Hospice and Palliative Care
Reinhart represents 149 hospices in 35 states on the full range of their legal and regulatory issues. Our team of attorneys has broad expertise in the hospice arena and assists clients on areas such as:
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Analysis and the preparation and negotiation of contracts including nursing home, medical director, hospital, DME and other vendor agreements
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Assistance in new hospice program development, mergers and acquisitions and complex joint ventures
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Analyses of the Medicare Conditions of Participation, as they relate to specific hospice program issues
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Representation with regard to licensure surveys and certification issues
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Development and analyses of new program development, including palliative care programs and innovative prehospice programs. These analyses typically include review of federal requirements and anti-kickback prohibitions
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Coordination of complex Medicare reimbursement issues, including appeals of claim denials and approaches to addressing targeted medical review
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Representation with regard to fraud and abuse issues, including preventive analyses
Our representation of the hospice industry for the past 15 years has resulted in a deep knowledge of the broad array of hospice issues, particularly during the current climate of decreased reimbursement and increased regulatory scrutiny. We bring to our clients extensive experience in the area of regulatory consultation and representation, and consider our role to be that of a trusted advisor who knows and appreciates the hospice industry and supports our clients' missions. Particularly in light of the new Conditions of Participation, we work with hospices all over the country to ensure that compliance efforts and the missions of our clients are aligned.
About Reinhart's Toolkit Series
Reinhartʼs Hospice and Palliative Care Legal Service Group has been a recognized leader and counsel for hospices throughout the United States for more than 15 years. Our deep knowledge and appreciation of hospices, their missions, government regulations and their business needs has allowed us to serve as trusted advisors to many within the industry. We developed the following toolkits to help hospices cost-effectively customize their approach to important areas of care and contracting:
More than 850 toolkits have been sold to hospices in nearly every state. Hospices can count on any of the attorneys in Reinhartʼs Hospice and Palliative Care Group to help with a broad array of issues facing hospices today.
Our Hospice and Palliative Care attorneys have published and lectured extensively on such issues as anti-kickback considerations, physician contracting and nursing home relationships. Some of our recent successes include:
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Structuring innovative palliative care programs for several large hospices
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Winning appeals of several significant claim denials and Medicare recoupments
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Obtaining dismissal of fraud investigations
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Assisting clients with complex joint venture arrangements
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Success in challenging a CAP calculation, which resulted in a savings of nearly $250,000