In-Person Event
CC

Health Law Institute 2025 – Day Two – Harrisburg


  • City:Harrisburg Hilton, Second & Market Streets, ., Harrisburg, PA, 17101
  • Start Date:2025-03-12 08:30:00
  • End Date:2025-03-12 16:30:00
  • Length:
  • Level:Various
  • Topics:Health Law
Health care and innovative technology in modern hospital

This program is eligible for 6 hours of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 7.2 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.

Overview

Use this page to register for Day Two of the Health Law Institute 2025.
Use this link to register for Day One ONLY.

Sign up for both days and save! 

Customers registering for both days of the institute will save $199 on the combined registration. The discount will be automatically applied in your cart when you add the second day.

Celebrate 31 Years of Excellence at PBI’s Health Law Institute 2025!

Join us at the Hilton Harrisburg for PBI's Health Law Institute, featuring unparalleled CLE for health law professionals provided by esteemed faculty from across the country. In addition to top tier learning, the Institute offers excellent networking opportunities during meals, breaks, and Day One's Safe Harbor Reception.

Exclusive Hotel Rates at Hilton Harrisburg

Book your stay at our special rate of $189/night plus tax. Click here to reserve or call 1-800-HILTON (group code 97E). Book before Monday, February 17th, 2025 to receive the special rate.

Earn Up to 10 Substantive and 2 Ethics Credits

Craft your personalized schedule, selecting from up to four consecutive sessions each hour. Attend both days to satisfy your CLE compliance requirement for the year! Stay tuned for a complete schedule!

Schedule

8:25 – 8:30Opening Remarks
8:30 – 9:30
1 Ethics CLE
K
Attorney Ethical Rules and the Intersection with Corporate Governance (Ethics)
Lisa Murtha
Harrisburg Ballroom
9:30 – 9:45Break
9:45 – 10:45
1 Substantive CLE
L
Navigating Physician Hospital Arrangements – Legal and Valuation Considerations for Compliant Arrangements
Annapoorani Bhat & Manasa Gopal
Delaware
M
Allegations of Fraud and Abuse in Nursing Homes: United States v. Gilbert: Anatomy of an Acquittal
Matt Kussmaul, Beth Moskow-Schnoll & Michelle Romeo
Juniata
N
Health Insurance Matters for Providers
Richard Hendrickson & Sandy Ykema
York



O
Lifecycle of a Healthcare Transaction: Business and Regulatory Perspectives
Alexandra Ahlbrandt, Christina Burke,
Julia Coelho,
Christina Duty &
Christyan Telech
Lebanon
10:45 – 11:00Break
11:00 – 12:00
1 Substantive CLE
P
From Algorithms to Anonymity:
Safeguarding Patient Data in the AI Era
Paul Flanagan & Brad Rostolsky
Delaware/Juniata
Q
Medicare Non-Face-to-Face Physician Services
Alice Gosfield
Harrisburg Ballroom


12:00 – 1:00Lunch
1:00 – 2:00
1 Substantive CLE
R
Hospital Mission, Governance and Reporting in For-Profit Entity Relationships
James Sheehan
Harrisburg Ballroom
2:00 – 2:15Break
2:15 – 3:15
1 Substantive CLE
S
Conscience, Diversity, and Charity: Navigating the Impact of Loper-Bright on Tax Exempt Entities
Jennifer Gniady
Juniata
T
Implementing ACA Non-Discrimination Requirements
J. Nicole Martin Lawton, Angel Pagan &
Mara Youdelman
York
U
Department of Health Legal Update
Christopher Gleeson, Kevin Hoffman & Pamela Smith
Lebanon
3:15 – 3:30Break
3:30 – 4:30
1 Substantive CLE
V
Intersections Between Mental Health and the Law: A Map of Current
Issues & Concerns
Katherine Kravitz
Juniata
W
Blurring the Lines Between Malpractice and Murder: Three Case Studies
Douglas Wolfberg
York
X
AI and Healthcare Delivery: Potential Benefits and Problems with AI Take-up
Barry Furrow
Lebanon

Session Descriptions

8:30 - 9:30 Plenary:
K. Attorney Ethical Rules and the Intersection with Corporate Governance (Ethics)
Lisa Murtha
This session will cover Pennsylvania and National attorney ethical rules and how they intersect
with effective governance and compliance in organizations. This session will outline best
practices in reporting obligations to senior leaders and the Board in the context of attorney
ethical principles. The session will show the intersection of the ethical rules and best governance
practices and keeping leaders accountable for making ethical and compliant business decisions.
The session will cover issues such as when reporting to the government is advisable and how
legal counsel can guide the business leaders and the Board on these types of difficult decisions.

9:45 - 10:45 Concurrent Sessions:
L. Navigating Physician Hospital Arrangements - Legal and Valuation Considerations for
Compliant Arrangements
Annapoorani Bhat & Manasa Gopal
This session will provide an intermediate level discussion around physician hospital
arrangements, legal considerations and valuation implications. This presentation will walk
through best practices for structuring different physician-hospital arrangements, determining fair
market value and educating key stakeholders on the process. We will provide checklist to help
attorneys assess fair market value reports and commercial reasonableness of arrangements.

M. Allegations of Fraud and Abuse in Nursing Homes: United States v. Gilbert: Anatomy of an
Acquittal
Matt Kussmaul, Beth Moskow-Schnoll & Michelle Romeo
This session will explore the factors and legal strategies that led to the full acquittal of Michelle
Romeo, a registered nurse assessment coordinator (RNAC) and our co-presenter, on criminal
healthcare fraud and conspiracy charges after a 5-week trial in federal district court in the
Western District of Pennsylvania. We will discuss the indictment against Michelle and others
involving allegations of fraud involving minimum data sets which are used to determine Medicare
reimbursement for long term care facilities. We’ll also review why the government’s case failed,
including, among other issues: ignoring important data in residents' medical files, poor
investigation (including engaging in confirmation bias), reliance on questionable witnesses, and a
failure to understand CMS' Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Manual and related
regulations. Michelle will speak about her experience as a defendant and how she has put the
lessons learned into practice in her role as a health care professional.

