Laurice Rutledge Lambert

Experience

Strategic Transactions and Affiliations

• Represent specialty pharmacy management company in all aspects of its business dealings, including structuring affiliations and relationships with partner health systems, as well as evaluating new growth and service line opportunities.
• Represent large nonprofit health system in structuring strategic and competitive affiliations with physician groups.
• Represented large nonprofit health system in all aspects of its merger with another hospital system. Representation included management of the diligence process, and structuring and preparing the system for post-closing operations of a six inpatient facility system.
• Assisted a large health system in a $90 million acquisition of 20 diagnostic imaging centers, including running due diligence, drafting and managing a legal and operational closing checklist, and working to ensure post-closing regulatory compliance.
• Assisted large integrated health system in all aspects of a novel transaction involving the transfer and lease of the assets of three state-run hospitals and advised the system on operational matters related to its subsequent management of the hospitals.
• Represented a multi-campus hospital system in its acquisitions of ancillary facilities, including imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers, laboratories, urgent care centers and radiation therapy facilities.

Regulatory and Compliance

• Routinely advise health systems, physicians and ancillary service providers in structuring contractual arrangements, as well as strategic joint ventures, in compliance with federal and state fraud and abuse.
• Advised large integrated health system in structuring a regulatory compliant alternative joint venture arrangement with a national dialysis provider, and separately advised a private equity-backed dialysis provider in structuring joint venture arrangements with physician investors.
• Assisted large health insurer in navigating Medicare Advantage first tier, downstream and related entity contractor issues with a large national dialysis provider in connection with an acute dialysis services contract negotiation.
• Routinely assist hospital systems, physician practices, therapy providers and specialty pharmacy providers with corporate compliance matters, such as review of policies and procedures, and preparation and performance of appropriate compliance training.
• Routinely advise nonprofit community hospital systems in structuring physician-hospital arrangements, including employment, medical director appointment, response and call coverage agreements, and other professional services arrangements.
• Routinely advise private equity-backed clients in managing and operating healthcare facilities, including analysis of federal and state fraud and abuse issues, licensure, change of ownership and other regulatory considerations.
• Performed complex regulatory analyses in connection with structuring and subsequently drafting a California Managed Medicaid Provider Agreement.
• Assisted national for-profit hospital system in managing, addressing and clearing its internal compliance log.
• Assisted hospital system in its disclosures of violations of the Federal Stark Law to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
• Advised an integrated nonprofit health system with a regulatory fraud and abuse analysis in connection with an ambulance services purchase/sale/lease arrangement.
• Advised a large hospice provider under criminal investigation on issues related to hospice billing and hospice arrangements with physicians, as well as a fraud and abuse analysis of its physician referral arrangements.

Memberships

• Georgia Bar: Health Law Section Member 
• Atlanta Legal Aid Society: President, Board of Directors 
• Health Law Partnership: Advisory Council Member
• American Health Lawyers Association
• Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys