Healthcare Provider Lawyer

Protect Your Practice with the Help of an Experienced Healthcare Provider Lawyer

As a healthcare provider, you face legal risks and challenges on a daily basis. From the threat of medical malpractice lawsuits to maintaining strict billing compliance, all aspects of your practice require the same care and attention that you provide to your patients. Since you need to devote your time to your patients, you need help from an experienced healthcare provider lawyer to ensure your practice, your license, and your reputation are secure.

At Oberheiden P.C., we are committed to helping healthcare providers protect what matters. We assist our clients with all aspects of compliance and risk management. We also defend healthcare providers that are facing audits, investigations, and litigation. Regardless of your specific needs, our healthcare provider attorneys can help, and we can give you the insights you need to make informed decisions with your practice’s best interests (and your personal best interests) in mind.

Meet the Healthcare Provider Lawyers at Oberheiden P.C.

Each healthcare provider lawyer at Oberheiden P.C. has extensive experience advising physicians, hospitals, and other clients in the healthcare field. Several of our attorneys rely on prior experience as federal healthcare fraud prosecutors to help our clients identify and address risks before they lead to audits and investigations. Together, our lawyers have relevant experience in all aspects of healthcare law, from billing and electronic prescription compliance to healthcare fraud and medical malpractice defense.

Put our highly experienced team on your side

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

Lynette S. Byrd

Former DOJ Trial Attorney

Partner

Brian J. Kuester

Former U.S. Attorney

Hon. Kevin McCarthy

55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)

Government Consultant

Mike Pompeo

Of Counsel

Former U.S. Secretary of State

John W. Sellers

Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney

Linda Julin McNamara

Federal Appeals Attorney

Nicholas B. Johnson

Former Prosecutor

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (DOJ)

Chris J. Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Michael S. Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

Our Team

Our team of healthcare provider attorneys is led by Founding Attorney Nick Oberheiden, PhD. Since founding Oberheiden P.C., Dr. Oberheiden has advised and represented healthcare providers in most states across the country. He has helped clients ranging from independent physicians to large healthcare systems develop and implement comprehensive compliance programs, and he has successfully defended clients in private civil litigation as well as matters involving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) and other state and federal authorities.

Dr. Oberheiden has built the firm into a nationwide network of senior-level compliance lawyers and defense lawyers—many of whom focus their practice in the healthcare arena. Our team also includes a network of expert consultants who include former agents and investigators with HHS OIG and other agencies.

Our History

From our humble beginnings as a law firm in Texas focused on representing healthcare providers, we have grown into a nationally-recognized federal compliance and defense firm with offices, attorneys, and consultants across the country. While we represent other types of clients today, much of our practice remains focused on advising, representing, and advocating for healthcare providers whose finances, reputations, and careers are on the line.

Our Results

When you need a healthcare provider attorney, you need unwavering confidence in your choice of legal representation. At Oberheiden P.C., we are proud to let our results speak for themselves. From helping healthcare providers avoid scrutiny through comprehensive compliance to successfully defending providers during audits and investigations, we have a long track record of protecting our clients at the state and federal levels.

We also have a proven track record in litigation. If you are facing medical malpractice allegations or an audit or investigation has resulted in civil or criminal charges, you need a highly experienced litigation team on your side. At Oberheiden P.C., our lawyers rely on their litigation experience and deep knowledge of healthcare law to provide strategic, efficient, and effective legal representation.

Our Legal Services for Healthcare Providers

We represent healthcare providers in four key areas: (i) compliance, (ii) audits and investigations, (iii) healthcare fraud defense, and (iv) civil litigation. Whether you need legal representation in one area or all four, we can custom-tailor a solution to your practice’s or facility’s specific needs.

Our healthcare provider attorneys provide representation in the areas of:

Healthcare Law Compliance

From how you manage your practice to the services you bill to Medicare and Medicaid, virtually everything you do as a healthcare provider has legal implications. To avoid legal issues, you must manage your practice’s compliance obligations effectively.