N. Health Insurance Matters for Providers
Richard Hendrickson & Sandy Ykema
Provider counsel – this is your chance to hear from Pa. Insurance Department lawyers on matters
of interest for providers in the world of health insurance. Topics will likely include Pennsylvania's
Act 146 prior authorization and external review processes and Act 77 PBM legislation
implementation; and federal legislative, judicial, and regulatory developments impacting state
insurance regulation – all with an emphasis on how these topics impact providers.

O. Lifecycle of a Healthcare Transaction: Business and Regulatory Perspectives
Alexandra Ahlbrandt, Christina Burke, Julia Coelho, Christina Duty & Christyan Telech
This presentation will outline the framework involved in sales and acquisitions of healthcare
providers in Pennsylvania. These transactions contain many interlaced elements, and this session
will share a fundamental understanding of key stages of a transaction and legal considerations
from both corporate and regulatory counsel perspectives.

11:00 - 12:00 Super Sessions:
P. From Algorithms to Anonymity: Safeguarding Patient Data in the AI Era
Paul Flanagan & Brad Rostolsky
This presentation will explore the intersection of AI and patient privacy in health care, focusing on
the complexities of consent in the digital age. It will examine how AI applications handle sensitive
health data, the challenges of ensuring data anonymization, and the ethical implications of
potential bias in AI algorithms. Special attention will be given to the significant challenges that
health care providers and hospitals face in implementing these technologies while maintaining
compliance with regulations such as HIPAA and rapidly developing body of state privacy laws.
The discussion will also address how these institutions can navigate the intricate balance between
leveraging AI to improve patient outcomes and safeguarding patient privacy. Attendees will gain a
comprehensive understanding of the operational and ethical hurdles that health care
organizations must overcome in the evolving landscape of AI-driven care.

Q. Medicare Non-Face-to-Face Physician Services
Alice Gosfield
With the advent of value-based care which encompasses a broader spectrum of services then in
office or in facility visits, Medicare has introduced since the Affordable Care Act, more
opportunities to bill for non face-to-face services. This will not be about telehealth (which actually
is face to face in many instances). It will address such services as care plan oversight, transitional
care management, chronic care management, remote physiologic monitoring, prolonged care
management and more with special attention to potential compliance risks that lie there.

1:00 - 2:00 Plenary:
R. Hospital Mission, Governance and Reporting in For-Profit Entity Relationships
James Sheehan
Charitable nonprofit hospitals are increasingly turning to private equity and other for-profit
entities to fund and support joint ventures and affiliated entities. This session will discuss the
duties of nonprofit hospitals under governing law to their charitable mission in the establishment
and operation of joint ventures and affiliates, oversight of the entity by hospital boards of
directors and compliance officers, and governance, reporting, and liability concerns based on
recent cases, media reports, data analytics, and legislative initiatives. All charitable nonprofit
hospitals are required to report annually on the IRS 990 Part VI Line 16. “If, at any time during its
tax year, the organization invested in, contributed assets to, or otherwise participated in a joint
venture or similar arrangement with one or more taxable persons.” Line 16(b) requires an Answer
“Yes” if, as of the end of the organization's tax year, the organization had both: 1. Followed a
written policy or procedure that required the organization to negotiate, in its transactions and
arrangements with other members of the venture or arrangement, such terms and safeguards as
are adequate to ensure that the organization's exempt status is protected; and 2. Taken steps to
safeguard the organization's exempt status for the venture or arrangement. These oversight
responsibilities can also provide a basis for liability exposure where oversight is lacking. Schedule
R also requires specific disclosures of the related taxable organizations.

2:15 - 3:15 Concurrent Sessions:
S. Conscience, Diversity, and Charity: Navigating the Impact of Loper-Bright on Tax Exempt
Entities

Jennifer Gniady
Healthcare navigates unique terrain around hot-button issues like conscience protections,
healthcare outcome disparities, and the nonprofit status of many healthcare organizations.
These areas have experienced new pressures as executive administrations regularly rewrite the
implementing regulations (especially after election years), activist litigation pushes the bounds of
Supreme Court rulings, and tax-exemption compliance continues to straddle both federal agency
and state attorney general directives. On top of this, the recent Loper Bright case upends
expectations that agency implementation will substantially stand up to challenges. Using recent
regulations and litigation results, this presentation examines these pressures and their practical
effects in healthcare at the local, state, and federal levels.

T. Implementing ACA Non-Discrimination Requirements
J. Nicole Martin Lawton, Angel Pagan & Mara Youdelman
To understand the content of new federal nondiscrimination regulations implementing Section
1557 of the Affordable Care Act and other relevant statutory requirements. Section 1557 prohibits
discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability and sex (including sexual
orientation, gender identity, intersex characteristics and pregnancy and related conditions). This
session will address ways to ensure nondiscrimination in healthcare settings generally while using
language access as a case study. Co-presented by the Managing Director for Federal Advocacy in
the Washington DC office of the National Health Law Program (NHeLP); the former Director of
Linguistic and Cultural Services for Temple Health - Temple University Health System for over 20
years; and the President/CEO of a Phoenix Language Services, a company specializing in medical
interpreter services for over 30 years.

U. Department of Health Legal Update
Christopher Gleeson, Kevin Hoffman & Pamela Smith
The Department of Health update will include a broad overview of legal developments, regulatory
changes, and interesting cases over the last 12 months. This update will touch on numerous
different program areas including hospitals, nursing care facilities, medical marijuana, and more.

3:30 - 4:30 Concurrent Sessions:
V. Intersections Between Mental Health and the Law: A Map of Current Issues & Concerns
Katherine Kravitz
It should not surprise that in a health care landscape marked by a national shortage of mental
health providers, legal issues in mental health are all over the map. The pandemic underscored
the need for increased attention to health care workers’ mental wellbeing and generated a new
paradigm for wellbeing compliments of the CDC. Balancing the need to keep workers safe from
workplace violence while respecting patient autonomy remains an ever present challenge.
Navigating procedural due process in the setting of involuntary mental health commitments has
been the focus of quietly important Pennsylvania case law. Wrapped around all this are
comprehensive new parity regulations and some measure of uncertainty as to if and how they will
impact providers. This eclectic program will inform attendees of key developments, implications
and issues moving forward as we navigate the varied crossroads between mental health and the
law.

W. Blurring the Lines Between Malpractice and Murder: Three Case Studies
Douglas Wolfberg
The homicide convictions of a nurse in Tennessee and two paramedics in Colorado - along with
first degree murder charges against two providers in Illinois - raise significant questions for
healthcare law and policy when it comes to criminal prosecutions for medical error. This session
will look at these three groundbreaking cases, and present important lessons for healthcare
lawyers who represent providers and institutions on the emergence of criminal liability for
medical error.

X. AI and Healthcare Delivery: Potential Benefits and Problems with AI Take-up
Barry Furrow
This presentation will look at the history of tools of data collection in improving patient safety --
and the recent emergence of AI as a powerful tool in health care. AI has the potential to make
healthcare more personalized, predictive, preventative, and interactive. It can improve physician
diagnoses, reduce adverse events, and create dashboards to monitor patient safety. I will look at
some of these positive uses of AI in diagnosis of diseases, AI driven treatments, and other
benefits for physicians. I will also examine the risks of AI use in health care, including the ability
to monitor physician performance and shortcomings.

Faculty

Daniel F. Shay, Esq.

Mr. Shay is an attorney with Alice G. Gosfield and Associates, P.C. His practice is restricted to health law and health care regulation focusing primarily on physician representation, fraud and abuse compliance, Medicare Part B reimbursement, and HIPAA compliance in the physician context. He also has a keen interest in intellectual property issues, including copyright, trademark, data control, and confidentiality. Applying this interest to the firm’s practice focus, he is especially involved in issues of provider ownership and control of their data, software license agreements, and the developing world of sharing and interface of healthcare data systems and the data within them. Mr. Shay received his Bachelor of Science degree cum laude in 2000 from Vanderbilt University and his juris doctorate degree from Emory University School of Law in 2003. Mr. Shay is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and the American Health Law Association. 

Michael A. Cassidy, Esq.

Mr. Cassidy, a shareholder in the Business and Finance Department of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. in Pittsburgh, concentrates his practice in health care law, chairs the firm’s Business Department, and is a member of the Healthlaw and Employee Benefits Practice Groups. For more than 30 years, Mr. Cassidy has devoted his practice primarily to the representation of physicians and other individual providers and is counsel to the Allegheny County Medical Society. His practice includes the fundamental business transactions and reimbursement issues relating to the formation and governance of healthcare entities and integrated delivery systems, compliance and credentialing, IT Privacy and security. He has extensive experience in third party reimbursement, managed care contracting, fraud and abuse, corporate compliance, telehealth issues, tax exempt organization issues and HIPAA. Mr. Cassidy has been named as one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers for Health Care Law since 2006, and has been named in America’s Best Lawyers for Healthlaw since 2009. He also received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s “Excellence in Health Care Law Award” for 2003. He is the publisher of the Med Law Blog (www.medlawblog.com). Mr. Cassidy is a member of the American Health Law Association, its Physician and the Medical Staff, Credentialing and Peer Review (MSCPR) Practice Group, and served as Chair of the MSCPR Practice Group and a member of AHLA’s Quality Council. He is a past chairman and Council member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Health Law Section and a past board member of the Pennsylvania Society of Healthcare Attorneys. He has written and lectured on health law issues for the American Health Law Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Health Care Compliance Association, the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), and numerous state and county medical societies and bar associations. Mr. Cassidy also served on the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Health Care Malpractice Task Force. He is the author of “Immunity for Credentialing Decisions Under Federal and State Law” from the AHLA Health Lawyers’ Expert Series, a co-author of the AHLA Peer Review Guidebook, and of chapters on Health Care Contracting and Business Crimes for the Matthew Bender Health Law Treatise, and the Lexis Health Care Compliance Manual, and co-author of “Introduction to Telehealth, Technology and Federal Enforcement” from the 2024-2025 Thomson Reuters Publisher Health Law Handbook. Mr. Cassidy is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Tax Court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and various federal courts. He received his B.A. from Brown University and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He has an AV rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards awarded by this national directory of lawyers.

James G. Sheehan, Esq.

Mr. Sheehan is the Chief of the New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, which oversees compliance and regulation of the nation’s largest Charities sector. Prior to this role, he was the New York City Human Resources Administration’s first Chief Integrity Officer, overseeing audit, investigations, and data analysis for the nation’s largest social services agency. From 2007 to 2011, he was New York’s first Medicaid Inspector General, overseeing the country’s first mandatory compliance program, and New York’s’ leading role in health care data analytics. Prior to his New York public service roles, Mr. Sheehan was an Assistant and Associate US Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where he developed a nationally recognized program working with whistleblowers under the False Claims Act. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School.

Christina Burke, Esq.

Christina Burke is a Shareholder in Stevens & Lee’s Valley Forge office. She focuses her practice on advising hospital systems, physician practices and other health care organizations on corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and affiliations. She also represents clients dealing with contractual matters such as employment, professional services, lease, medical director and administrative service agreements. In addition, she regularly advises a wide variety of clients on federal and state fraud and abuse laws, corporate practice of medicine requirements, federal and state tax-exemption requirements and state licensure requirements. She also manages all aspects of transactional regulatory health care due diligence.

Annapoorani Bhat

Annapoorani specializes in valuation and related consulting services for entities in the health sciences sector, including providers, payers, and healthcare technology companies. Her valuation experience encompasses a broad range of healthcare entities and physician compensation arrangements for purposes such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, affiliations, and hospital-physician alignment arrangements. Her primary area of expertise is in the valuation of businesses and assets for transactions, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, and internal strategic planning. Annapoorani works with a broad range of provider entities including academic medical centers; health systems; cancer centers; and outpatient facilities such as surgery centers, radiation therapy centers, home health providers, and urgent care facilities. Additionally, she has experience with payer entity valuation, clinically integrated networks, and arrangements that involve intellectual property. Annapoorani specializes in valuing intangible assets and is focused on assisting provider organizations, especially academic medical centers, with their brand valuation needs. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences on valuation-related topics specific to healthcare. Annapoorani is the managing principal of PYA’s Charlotte office. Annapoorani received a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the National University of Singapore, a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston College, and a Master of Social Science degree in Applied Economics from the National University of Singapore. Annapoorani is a member of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and is an ASA-Accredited Senior Appraiser in the Business Valuation discipline. She is a member of the American Health Law Association and the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation, and a board member of the Union County Library Foundation Board.

Charles I. Artz, Esq.

