Healthcare Attorneys Serving Idaho
Navigating the intricate landscape of healthcare regulatory compliance can be daunting for any healthcare provider. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), private practitioner/provider groups, and skilled nursing facilities/assisted living facilities operate under complex federal and state regulations requiring diligent oversight and strategic forethought.
At Smith + Malek, we offer comprehensive legal solutions tailored to meet the unique challenges these various health facilities face. Hiring a healthcare attorney lets you focus on your primary mission—delivering high-quality healthcare. Whether you are managing an FQHC, a private practice, or a skilled nursing facility, our team provides integrated, experienced legal counsel who understands your operational and strategic objectives.
Working with a healthcare attorney at Smith + Malek offers a partnership beyond traditional legal services. We provide a proactive and preventive legal approach. Our goal is to ensure that your healthcare facility is:
- Prepared for regulatory changes, and
- Equipped to handle legal challenges.
Our Idaho healthcare law attorneys will help transform legal complexities into clear, actionable strategies that align with your mission to provide exceptional care. Please contact our office to schedule a consultation if you’re searching for a healthcare attorney in Idaho.
Experience That Speaks Volumes
Smith + Malek’s partnership history with various healthcare facilities across the western United States speaks volumes about our commitment and capability. Our attorneys deeply understand the nuances and operational challenges specific to each healthcare provider, ensuring we tailor our legal services to meet your needs precisely.
Our extensive experience working with FQHCs is critical for providing the targeted legal services required to thrive in a complex regulatory environment. We understand the unique trials community-based health centers face and offer comprehensive legal solutions that support your mission to deliver quality healthcare to underserved populations.
Additionally, every healthcare compliance attorney in our firm brings a wealth of knowledge to managing the legal aspects of private practice and provider operations. From healthcare regulatory compliance and risk management to litigation and policy development, we can tailor our services to ensure your practice operates smoothly within the correct legal framework.
Comprehensive Legal Support for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
Working with a healthcare business attorney at Smith + Malek, your FQHC can create and implement compensation strategies that comply with legal and regulatory requirements, drive organizational success, and service disadvantaged communities. We offer numerous comprehensive legal services to help your FQHC run smoothly.
Board and Executive Counsel
We provide continuous, in-depth legal guidance to your board and executive team, ensuring all governance practices comply with regulations like the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regulations and Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act.
Executive Compensation and Review
Our team can help you attract and retain top leadership talent while adhering to IRS guidelines for nonprofit organizations and HRSA governance standards. We assist in developing and reviewing competitive, fair, and transparent compensation packages based on industry benchmarks, fair market value, and regulatory requirements. This metric ensures your packages are competitive, legally defensible, and reflect the executive’s role and responsibilities.
Site Visit Strategy
We work closely with your staff to prepare for HRSA site visits and audits. We focus on areas most scrutinized by regulators, such as patient care standards, financial management, governance, and compliance with federal grants. Our preparation includes mock audits, staff training, and a review of documentation practices to ensure compliance with healthcare regulations.
Risk Management
A healthcare regulatory compliance attorney at Smith + Malek can implement robust strategies to prevent violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), policy failures, and potential legal ramifications of employee terminations.
Litigation Avoidance
A Smith + Malek healthcare compliance lawyer will help ensure that your operations comply with laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws, optimizing operations to prevent legal challenges.
Employee Handbooks and Policies
Our team assists in developing and updating employee handbooks. This assistance includes staying abreast of current Idaho and federal law and drafting policies that address workplace behavior, anti-discrimination practices, leave policies, and compliance with occupational safety standards.
Employee Training and Development
We can help with legally mandated employee training, such as sexual harassment prevention, HIPAA compliance, OSHA safety standards, emergency preparedness, cultural competency, patient rights and responsibilities, fraud, waste, and abuse prevention.
Tailored Legal Support for Private Practitioners/Provider Groups
Private practitioners and provider groups face unique legal challenges that require strategic support to ensure compliance and operational efficiency. Here are some tailored solutions to ensure your strategic planning efforts comply with the law and your practice’s objectives in all areas.
Employment Law Compliance
We ensure adherence to federal and state employment laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which protects employees and job applicants who are 40 years of age or older from age-based discrimination, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
Stark Law Compliance
We provide experienced advice on compliance with the Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law. This law aims to prevent financial conflicts of interest by prohibiting physician referrals for certain designated health services payable by Medicare if the physician (or an immediate family member) has a financial relationship with the entity.
Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) Compliance
Our team offers guidance to ensure adherence to the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits exchanging compensation for patient referrals or generating business involving any item or service reimbursable by federal healthcare programs.
Medicare and Medicaid Compliance
A Smith + Malek healthcare lawyer can help providers adhere to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations, ensuring your practice meets all requirements for participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs. This includes compliance with billing practices, patient care standards, and documentation requirements.
OSHA Standards
Our team helps practices comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards set by the Safety and Health Act of 1970 to ensure a safe workplace environment. We assist in developing and implementing safety protocols, conducting risk assessments, and preparing for OSHA inspections.
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)
We offer support for practices with laboratory services to meet CLIA certification requirements. This support includes ensuring your enterprise conducts laboratory testing per federal standards for accuracy, reliability, and timeliness, thereby maintaining high-quality laboratory operations.
IRS Section 4958
If your private practice is a non-profit entity, we ensure compliance with IRS regulations regarding excess benefit transactions for tax-exempt organizations. This will help practices avoid penalties and ensure that compensation packages are reasonable and justified.
Focused Legal Solutions for Skilled Nursing Facilities/Assisted Living Facilities
Operating skilled nursing and assisted living facilities involves navigating stringent regulations and distinctive operational hurdles. At Smith + Malek, we provide focused legal solutions to help these facilities manage complex nursing homes and assisted living healthcare law. Here are just a few of the many legal services we provide.
CMS Regulations
We ensure compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation, including providing proper patient care, maintaining accurate records, and adhering to safety and infection control standards.
Idaho Licensing Requirements
Our team assists in meeting state-specific licensing requirements for nursing and long-term care facilities, including navigating state regulations, obtaining and renewing licenses, and ensuring that all operational aspects of your facility comply with state laws.
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA)
A Smith + Malek healthcare attorney can help providers comply with PSQIA, including implementing systems to report and analyze patient safety events and using this information to improve care standards.
Infection Control Standards
We can help develop and implement infection prevention and control programs, ensuring adherence to infection control guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CMS.
Long-Term Care Facility Regulations
We assist facilities in complying with specific long-term care regulations, including resident rights, quality of care standards, and nursing facility operational guidelines.
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
We help you comply with NLRA regulations, which govern collective bargaining and protect employee rights. This service includes advising you on union interactions, addressing employee grievances, and ensuring fair labor practices.
Compliance with Tax Regulations
Our team advises on compliance with non-profit IRS regulations, ensuring that all officer compensation arrangements meet tax-exempt entity requirements to avoid excess benefit transactions and related penalties.
Workplace Safety Regulations
Our team helps develop and implement safety protocols to protect staff and residents, conduct risk assessments, and prepare for OSHA inspections, ensuring compliance with OSHA standards specific to healthcare settings;
Elder Abuse Prevention Laws
We help you train staff to recognize and report abuse, develop policies to protect residents, and ensure that your facility complies with state and federal elder abuse prevention regulations.
Help Navigating Health Care State and Federal Regulatory Works
At Smith + Malek, we offer expert guidance to help you stay compliant and proactive regarding Idaho-specific and federal regulations.
Idaho-Specific Healthcare Regulations
We provide tailored legal support to ensure your facility complies with local regulations, including the Idaho Administrative Code, which governs the licensing and operational standards for healthcare facilities in Idaho. We can help you understand and adhere to the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act (IDAPA) requirements, including staffing ratios, patient care standards, and facility maintenance. Additionally, we assist in complying with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, which oversees facility licensure, infection control, patient rights, and public health reporting requirements. Our Idaho-specific regulatory experience ensures that your facility meets all local requirements, minimizing the risk of penalties and operational disruptions.
Federal Healthcare Regulations
Our team provides continuous support to navigate complex federal regulatory frameworks, including CMS conditions of participation for healthcare facilities and HIPAA compliance. For HIPPA, we also assist in developing and implementing policies to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of electronic protected health information (ePHI). Additionally, we can help ensure you comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its numerous provisions affecting healthcare providers, such as value-based payment models, patient protection requirements, and expanded coverage mandates.
Contact an Idaho Healthcare Attorney at Smith + Malek
Choose Smith + Malek as your healthcare compliance attorney and benefit from a legal partnership that understands the full scope of your needs, whether you are managing an FQHC, a private practitioner/provider group, or a skilled nursing facility/assisted living facility. Our team is committed to your success, offering legal solutions that help you excel in providing quality care to those who rely most on you. Contact Smith + Malek today to discuss how we can support your goals and ensure compliance across all aspects of your healthcare operations.