Bloomberg BNA Webinar

Healthcare Joint Ventures: Legal and Practical Issues

Topics:  This presentation addresses the motivations that healthcare entities have in entering into joint ventures; the advantages and disadvantages of being part of a joint venture; types of joint ventures that are common in the healthcare industry; the planning issues that parties to a potential joint venture should think through before committing to the venture; and legal issues that are often involved in healthcare joint ventures.  Further detail on these topics is as follows:

1.       Varieties of Healthcare Joint Ventures: Why are joint ventures increasing popular in the healthcare industry; what models are available and choosing what model is best for your clients; what are the pluses and minuses of the main alternatives. 

2.       Planning issues: How to plan for joint ventures and what practical issues need to be considered, including – scope of the joint venture (services to be included; entities to be involved); structuring the joint venture, including choice of legal form (e.g. partnerships, limited liability companies); percentage ownership for each party in the venture; capital commitments; governance; exit strategy.

3.       Legal issues:  What legal issues arise with respect to particular kinds of joint ventures, especially (i) tax exemption if for-profit and tax-exempt entities are in the joint venture; (ii) fraud and abuse issues and physician participation in joint ventures (Stark and Anti-Kickback); (iii) licensure issues; (iv) Medicare and other participation agreements; and (v) antitrust.  Recent developments pertaining to tax-exempt bonds and accountable care organizations.

Objectives and Key Takeaways:

·         Understanding the range of joint venture configurations in healthcare

·         Best practices for planning for joint ventures

·         Tips for addressing potential legal exposures