Mr. Artz is the managing partner of Artz McCarrie Health Law. He concentrates his practice on health law, representing physicians, physician organizations and other providers in fraud and abuse, Stark and Anti-kickback compliance, fraud and abuse, Stark and Anti-kickback defense, false claims act defense litigation, government and commercial third party payer post-payment and Medicare contractor audit defense, State Board of Medicine licensure matters, medical staff privileges litigation, HIPAA privacy and security compliance, and medical practice related business transactions and employment issues and litigation, including retaliation claims. He has drafted and implemented compliance plans for numerous medical specialty practices, multi-specialty and multi-disciplinary practices, and physician practice management companies. He has negotiated and represented health care providers in carrier and government overpayment audit and refund cases, health care false claims and criminal fraud defense cases before federal and state authorities, defended OCR privacy investigations and has analyzed and structured institutional and individual provider arrangements to establish compliance with state and federal anti-referral and anti-fraud and abuse statutes and regulations. He has briefed or argued over 30 cases in Pennsylvania’s state and federal appellate courts, including a successful argument before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He serves as general counsel to the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, General Counsel to the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists, Health Law Counsel to the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Society and represents scores of medical practices throughout Pennsylvania and multiple other jurisdictions. He writes bi-monthly articles on health law and policy issues in Keystone Physician, PAFP’s bi-monthly publication. He has made numerous presentations to physicians on various compliance, fraud and abuse, HIPAA privacy, reimbursement and managed care topics. Mr. Artz received a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, from Elizabethtown College, and a J.D. degree from The Dickinson School of Law. He is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, Pennsylvania Supreme Court, all Pennsylvania civil and appellate courts, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Alexandra S. Ahlbrandt, Esq.

Alexandra Ahlbrandt is a Member in McNees’ York and Harrisburg offices and concentrates her practice in the areas of healthcare and corporate law. Alex works with healthcare providers, both in the nonprofit and for-profit spaces, through various transactional events, including mergers and acquisitions, membership substitutions, asset transfers, affiliations, and reorganizations, as well as the accompanying regulatory filings and structuring involved in healthcare transactions. In her transactional practice, she represents hospitals and health systems, long-term care providers, personal care and home health providers, ambulatory surgical centers, behavioral health providers, and professional trade associations. She also counsels clients on regulatory compliance including HIPAA compliance, fraud and abuse, medical staff issues and other regulatory matters. Her corporate practice includes advising clients through mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and structuring, contract negotiations, entity formation and other general corporate matters. She earned her B.A. from Temple University and her J.D. from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University. Outside of her work with McNees, Alex proudly serves as a director and secretary on the Board of Directors of Jessica & Friends Community, a faith-based nonprofit based in York, Pa., that provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Henry M. Casale, Esq.

Henry M. Casale, B.S. University of Pittsburgh; J.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Law is a partner with the law firm of Horty, Springer & Mattern, P.C. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was a licensed pharmacist. He is a frequent editor of the Health Law Express, a weekly e-newsletter on health law developments and, with Hala Mouzaffar, presents The Kickback Chronicles on the firm’s Health Law Expressions podcast. He is an adjunct professor in the Carnegie Mellon University Master of Medical Management for Physicians Program, and has also served on the faculty of seminars sponsored by the firm, as well a meeting and seminar sponsored by numerous hospital, managed care, legal and physician organizations, including the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the American Health Lawyers Association. Mr. Casale has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. He also co-authored, with Eric W. Springer, Hospitals and the Disruptive Health Care Practitioner: Is the Inability to Work With Others Enough to Warrant Exclusion?, 24 Duq. L.R.377 (1985). He has served as a member of the Board of Directors and a the President and Vice-President of the Society of Healthcare Attorney of Western Pennsylvania. He has also served as a member of the Health Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Brad M. Rostolsky, Esq.

Mr. Rostolsky is a member of Greenberg Traurig’s Health Care & FDA Practice in practicing in the area of health care and regulatory law.  Mr. Rostolsky represents a range of clients in the health sector including hospitals, health plans, medical practices, pharmacies, long term care facilities, electronic health records providers, management companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and medical device companies.  He regularly advises clients on virtually all aspects of health information privacy and security compliance under HIPAA and state law, and spends considerable time helping clients navigate the multi-specialty realm of digital health, including providing business structuring advice to facilitate pursuing desired operational outcomes without running afoul of regulatory constraints.  Mr. Rostolsky also has deep experience guiding clients through significant privacy and security incident response and associated investigations. Mr. Rostolsky received his B.A. from Emory University, his Masters in Public Health from Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, and his J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Review. He is a past member of the Philadelphia Bar Association Business Law Section’s Executive Committee and co-chair of its Health Law Committee.

Daniel J. Hennessey, Esq.

Mr. Hennessey focuses his practice on health care and human service matters including tax, regulatory, corporate and transactional issues, and has represented health care systems, hospitals, human service providers, managed care organizations, accountable care organizations, clinically integrated provider networks, group purchasing organizations, post-acute care providers, medical laboratories, physician practices, pharmacies, and other health care and human service providers. He advises clients on a variety of issues involving fraud and abuse laws, tax-exempt organization matters, state and federal licensure and regulation of health care entities, human service providers and managed care organizations/insurance companies, corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, health care contracting, group purchasing and physician compensation. Mr. Hennessey has presented and written on various health care, regulatory and tax issues affecting the health care organizations including, among others, health care reform initiatives and new payment models, fraud and abuse matters, accountable care organizations, federal tax reform and tax exemption requirements for Section 501(c)(3) hospital facilities under Section 501(r) of the Internal Revenue Code. In law school, Mr. Hennessey served as a member of the George Mason Law Review and as Managing Editor of The Docket.

Nicole Aiken-Shaban, Esq.

Ms. Aiken-Shaban is a partner at the Philadelphia office of Reed Smith LLP, practicing in the area of health care regulatory law. Her practice focuses on handling reimbursement, regulatory and transactional matters, such as advising on state and federal fraud and abuse laws, developing and navigating value-based care models and payment programs, and structuring complex transactions and contractual arrangements, for a variety of health care industry clients, including health care providers and suppliers, private equity funds and other investors in the health care industry, commercial and managed Medicare and Medicaid managed care organizations, and pharmaceutical manufacturers and biotech companies. She is currently a member of the Philadelphia Bar and American Health Lawyers Associations, and serves as an At-Large Member of the Executive Committee for the Philadelphia Bar’s Business Law Section and Co-Chair of its Health Law Committee. Ms. Aiken received her J.D. from the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and her B.A. from the University of New Mexico.

