Health Care

Washington, D.C.-based counsel, and member of the firm's Labor & Employment Group, Rebecca Springer comments on the jurisdiction of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) after a Washington, D.C. federal court recently ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) can treat certain hospitals as federal subcontractors for the purposes of affirmative action regulations.

Kathleen Taylor Sooy, chair of the firm’s Class Actions practice, was featured in the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform's Legal Newsline in a series on multidistrict litigation.

Crowell & Moring LLP's second annual Advertising & Product Risk Management seminar is featured in Bloomberg BNA Product Safety & Liability Reporter in a piece titled, "Planning, Coordination, Consistency Urged In Talks Geared to Business and Its Counsel." According to the piece, "A holistic approach to risk management, integrating legal and business concerns, works best for companies throughout the life cycle of their products."

Damian D. Capozzola, partner in Crowell & Moring's Los Angeles office, discusses ones option when an insurance company's expert say their care was negligent, but they disagree. In particular, Capozzola recommends that one should seek legal advice and evaluate whether a conflict of interest with the insurer exists. 

Washington, D.C.-based co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Health Care Group, Art L. Lerner, comments on the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc. (U.S., No. 11-1160,2/19/13). In reference to Lerner’s view of the ruling, the article notes, "The high court went back to the roots of its state action jurisprudence in holding that there must be an affirmative action policy for state action immunity to apply." Mr. Lerner is specifically quoted with the comment, "It seems entirely logical -- afterwards -- that the decision to apply the doctrine narrowly would be unanimous given that this case involves whether antitrust laws apply rather than how they should be applied."

The testimony on behalf of the American Benefits Council  from Washington, D.C.-based partner Seth T. Perretta, who leads Crowell & Moring's Employee Benefits practice, is cited in Government Executive and Accounting Today regarding the Internal Revenue Service's responsiveness to American Benefits Council members during the health care reform law rule making process.

Crowell & Moring’s work in Aetna’s $5.7 billion acquisition of Coventry Healthcare featured.

Crowell & Moring is listed among 17 firms that received praise from corporate counsel for improving their client focus in the BTI Client Service A-Team 2012 report by the BTI Consulting Group Inc.

According to the article, “While many firms have been increasing their emphasis on client service to remain competitive, a few made strong pushes toward more in-person meetings, satisfaction surveys and follow-up calls this year, earning them the designation of most improved in a new survey of corporate counsel.”

Washington, D.C-based Antitrust Group partner, and co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Group, Arthur N. Lerner talks about the antitrust implications surround the decision made by two Connecticut hospitals to form a three-sided joint venture with an investor-owned operator. 

According to Lerner, “antitrust enforcers do take into account whether a deal brings benefits to consumers that might outweigh the lessening of competition. They are skeptical if the tie-up does little more than give the two hospitals more bargaining power against commercial health plans, because then the benefits accrue to the hospitals, rather than consumers.

San Francisco, based Health Care Group partner William A. Helvestine is featured for his comments on the trend of health care attorneys and their practices gravitating towards large multi-practice firms. As the deals and litigation matters get larger and more complex, attorneys can best serve their clients at firms with deep resources in complex litigation, government investigations, and federal regulatory matters.

Los Angeles – based partner Christopher K. Lui is featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for his thoughts on the government’s crackdown on healthcare fraud, and the rise in Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services spending.  This rise in spending reflects more aggressive investigations, larger and more complex cases, bigger civil and criminal fines, and the looming threat that more individual executives will be prosecuted.  

According to Lui,"Focusing on individual executives is having the effect the government desired; it's making people look at their compliance programs and keep them up to date…Corporate America is responding to [the threat] in kind."

Washington, D.C.-based partner and co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Group, Arthur N. Lerner, served as a panelist in the Inquiry Journal’s “Dialogue Series” that took place on April 18, 2011 about the current state of the health care market. Lerner was joined by a group of leading health care industry professionals to talk about issues surrounding the health care reform debate.

Partner Seth T. Perretta has joined Crowell & Moring LLP's Corporate, Labor & Employment, and Health Care groups in the Washington, D.C. office.

Speaking to Employment Law360 about his move to the firm, Perretta said he was "looking forward to taking the skill set he had at a boutique firm and applying it across a broader base of clients and practice groups."

Crowell & Moring LLP Health Care Group co-chair and partner John T. Brennan Jr. is featured in the National Law Journal for his comments on healthcare reform, specifically in the areas of assisting hospitals and health care system clients revamp procedures for reporting and refunding overpayments from the government. This includes helping clients conduct audits as they relate to the overpayment issue

Crowell & Moring LLP is featured in BNA's Regulation & Law: Healthcare Report for comments made at the firm's annual 2010 Healthcare Ounce Of Prevention Seminar (HOOPS) seminar, by America's Health Insurance Plans President Karen Ignagni. According to Ignagni, "seven additional health system reform issues must be tackled in the wake of enactment of reform legislation, including reducing overuse of medical services and producing more primary care physicians."

The U.S. Justice Department may have signaled it's delivering what providers have long asked for: the stomach to scuttle health plan mergers. Or not. Arthur N. Lerner, healthcare and antitrust partner with Crowell & Moring LLP and co-chair of the firm's Health Care Group, believes the U. S. Justice Department's antitrust team under Obama is in fact scrutinizing health-insurance deals more closely. "I will say, from my own experience, the heat is on," Lerner said.

Robert T. Rhoad, member of Crowell & Moring’s False Claims Act and qui tam litigation team and partner in the firm’s Government Contracts, Health Care, and Antitrust groups, was featured for his comments on the Justice Department’s new powers to obtain information from government fraud suspects and share it with other agencies and private litigants. According to Associate Attorney General Tony West, “the expanded authority would be an ‘important tool’ and a ‘force multiplier’ in the effort to crack down on government fraud.

Arthur N. Lerner, co-chair of Crowell & Moring LLP’s Health Care Group, is featured for his comments on the importance of competition in the debate over health care reform. According to Lerner, “Competition keeps premiums down, lower premiums make insurance more affordable, affordable insurance means increased access to health care.

On October 1, 2008, the lawyers of white collar law firm Lightfoot Vandevelde Sadowsky Crouchley Rutherford & Levine LLP joined Crowell & Moring, opening its Los Angeles office and boosting its ability to provide corporate and individual clients with top quality white collar litigation counsel in California. All seven of its lawyers and its entire staff joined Crowell & Moring to launch its new office. The news was featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, The Recorder, Securities Law360, Bloomberg News, National Law Journal, etc… 

Crowell & Moring Healthcare Group partner Robert T. Rhoad writes about the Supreme Court's decision in Allison Engine Co. V. United States ex rel. Sanders, et al.. The Court's decision in the so-called "Allison Engine" case outlines what must be proven to make a liability claim under the false claims act.