On December 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had entered into a $345 million settlement with Community Health Network Inc. (CHN), a healthcare network headquartered in Indianapolis, to resolve claims that the hospital violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly submitting Medicare claims for services which were referred in violation of the Stark Law. This settlement is notable in part because it is the largest Stark-related FCA settlement ever reached by the DOJ. This Health Capital Topics article reviews the allegations underlying the case and settlement. (Read more...)

Nearly one year removed from the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the healthcare industry expects a number of new opportunities in 2024, despite lingering challenges exposed by the pandemic. For example, healthcare organizations anticipate issues related to workforce shortages and legislative challenges; however, the industry also expects that opportunities emanating from technological advancements will allow them to grow and transform. This Health Capital Topics article reviews anticipated U.S. healthcare industry activity for 2024 as well as trends that may drive change in the industry. (Read more...)

On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and DOJ jointly issued their final Merger Guidelines, which guide the agencies in their review of mergers and acquisitions in evaluating compliance with federal antitrust laws. The new Guidelines replace, amend, and consolidate the Horizontal Merger Guidelines and Vertical Merger Guidelines, which were published in 2010 and 2020, respectively. While the final version reflects some notable changes from the proposed Guidelines that were made in response to public comments, the main takeaways from the draft version released in July 2023 remain the same. This Health Capital Topics article discusses the finalized Guidelines and how they may affect healthcare transactions going forward. (Read more...) 

Management service organizations (MSOs) face a range of federal and state legal and regulatory constraints, which affect their formation, operation, procedural coding and billing, and transactions. Fraud and abuse laws, specifically those related to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and physician self-referral laws (the “Stark Law”), may have the greatest impact on the operations of healthcare providers. The last installment in this three-part series on the valuation of MSOs discusses the regulatory environment in which these organizations operate. (Read more...) 
Interested In Selling Your Practice?
Check out “The Surgeon's Guide to Selling a Practice” module where HCC's Jessica Bailey-Wheaton, Esq. and Dr. Bhagwan Satiani of The Ohio State University College of Medicine provide tips and considerations when selling a practice. This module includes a free video and whitepaper!


For more information on selling your practice, including HCC’s experience and services related to similar transactions, please email us at solutions@healthcapital.com or call us at 800-FYI-VALU.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A recent HCC authored article entitled "Generative AI in Healthcare - Valuation Considerations" was published by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) in the November/ December issue of The Value Examiner.

For more recently published material written by HCC, please visit www.healthcapital.com