Harry J. Levant, MA PCC, ICGC-1, JD

Harry Levant is an Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor and mental health therapist in private practice and directs the gambling treatment program with Ethos Treatment, LLC in Broomall and Jenkintown, PA. Harry is also proud to serve as an adviser to the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University. He is also a doctoral student at Northeastern and his research, dissertation, and thesis are focused on developing a public health approach to prevent harm related to gambling and gambling disorder. Harry holds a Master’s in Professional Clinical Counseling from La Salle University and a Juris Doctorate from Temple University School of Law. Has been recognized as an Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor (ICGC-I). He is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Counseling Association, the Pennsylvania Counseling Association, Chi Sigma Iota National Honor Society for Counselors, Stop Predatory Gambling, and Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Pennsylvania. Harry is also a public health advocate and appears on television and radio addressing the prevention and treatment of gambling disorder. He is the author of the law review commentary “Upon Further Review, the NFL Gambling Strategy is a Risk to Public Health” and co-author with Professor Richard Daynard and Professor Mark Gottlieb of the Boston Globe article, “Massachusetts Makes a Losing Bet on Gambling”. Harry is also a gambling addict in recovery. He made his last bet on April 27, 2014. On that day, gambling addiction brought him within seconds of taking his life. “Gambling is a known addictive product and gambling disorder is an addiction just like alcohol, drugs, and tobacco”. One out of every two people struggling with gambling disorder will experience suicidal ideation and one in five will attempt suicide. Gambling disorder typically presents with other co-occurring mental health and substance disorder problems and can cause devastating harm to people and families. The good news is that help is available and with appropriate treatment recovery is possible.
“It is a privilege to work at Ethos where we treat and support people and families struggling to overcome gambling addiction. I am grateful to the Pennsylvania Bar Institute for the opportunity to serve on this distinguished panel and present important public health information to the Pennsylvania legal community”. 

Prof. Paul Flanagan

Paul Flanagan is an authority on compliance and privacy who brings decades of experience working with some of the nation’s leading health care providers and higher education institutions. He directs the Privacy, Cybersecurity and Compliance program. Selected by the U.S. Department of State as a Fulbright Specialist in 2018, Professor Flanagan previously served as executive director of compliance and privacy services for the Drexel University Compliance and Privacy Office. There, he helped manage the University’s Compliance and Data Privacy and Security programs, providing compliance and privacy services to the Drexel College of Medicine and providing Drexel’s senior management with guidance to develop, implement and maintain procedures covering the privacy of students, faculty, professional staff and the security of institutional data. Previously, he held compliance and privacy leadership posts at Abington Memorial Hospital, Hahnemann University Hospital and the University of Florida’s Shands Health System. Professor Flanagan has also served as vice president and chief compliance and privacy officer at Precyse Solutions in Wayne Pennsylvania and chief compliance and privacy officer at 21st Century Oncology in Orlando, Florida, one of the largest medical oncology practices in the United States. He has held compliance and privacy positions at other leading academic medical institutions across the country, including the University of Arizona and Stanford University. Dual certified in both compliance and health care compliance, Professor Flanagan received his JD from Creighton University School of Law and his MS in Human Resources/Hospital Administration from Widener University. He is certified in Information Privacy Management by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Professor Flanagan is a member of InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and the private sector that promotes public-private collaboration to safeguard businesses, academic institutions and government agencies. He has held adjunct teaching posts at the University of Southern California, Bellevue University and Widener University Delaware Law School. Professor Flanagan’s publications include chapters in volumes such as the “2013 Health Law and Compliance Update” and articles in publications that include Health Systems Review and the ABA Health Law Section’s The Health Lawyer.

Alice G. Gosfield, Esq.

Ms. Gosfield practices law in Philadelphia through Alice G. Gosfield and Associates, P.C. (www.gosfield.com). Ms. Gosfield has devoted her practice to health law and health care regulation since 1973 and places a special emphasis on matters related to physician representation, non-institutional reimbursement, medical staff issues, clinical integration, fraud and abuse, managed care and utilization, new payment models and quality issues. A graduate of Barnard College and New York University Law School, she served as President of the National Health Lawyers Association (now the American Health Lawyers Association) from 1992-1993. She served as Chairman of the Board of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the managed care accrediting organization, was re-elected to serve five terms, from 1998 through 2002, and as a member of the Board for twelve years from 1992-2003. A founding Design Team member since 2004, she served as the first and only Chairman of the Board of PROMETHEUS Payment® Inc. From 2009-2013, she was the first Chairman of the Board of the Healthcare Incentives Improvement Institute, Inc. (HCI3), the not for profit which was the merger of Bridges to Excellence, Inc. and PROMETHEUS Payment Inc. She has served on four committees of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine studying issues in utilization management and clinical guidelines and has consulted to the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, the General Accounting Office, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The author of eleven monographs and more than 190 published articles, she also has lectured frequently on health law issues for groups including the American Medical Association, American Health Lawyers Association, American College of Cardiology, American Osteopathic Association, and many other national, state, and local groups. Her second book, Guide to Key Legal Issues in Managed Care Quality, was published in 1996 by Faulkner and Gray. She authors WestGroup’s Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse. She is on multiple periodical editorial boards and is the contributing editor for WestGroup’s annual Health Law Handbook which she launched in 1989. She has been listed in every issue of The Best Lawyers in America (Health Law) since the inception of the category. In 2007 and 2009, the last time the list was published, she was named by the Best of the Best as one of the top 25 health lawyers in the country and the only one primarily devoted to physician representations. She has been named to Marquis’ Who’s Who, Continental Who’s Who and the International Association of Who’s Who, all of which compete with each other. She has been recognized internationally for her health law expertise by the International Centre for Commercial Law in the United Kingdom as one of The Legal 500, a select group of 500 law firms in the United States recommended for their specific abilities in particular areas of law. In 2006, she was named a Fellow of the American Health Lawyers Association.

Manasa Gopal, Esq.