We provide comprehensive healthcare compliance services for providers nationwide. This includes (but is by no means limited to) helping providers establish, maintain, and document compliance in the areas of:

• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration and compliance
• Prescription ordering, inventory, and disposal compliance
• Electronic prescription compliance
• Federal reimbursement compliance (i.e., Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare)
• Private health insurance billing compliance
• Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law compliance
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance
• Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) compliance
• Telehealth and telemedicine compliance
• Healthcare marketing compliance

At Oberheiden P.C., we take a systematic approach to healthcare compliance that is backed by experience as healthcare fraud defense counsel and as former federal healthcare fraud prosecutors. By taking this systematic approach, we are able to ensure that no stones go unturned, and we are able to provide our clients with the information and resources they need to effectively manage compliance on an ongoing basis. Our healthcare compliance services for providers in the U.S. include:

• Compliance needs assessments
• Compliance program development and documentation
• Compliance program implementation and training
• Internal compliance audits
• Compliance failure remediation
• Monitoring for new and modified compliance obligations

Compliance Audits and Investigations

Healthcare providers can face scrutiny from various sources. These include private health insurers, the DEA, HHS OIG, and fee-for-service auditors working for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), among others. When facing this scrutiny, providers need to defend themselves effectively, as failing to do so can lead to substantial liability and civil or criminal allegations of healthcare fraud.

Our attorneys represent healthcare providers during all external audits and investigations. We have extensive experience in this area, and we have a proven track record of helping providers substantially mitigate, if not entirely avoid, liability arising out of these inquiries. A proactive approach is critical; so, if your practice or facility is facing an audit or investigation, we encourage you to contact us right away.

Healthcare Fraud Defense

When an audit or investigation leads to allegations of healthcare fraud, presenting an effective defense requires a prompt, strategic, and comprehensive approach. Civil and criminal healthcare fraud prosecutions can target a wide range of offenses, and providers must be able to defend against all pertinent allegations to avoid recoupments, fines, and other penalties (including prison time in criminal cases).

At Oberheiden P.C., we maintain a nationwide healthcare fraud defense practice. Our healthcare provider attorneys and defense consultants work together to strategize, analyze the evidence, and assess potential outcomes, and our lawyers rely on their experience on both sides of these cases to provide effective representation. We defend healthcare providers in all types of law enforcement and disciplinary proceedings, including:

• Medical board hearings and appeals
• Civil healthcare fraud cases
• Criminal healthcare fraud cases
• Civil and criminal appeals

Civil Litigation

Along with defending healthcare providers in healthcare fraud cases, we also provide defense representation for clients that are being targeted in private civil litigation. This includes disputes with insurers, business partners, vendors, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, and other commercial parties, as well as patients’ and families’ medical malpractice claims. Here, too, a prompt response is critical. If you have been served with a complaint, or if you have reason to believe that you, your practice, or your facility may get sued, we encourage you to contact us to arrange a complimentary initial consultation as soon as possible.

Healthcare Providers We Serve

Each healthcare provider attorney at Oberheiden P.C. has experience representing a broad range of individual and institutional clients. Whether you are a physician starting your own practice, you own or manage a pharmacy, or you are in charge of a hospital or regional healthcare system, we can rely on our experience to guide you forward. Some of the healthcare providers we serve include:

• Clinics (Private and Government-Funded)
• Healthcare Systems
• Hospices and Home Health Providers
• Hospitals
• Laboratories (Clinical and Toxicology)
• Pharmacies, Compound Pharmacies, and Pharmacists
• Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners
• Physicians and Physician Groups
• Psychologists and Psychiatrists
• Surgeons and other Specialists

10 Ways We Help Healthcare Providers

What can we do to help you? Regardless of the nature of your practice or the type of facility you run, we can provide comprehensive and custom-tailored legal representation that is suited to your specific needs. Here are 10 examples of ways we help healthcare providers nationwide:

1. Corporate Structuring and Governance

Appropriate corporate structuring and effective corporate governance are key to effective risk management. This is true not only for the corporate entity, but for its owners, executives, and directors as well. We help all types of healthcare providers form corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs), and we help our clients maintain their entities’ bylaws, meeting minutes, and other necessary documentation on an ongoing basis.

