicaid audits and inspections.
  
  
• Physician Compensation. A health care organization's staff typically is responsible for developing and interpreting the physician protocols and compensation structures that align the compensation incentives with the goals of the health care organization. We assist in this process. We also guide organizations through the appropriate removal of physicians from practices and networks.
  
  
• Managed Care. We have substantial experience in the development, sale and acquisition and representation of physician practices and clinics.
  
  
• Labor. Managing rising labor costs will likely be the biggest challenge for health care providers in the 2000s.  We have a long and prominent history in labor guidance, counseling and litigation.
  
  
• Mergers and Acquisitions. Nationwide, changes in the health care industry such as the proliferation of managed care delivery options have led to considerable growth in the acquisition, consolidation, and merger of health care systems, facilities and physician practices. We have been involved in many major acquisition and consolidation transactions. We negotiate and draft letters of intent, acquisition and merger agreements, opinions of counsel, financing agreements, documents of transfer, etc.
  
  
• Department of Regulatory Agencies. We have a wide range of experience with most divisions of health care-related federal and state government agencies, particularly state medical, dental, and nursing boards. We participate in rule-making activities, licensing, and administrative disciplinary proceedings.
  
  
• Medicare/Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Professional Services and DME Services. We represent professional providers, health care facilities, health care service agencies and DME suppliers in state and federal reimbursement recovery actions, fraud and abuse actions, program exclusion proceedings and in criminal investigations and proceedings. We have substantial experience in countering recovery actions based upon the application of "statistical sampling" techniques.
  
  
• Nursing Homes and Extensive Care Liabilities. We assist nursing homes and extended care facilities in appealing adverse survey determinations and implementing effectual regulatory compliance programs to minimize the effects of federal and state regulatory oversight programs and elder abuse litigation.
  
  
• Joint Venture/Strategic Alliance . We provide risk assessment and structuring advice to fit for profit, not-for-profit and hybrid ventures and alliances into the state and federal regulatory oversight matrix.
  
  
• Antitrust. We advise our health care clients in all aspects of compliance with the antitrust laws. These include questions about novel physician practice arrangements and organizations, medical group practice mergers, hospital mergers, managed care system ventures, medical staff restrictions and exclusions, relationships with allied health care providers, exclusive contracts, provider networks, and group purchasing programs.We have successfully represented a number of health care institutions and physicians around the country in private and public antitrust suits.
  
  
• Risk Management/Alternative Dispute Resolution. We recognize that the delays and costs involved in litigation and the damage which may result to the future relationships of the parties in disagreement sometimes suggest the need for alternatives to litigation. We discuss with our clients the cost/benefits of litigation and the option of alternative dispute resolution techniques such as arbitration, mediation, fact-finding, and negotiation to pursue a reasoned and practical resolution.
  
  
• Tax. Acquiring and maintaining federal, state and local tax exemptions for nonprofit health care institutions require constant vigilance and attention. Inurement, private benefit, and unrelated business income issues are endemic in the operation of nonprofit facilities. We represent not-for-profit health care providers in a full range of tax counseling, litigation and appeals and in direct face-to-face negotiations and collaborative structuring with the Internal Revenue Service to meet current tax requirements and service concerns.