Manasa Gopal joined the Office of the General Counsel as Associate General Counsel in June, 2011. She comes to Columbia with specialized experience in health law, previously working as a Director of Legal Management at the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university. Ms. Gopal represents the University on various matters, providing counsel primarily to the Columbia University Medical Center on health care and academic medical center issues, including fraud and abuse and faculty practice matters. She received her B.A. in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine from the University of Chicago in 1992 and her J.D. from the University of Houston in 1998, where she focused her studies in health law. She is admitted to the practice of law in Texas and New Jersey and registered as in-house counsel in New York.

Jennifer A. Gniady, Esq.

Ms. Gniady is a partner and Chair of the nonprofit and religious organizations practice group at Stradley Ronon. She advises nonprofit organizations on how to respond to risks, solve problems and plan for the future. She provides assistance navigating the complexities of tax-exemption regulatory compliance, including through in-depth board training on topics such as political activities, lobbying and fundraising. Her extensive experience counselling religious healthcare and ministry organizations makes her uniquely qualified to assist with matters related to the structure, liabilities, and constitutional protections of these organizations. Clients, including major religious denominations, healthcare and educational associations, and social service organizations, rely on Jennifer’s extensive background when responding to inquiries from federal, state and local charitable regulators, and her practical advice for managing litigation. She is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law and clerked for the D.C. Court of Appeals before entering private practice in the Washington, D.C. area.

Prof. Barry R. Furrow

Professor Furrow is a Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law Program at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University. Professor Furrow earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School before clerking with the Superior Court of Massachusetts and handling civil litigation and health-law cases with the Boston firm, Palmer & Dodge. Professor Furrow is a pioneer in the field of health law. He is the lead author of eight editions of Health Law–Cases, Materials and Problems, one of the leading casebooks in the health law field. He is also co-author of the treatise, Health Law, now in its third edition, which the U.S. Supreme Court has cited three times. Professor Furrow came to the law school from Widener University School of Law, where he founded the Health Law Institute and earned the Jay Healey Distinguished Health Law Teaching Award from the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics. He has also held full-time faculty posts at the University of Detroit School of Law, American University’s Washington College of Law and at the George Mason University Anthony Scalia School of Law. His teaching experience also includes teaching stints in the University of Michigan Law School and School of Public Health and the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill. Professor Furrow’s expertise spans a wide array of health-related topics, including health care policy, regulation and finance, patient safety, mental health, provider accountability, telehealth and the law, the role of private equity financing in health care, and medical ethics and bioethics. He has written more than four dozen law review articles on health law topics in such publications as the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, the Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review and the Drexel Law Review; and has also published chapters in several Oxford and Cambridge Press Handbooks on Health. Furrow was appointed in October of 2018 by the U.S. State Department as a Fulbright Specialist to assist institutions and universities around the world on health law topics and programs. He served as a Fulbright specialist in 2022 at the University of Venice Ca’ Foscari, giving a series of lectures to faculty, students and others both live and by Zoom on a wide range of health law topics.

Christina Duty, Esq.

Christina Duty is Of Counsel in McNees’ Pittsburgh office. She is a healthcare regulatory and compliance attorney. She advises healthcare providers, including hospitals, health systems, physician practices and employee assistance programs as well as health insurance companies on matters related to statutory and regulatory compliance, health care reimbursement and payment regulations, privacy and security standards, and fraud and abuse laws. Christina most recently served as the Director of Risk Intelligence and Case Management at a national health insurance and healthcare provider system, where she led a team of compliance professionals, including attorneys and auditors, dedicated to the intake and implementation of new guidance impacting healthcare facilities and professional organizations and managing government audits.

Ian Donaldson, Esq.

Ian Donaldson is a partner with the law firm of Horty, Springer & Mattern, P.C. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He devotes his practice entirely to health care law, working extensively with hospital and physician leaders on various medical staff issues including credentialing and peer review matters. Ian is an Editor of the Health Law Express, a weekly e-newsletter on the latest health law developments. He previously served as a faculty member of the HortySpringer Seminars The Credentialing Clinic and The Complete Course for Medical Staff Leaders and is a current faculty member of The Peer Review Clinic. He has also served on the faculty of ACOG’s (The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) Quality and Safety for Leaders in Women’s Health Care postgraduate course. Ian earned his B.S. in Economics from Penn State University. He earned his J.D. and Certificate in Health Law from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he served on the Pittsburgh Tax Review.

Steve W. Day, Esq.

Mr. Day has been Counsel, Director of Risk, and HIPAA Privacy Officer for Doylestown Hospital for the past 15 years. In that role, he manages all claims and litigation, negotiates and drafts vendor and physician contracts, oversees the Risk Management function, and is responsible for the HIPAA/information privacy program. Prior to joining Doylestown Hospital, Steve spent 17 years with the firm of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman, and Goggin as a medical malpractice trial lawyer where he represented physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, and the Allied Health professions, and has tried cases in a in the State and Federal Courts throughout the Commonwealth. Mr. Day has lectured extensively in his career and routinely provides education for clinical and non-clinical staff in the Doylestown Health System on a myriad of risk, litigation, and HIPAA topics. Mr. Day is Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), and earned his B.A from Rider College (now Rider University) in 1988 and his J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1993.

Julia P. Coelho, Esq.

Julia Coelho is a Member in McNees’ Harrisburg office and serves as the lead for the firm’s Healthcare practice. She counsels a broad range of healthcare clients on various types of transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic affiliations, reorganizations, and joint ventures. Julia also provides advice to healthcare organizations on corporate governance, regulatory compliance and general contractual matters. As part of her regulatory compliance practice, she routinely advises clients on provider licensure requirements, third-party reimbursement issues, and compliance with fraud and abuse laws, including structuring transactions and compensation arrangements to comply with Stark and Anti-Kickback laws.

Charles J. Chulack, Esq.

Charles J. Chulack is a partner with the law firm of Horty, Springer & Mattern, P.C. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his work is devoted exclusively to advising hospitals and physician leaders on a wide range of topics, including medical staff issues, medical staff bylaws and associated documents, compliance with federal and state law and regulations and accreditation standards, and employment matters. In addition, he represents hospitals in litigation on topics such as contractual disputes, physician hearing and appeal rights, and immunity under state and federal law. Mr. Chulack is currently a faculty member for the HortySpringer seminar The Peer Review Clinic and was previously a faculty member for Credentialing for Excellence. He frequently provides individualized on-site and virtual educational programs on credentialing, privileging, peer review, professionalism, practitioner health, investigations, and other medical staff topics for hospitals and medical staffs across the country. He has done numerous presentations for legal organizations including the American Health Law Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Mr. Chulack is an editor of the firm’s Health Law Express, a weekly e-newsletter on the latest health law developments. Mr. Chulack also served as an editor for the fourth and fifth editions of the American Health Law Association Peer Review Guidebook and the first edition of the American Health Law Association The Complete Medical Staff, Peer Review, and Hearing Guidebook. He has published articles in Bloomberg’s Health Law Reporter, Duquesne Law Review, and Allegheny County Bar Association’s Lawyer’s Journal. Mr. Chulack is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association and the American Health Law Association and is admitted to practice in front of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Charles M. Honart, Esq.

