Navigating Healthcare Providers Through Bankruptcy Proceedings

COVID, inflation, and cyberattacks have generated substantial challenges to the financial stability of all industries; the healthcare industry has not been exempt.  On top of those challenges, the healthcare industry has faced its own challenges, including (i) declining patient censuses; (ii) the relocation of healthcare from acute care and other institutional facilities to home and community; and (iii) the shift to value-based compensation.  Those challenges have undermined the financial health of many healthcare providers.  Bankruptcy can be a useful tool in meeting those challenges, whether through restructuring the provider, selling the provider or, as a last resort, liquidating the provider.

During this program, Mr. Crapo will address the process of shepherding a healthcare provider through bankruptcy.  Among the issues discussed will be:

• The application of the general provisions of the Bankruptcy Code in a healthcare context

• Those provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, like the patient care ombudsman provisions, specifically formulated for healthcare bankruptcies

• The crucial importance of Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements in bankruptcy and the impact of governmental attempts to recoup overpayments on a debtor's attempt to reorganize and restructure

• The role of State Attorneys General when the healthcare debtor is a non-profit entity

• The impact of nonbankruptcy law on the healthcare debtor

This program is designed to benefit bankruptcy attorneys representing a party in interest in a healthcare bankruptcy, healthcare lawyers who advise bankruptcy counsel in healthcare bankruptcies, and in-house counsel at healthcare providers who are contemplating bankruptcy relief.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the steps in shepherding a healthcare provider through a successful bankruptcy

2. Analyze the interplay between bankruptcy law and healthcare law in a healthcare bankruptcy

3. Break down the impact of other applicable non-bankruptcy laws on a bankruptcy restructuring or liquidation

4. Explain the impact of the laws governing non-profit entities on a healthcare restructuring or liquidation

5. Discuss the "soft" skills useful in successfully shepherding a healthcare provider through bankruptcy