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Professionals

Heather R. Alleva*

Associate

Heather Alleva represents health systems, hospitals, physician groups, behavioral health facilities, and other health care providers in various types of transactions and strategic affiliations, as well as in regulatory and compliance matters, including fraud and abuse and corporate practice of medicine issues.

Professional Biography


Heather represents health care providers in various transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, provider integrations, joint ventures, management services organization (MSO) models, and other strategic affiliations. She also counsels clients on regulatory and compliance matters, including state and federal regulations governing health care providers, state and federal fraud and abuse matters, professional licensing and scope of practice issues, corporate practice of medicine, and changes of ownership (CHOW), among other operational issues regularly facing providers.

Heather advises clients across the health care industry with respect to the development, implementation, and assessment of corporate compliance programs. She assists with disclosure of compliance issues to state, federal and commercial payors, as well as internal investigations related to potential compliance concerns, and she has experience preparing, submitting, and resolving matters under various self-disclosure protocols.

In addition, Heather advises providers on corporate issues, including proper structuring of physician-related arrangements pursuant to corporate practice of medicine restrictions, and assists with contractual relationships, including drafting and negotiating clinician employment agreements and other services arrangements. She assists clients in establishing telehealth and telemedicine programs, consulting on the licensing, scope of practice, and contractual issues that arise in the context of implementing virtual care programs.

While in law school, Heather served as a law clerk for the University of Pennsylvania Office of the General Counsel and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, providing firsthand assistance to in-house health care regulatory counsel regarding various issues affecting hospital compliance, clinician licensure, and more.

  • Served as lead attorney or lead associate in various acquisition transactions involving health care providers, including numerous physician practice acquisitions, the sale of five clinical trial sites owned by a clinical research organization, the sale of a large GI specialty physician practice to private equity, and many more.

  • Led a hospital client team in investigating several violations of the Stark Law and prepared corresponding disclosures to CMS.

  • Reviewed the effectiveness of numerous providers' corporate compliance programs in various roles, including with respect to voluntary compliance effectiveness reviews and in the role of IRO where the provider is subject to an OIG CIA.

  • Assisted a client to establish a telehealth program, including the negotiation of service agreements, restructuring of an existing program to avoid the improper practice of medicine across state lines, and mitigating other regulatory and licensure issues around non-physician practitioners.

  • Drafted expert reports on structuring guidelines to protect entities from piercing the corporate veil and alter ego claims.

  • Served as lead associate in representing a large, multi-state physician practice in a restructuring plan to comply with both Pennsylvania and New Jersey regulations, as well as tax code.

  • Counseled an academic medical center client in allocating CARES Act funding to appropriate COVID-19-related expenditures.

  • Served as lead associate and assisted in the integration of a specialty hospital with a Pennsylvania multi-hospital health system.

  • Represented out-of-network health care providers in successfully resolving underpayments and alleged overpayment refund demands by commercial health insurance plans.

  • Served as lead associate in investigations into data security incidents, including disclosures of HIPAA breaches to OCR.

  • Led a client team in negotiating a settlement agreement resolving both corporate and compliance issues related to laboratory services.

  • Assisted multiple residential facilities in reviewing their compliance with and ability to receive Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) status to provide inpatient psychiatric services to Medicaid-eligible individuals under the age of 21.

  • Assisted in white collar defense matters, including conducting internal investigations to respond to civil and criminal investigative demands and to prepare for subpoenas and/or testimony.

  • Reviewed and updated a substance abuse facility's billing policies and procedures.

  • Represented a behavioral health provider in conducting internal investigations of potential overpayments, non-compliance with fraud and abuse statutes and making appropriate self-disclosures to payers.

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® "Ones to Watch" in Health Care Law (2023)
  • Member – American Health Law Association (AHLA)
  • Chair – AHLA Women's Leadership Council
  • Member – Nashville Health Care Council – Leadership Health Care
  • Member – Philadelphia Bar Association, Health Law Committee
  • Member – Union League of Philadelphia
  • Committee Member – Youth Work Foundation of the Legacy Foundation at the Union League of Philadelphia
  • Pro Bono Attorney – Homeless Advocacy Project
  • Volunteer – Communicare

Disclaimer

*

Baker Donelson professional admitted to the practice of law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; application pending in Tennessee.

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