Charles served as Co-Chair of the Stevens & Lee Health Law Department from 1998 until 2020. He has represented health care providers, including health care systems, managed care organizations, integrated delivery systems and physician groups in a wide range of matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, affiliations and reorganizations, exempt organization tax planning, antitrust, tax-exempt financing, and health care contracting and compliance matters. Charles lectures on health care, tax and antitrust issues affecting nonprofit organizations and health care providers before numerous organizations and is the author of various articles on tax, antitrust, and other healthcare-related subjects. Charles graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, in 1979 where he was a member of the Law Review and from Cornell University, B.A., magna cum laude, in 1976. Following law school, Charles served as law clerk for Justice Sidney M. Schreiber, Supreme Court of New Jersey.

R. Christopher Raphaely, Esq.

Chris provides sophisticated transactional and regulatory counsel to an array of health care providers and investors in the health care industry. Prior to joining the firm in 2014, Chris served as deputy general counsel to Jefferson Health System and general counsel to the system’s accountable care organization and captive professional liability insurance companies. Chris has worked in the health care industry for nearly three decades. His practice focuses on mergers, acquisition, and divestitures transactions for health care clients and the comprehensive regulatory schemes requisite to doing business in the health care space. Chris routinely handles matters involving payer negotiations, payment disputes and contract enforcement, accountable care organizations, management services organization, clinically integrated networks, value based payment arrangements, pharmacy benefit management and third party administrator contracts for self-insured employers, digital health, organizational and governance structures, HIPAA, information privacy and security, tax exemption, Stark Law, fraud and abuse matters, clinical integration, medical staff relations, facility and professional licensing, Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act, and general compliance. At Jefferson Health System, Chris served as a legal advisor to the system’s board of trustees and executive team and played key roles in Jefferson Health System’s largest and most complex transactions. During his tenure, Chris helped lead the system’s restructuring efforts in 2010 and the separation of its members in 2014, which resulted in the creation of three autonomous and agile health systems. As a result of his extensive in-house experience, Chris has a deeply ingrained understanding of health care clients’ governance structures, day-to-day operations, goals, and expectations. Prior to joining Jefferson Health System, Chris spent 16 years in private practice representing health care clients in a wide range of transactional and regulatory matters, the last seven as a partner of an Am Law 100 law firm’s health law practice group. Previously, he served as an adjunct professor at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and Widener University School of Law, where he taught health care finance. He serves as chairman of the board of The Rock School for Dance Education. He earned his J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law and his B.A. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jonathan P. Moyer, Esq.

Mr. Moyer is a Partner in Reed Smith LLP’s Global Corporate Group in Philadelphia. He concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, venture capital and growth equity transactions, equity and debt offerings, corporate governance issues and general corporate law. In his practice, Jonathan regularly counsels funds and companies focused in the healthcare, life sciences, financial services, energy and media and technology industries, among others. Mr. Moyer is the head of the Corporate and Securities Practice in Reed Smith’s Philadelphia Office and also serves as the Chair of the Summer Associate Program. Mr. Moyer received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University, his J.D. from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey School of Law, and his MBA from the Temple University Fox School of Business and Management.

J. Nicole Martin Lawton, Esq., MPH

J. Nicole Martin Lawton, Esq., MPH is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Language Services, Inc. Nicole is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and state of New Jersey, with years of experience in health care law. Nicole practiced health law as a partner at a Philadelphia-headquartered law firm that ranks among the top 100 firms in the country. Nicole uses her years of experience in health care law in her position with Phoenix, which since 1993 provides professional interpreters and translators to clients in an array of sectors, including the healthcare, legal, corporate, and social services industries, as well as the government. Under Nicole’s direction, Phoenix has earned its minority and woman-owned business certifications (WBE, MBE, WOSB, SDB, SB). Further, Phoenix has expanded its strategic alliances to enhance the breadth of the remote interpreting services Phoenix offers for its clients, as well as continuing to develop and bring to production Phoenix’s Interpreter Management System® software. Nicole is a proud mom to her two young girls, and she is on the Board of Trustees for The Rock School for Dance Education.

Matthew G. Kussmaul, Esq.

Matt Kussmaul is a litigator whose practice focuses on white collar criminal defense and complex civil litigation. In his white collar practice, Matt has helped represent a wide variety of clients in investigations by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Office of the United States Attorney (“USAO”), the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Science Foundation, and various state agencies. Matt has also made successful presentations before the SEC. In his civil practice, Matt has been involved in every aspect of litigation, including drafting pleadings and dispositive motions, preparing witnesses for deposition, examining witnesses in court, assisting in defending depositions, and navigating complex discovery and privilege issues. Before joining Ballard Spahr, Matt was the Consulting Attorney for the Code Improvement Project of the Delaware General Assembly’s Criminal Justice Improvement Committee. In that role, Matt was the primary drafter of a newly-proposed set of criminal laws for the state, working closely with Professor Paul H. Robinson of the University of Pennsylvania law school, as well as distinguished members of the judiciary and the Office of Defense Services.

Katherine B. Kravitz, Esq.

Kathy Kravitz is a partner at Barley Snyder, Chair of its Health Care Industry Group and a member of its Litigation Group. Kathy has spent all three decades of her career with Barley Snyder, where she serves as counselor and problem solver for the firm’s health care providers. Kathy assists clients thru all phases of policy making, review and implementation in virtually all aspects of health care law including HIPAA, Bioethics, clinical trials, clinical laboratories, Peer Review and other privileges. Kathy’s diverse health care practice gives her insight essential to effective representation of health care providers in litigation, where the multitude of laws and regulations governing health care providers may intersect with the professional liability claims at issue. Kathy has tried, mediated, and arbitrated numerous such cases throughout her career, using her understanding of the relevant law, facts and medicine to achieve the best possible result for her clients.

