Medical service providers regardless of their respective fields face myriads of legal issues on a daily basis. In some ways they are no different than any other business owner who must address issues like employee relations, securing health and property insurance, and addressing the need to continue to build a client base.
At the same time, however, healthcare providers address legal challenges that are unique to the practice of medicine. Stringent government regulation exists at both the state and federal level that controls not only the acquisition and
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maintenance of an individual license, but the accreditation of clinics, hospitals and other medical facilities. Federal laws govern not only Medicare and Medicaid programs, but regulate the conditions under which physicians and other healthcare professionals can own their own facilities and under what circumstances they can refer their own patients to facilities they own in whole or in part. While all businesses have to make decisions as to their insurance needs, health professionals face the escalating cost of professional liability insurance in a society where malpractice claims and regulatory complaints are very much a reality of doing business.
Most healthcare providers, whether individual doctors, hospitals, physical therapists, or chiropractors, devote a specific portion of their time to billing. However, with insurance payments shrinking for both in-network and out-of-network providers, simply billing is no longer enough. Aggressive collection and the ability to stay on top of changing insurance plans has become a necessity.
For more commentary and information on issues related to healthcare professionals, please visit the firm's blog: The MD's JD.
How Weitz Morgan Can Help
The prospect of having to deal with all of the legal issues that confront the medical profession can be daunting. We provide the legal expertise to help healthcare professionals deal with the wide range of issues that confront them and in the process address legal problems as interconnected aspects of a single business, rather than disjointed problems that are dealt with on an ad hoc basis without considering how one legal problem may affect another.
The need to grow one's business demands consideration of issues like physician advertising because unlike non-professionals there are limits to what medical providers can represent in efforts to broaden their client base. Similarly many physicians are finding that self-funding their malpractice coverage through some type of captive vehicle is an attractive option. In the process they can decrease cost, control risk, and perhaps provide an additional income stream. However, captives are typically non-admitted companies, and although a legal and valid means of protecting against malpractice, hospitals and other facilities that provide privileges may not be aware that captives do satisfy the malpractice insurance requirement. Physicians have to be prepared to address concerns based on this lack of familiarity.
We offer healthcare providers the opportunity to approach their legal matters in a comprehensive manner, and located in Austin, Texas we are on the doorstep of every state regulatory body that one might need to contact. Specifically, some of our services include:
- Medical Malpractice Defense
- Physician Ambulatory Surgery Centers
- General Litigation Services
- Physician-Hospital Joint Ventures
- Billing and Collection Assistance
- Facility Accreditation/Compliance
- Captive Formation (formation and management)
- Insurance Advice (malpractice insurance and alternatives)
- Third Party Payor Negotiations
- Disputes with Medicare, Medicaid and Commercial Payors
- Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Law Analysis and Compliance
- Representation before a myriad of Governmental Agencies
- Physician Group Practice Development and Representation
The above does not represent a complete listing of the services we offer to the healthcare industry. Each situation is different and oftentimes requires the combination of a variety of services to fulfill client needs. Our goal is to be a source of complete information and counsel on all legal matters that a professional or business in the healthcare industry needs.
If you think we can be of assistance to you, please contact one of our attorneys. We will be happy to discuss your matter and how we can help.
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