Hospital & Health System Consolidation Continues to Headline in 2016

Healthcare Industry consolidation continues seemingly unabated into 2016, driven by the shift to value-based care, increased consumerism, mounting financial challenges and the quest to expand market share - and not necessarily in that order.  Regardless of which market dynamics are dominant, hospitals and health systems, and in particular their legal departments, need to be prepared.

Now into its 6th year, the Healthcare Law & Compliance Institute, taking place March 6th - 8th, will bring together leading GCs and CLOs from hospitals and health systems across the US to discuss the opportunities - and pitfalls - of the drive to come together.

At the most basic level, from partner selection through negotiating and closing, General Counsel (GCs) need to be aware of how to successfully complete a healthcare transaction.  Beyond traditional mergers, there are numerous vertical and horizontal consolidation opportunities and risk sharing strategies such as provider networks that can better position  healthcare organizations.

Concomitant with the increase in transactions is growing regulatory oversight.  It behooves GCs who are about to embark on a transaction to advise their Board and Senior Management of the antitrust issues that are implicated in a variety of arrangements.  At the March meeting, GCs will be able to explore not only the latest actions from the FTC and other enforcers but also hear first hand the experience of St Luke's Health System in Idaho following the first ever instance of the FTC winning a challenge to block the purchase of a physician group by the health system.

Over the past several years, the GC had to expand and leverage his / her role as a strategic business advisor in order to help their organization drive, and respond to, a dramatically changing healthcare landscape.  The gathering of GCs next month will examine not only the various forms of consolidation but will also give due consideration to a host of challenges facing them, including reduced reimbursement, physician employment, compensation and relationships, population health management, privacy concerns brought on by new technologies, fraud and abuse enforcement, all whilst ensuring that the legal department remains a lean and efficient department, demonstrating its value while serving the needs of the organization.

Join leading GCs and CLOs from leading organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, Intermountain Healthcare, Carolinas Healthcare, UCLA Health System and the Cleveland Clinic as they discuss the evolving role of the Healthcare GC in developing strategies to maximize opportunities and mitigate risk as the industry navigates transformation.