2. Corporate Compliance Policies and Procedures

We also help our healthcare clients implement effective corporate compliance policies and procedures. Corporate management is an important—and often overlooked—aspect of risk mitigation, and providers that don’t have the requisite policies and procedures in place run the risk of facing unnecessary liability.

3. Healthcare Compliance Policies and Procedures

A significant portion of our healthcare law practice is devoted to helping providers develop and implement effective healthcare compliance policies and procedures. We help our clients address all aspects of healthcare compliance, from billing to marketing, and from prescriptions to telemedicine. We work closely with providers to develop compliance policies and procedures that are custom-tailored to their operations, and that are designed specifically to help their practices and facilities withstand federal scrutiny if necessary.

4. Internal Compliance Auditing

How effective is your practice’s or facility’s healthcare compliance program? This is a question that practitioners, executives, and administrators should be seeking to answer on a regular basis. Assessing the efficacy of a healthcare compliance program involves conducting an internal audit focused on gaining an unbiased understanding of what is working—and what isn’t. We conduct internal compliance audits for both new and existing clients, and we assist many providers with conducting internal compliance audits annually.

5. Internal Investigations

When an internal compliance audit uncovers a violation (or when a violation comes to management’s attention through other means), conducting an internal investigation is the way to find out why the violation happened and who was involved. We conduct and oversee internal investigations for our clients, working quickly to gather the information our clients need while ensuring that the findings of the investigation (and the investigation itself) remain protected by the attorney-client privilege.

6. External Audit and Investigation Defense

Facing an external billing compliance audit or healthcare fraud investigation is enough to raise any provider’s blood pressure. To prevent unnecessary consequences, it is imperative to respond to the audit or investigation as soon as possible. Our lawyers and expert consultants have extensive experience on both sides of these inquiries, and we rely on this experience to protect our clients as efficiently, quietly, and completely as possible.

7. Representation in Settlement Negotiations, Mediation, and Arbitration

When it is not possible to completely avoid liability as the result of an external audit or investigation, negotiating a settlement with the government will often be the next best outcome. When necessary, we focus our representation on negotiating settlements that mitigate our clients’ liability while also ensuring that they are able to continue practicing unencumbered. We represent clients in settlement negotiations, mediation, and arbitration involving medical malpractice and other civil claims as well.

8. Representation in State and Federal Courts

While it is relatively uncommon for healthcare fraud enforcement proceedings and civil lawsuits to go to trial, some amount of pre-trial litigation will often be necessary to achieve a favorable resolution. Our healthcare provider attorneys provide representation for all civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts nationwide. This includes handling pre-trial proceedings, providing trial representation, and challenging (or fighting to uphold) trial verdicts on appeal.

9. Ongoing Compliance and Risk Management

Establishing an effective compliance program is just the beginning for healthcare providers. Providers in all segments of the industry also need to maintain compliance on an ongoing basis. We provide ongoing compliance advice and representation, and we regularly consult with providers regarding other risk management matters as well.

10. Outside General Counsel

Many of our clients have a need for ongoing legal representation but do not have the budget to hire full-time in-house counsel. For these clients, we serve in an outside general counsel capacity. Our lawyers consult with many of these clients daily, but we can also structure other arrangements that are suited to providers’ specific legal needs and budgets.

FAQs: Managing Legal Risk as a Healthcare Provider in the U.S.

Speak with a Healthcare Provider Lawyer at Oberheiden P.C.

If you would like to speak with a healthcare provider lawyer at Oberheiden P.C., we invite you to get in touch. Please call 888-680-1745 or contact us online to arrange a complimentary initial consultation today.