Thomas D. Kavanaugh, Esq.

Thomas D. Kavanaugh is a Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel in the Highmark Health legal department. In this capacity, Mr. Kavanaugh provides legal advice and support to Highmark Health and its affiliates and subsidiaries in connection with strategic transactions, corporate financings, affiliations, financial reporting, corporate governance, litigation and other legal matters. Prior to joining the Highmark organization, Mr. Kavanaugh was the general counsel of various public and private companies providing advice on strategic transactions, financings and general corporate legal matters. Prior to these in house positions, Mr. Kavanaugh practiced law at Reed Smith LLP during which time he advised clients on various mergers and acquisitions, financings and corporate governance matters. Mr. Kavanaugh is a graduate of Cornell University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Kevin J. Hoffman, Esq.

Mr. Hoffman is Assistant Counsel with the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Mr. Hoffman joined the Pennsylvania Department of Health in August 2018 after spending nearly ten years in private practice. Currently, Mr. Hoffman is the Litigation Supervisor for the Department of Health’s Office of Legal Counsel which oversees litigation issues related to a variety of programs under the Department’s umbrella. This includes litigation related to medical marijuana and the licensing of healthcare facilities. Mr. Hoffman is also counsel to the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board and the Division of Nursing Care Facilities.

Richard L. Hendrickson, Esq.

In his role as Department Counsel for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, Mr. Hendrickson primarily advises the Department on health insurance matters, including health insurance market conduct examinations, health insurance product form and rate filings, and related policy matters. Additionally, Mr. Hendrickson reviews and drafts legislation and regulations related to health insurance. Beyond health insurance, Mr. Hendrickson handles administrative enforcement actions and provides legal support to special projects within the Department. Prior to joining the Insurance Department, Mr. Hendrickson advised a drone start-up company and helped navigate the Federal Aviation Administration’s evolving regulatory framework for unmanned aerial systems. Mr. Hendrickson received his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Dickinson College, his Juris Doctorate from Villanova University School of Law, and his LL.M in Public International Law from the University of Edinburgh.

Beth Moskow-Schnoll, Esq.

Beth Moskow-Schnoll is Managing Partner of the firm’s Delaware office and co-leads the firm’s Anti-Money Laundering team and Health Care industry team. She concentrates her practice on white-collar litigation, regulatory enforcement and compliance, and complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on banking and other financial services litigation. She has tried to verdict dozens of cases in federal district court. She also has successfully briefed and argued multiple cases before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Beth has convinced the government to decline prosecution of clients in matters involving allegations of health care fraud, financial fraud, and environmental crimes, and has conducted internal investigations for clients in the health care, petroleum, and other industries.

Christopher J. Gleeson, Esq.

Mr. Gleeson is associate counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He began his tenure with the Commonwealth in early 2020 with the Department of Health, and currently provides legal and regulatory guidance to its Division of Nursing Care Facilities. Prior to joining the Department of Health, Mr. Gleeson was in private practice where he specialized in civil contractual litigation and municipal law. He earned his B.A. from Temple University and his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Pamela G. Smith, Esq.

Ms. Smith is assistant chief counsel for the Office of Chief Counsel at the Pennsylvania Department of Health and serves as the regulatory coordinator for the Department. Ms. Smith earned her B.A. in English from Middle Tennessee State University, J.D. from Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law, and M.S. in Library Science from Clarion University. Ms. Smith was previously employed as a law librarian at Penn State Dickinson Law, where she taught legal research, and as assistant counsel to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

Sandra L. Ykema

Ms. Ykema is with the Office of General Counsel, assigned to the Insurance Department, where, as Senior Health Insurance Counsel, she focuses on health-care related insurance issues. She advises the Governor’s Office and the Department on both federal and state health care legal matters. Federal matters include the insurance provisions of the Affordable Care Act; the Mental Health Parity Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA); and the No Surprises Act. State matters include a variety of accident and health rate and form issues; managed care regulations; health insurance enforcement; and long-term care insurance. A significant part of Ms. Ykema’s work is drafting and commenting on health insurance legislation. This has included Act 42 of 2019, which established Pennsylvania’s own health insurance exchange and reinsurance program as permitted by the ACA and Act 134 of 2011, the rate review legislation by which Pennsylvania became an effective rate review state under the ACA. Ms. Ykema also was heavily involved in the drafting and negotiations that resulted in Act 146 of 2022, which sets standards for prior authorization processes and creates an ACA-compliant external review process in Pennsylvania, bringing that process back to the state as of January 2024. Most recently, she participated in the efforts that resulted in Act 77 of 2024, the Pharmacy Benefit Reform Act. She also regularly provides counsel concerning other health insurance legislative and litigation efforts at the state and federal levels. Prior to joining the Department in 2000, Ms. Ykema was an attorney with Drinker Biddle & Reath in Philadelphia and then Legal Counsel for Walshire Assurance Company. She has litigated cases and supervised litigation in both state and federal courts throughout the country. She is admitted to practice law before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania. Ms. Ykema received her B.A. from Wheaton College (IL) and her J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law.

Mara Youdelman, J.D., L.L.M.

Mara Youdelman is the Managing Director, Federal Advocacy at the National Health Law Program’s Washington D.C. offices. Mara has worked at the National Health Law Program since 2000 on issues that include Medicaid & CHIP, the Affordable Care Act, language access, and civil rights (including Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and demographic data collection). Mara coordinates the National Health Law Program’s federal legislative and administrative work, leading the organization’s efforts at protecting and expanding access to and quality of health care for low-income and underserved populations. Mara also co-chairs The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Health Care Task Force and its Policy & Enforcement Committee. Recognized as a national expert on language access in health care settings, Mara has written a number of reports and participated on expert advisory panels on the subject. Mara also served as a Founding Commissioner for the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (www.cchicertification.org). In 2023 rejoined CCHI as a Commissioner for a three year term. She was named a 2010 Health Reform Champion by SHIRE (the Summit Health Institute for Research and Education) and a 2011 Language Access Champion by the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC). Before joining the National Health Law Program, Mara completed a teaching fellowship at Georgetown University Law Center’s Federal Legislation Clinic and spent two years litigating for the Administration for Children’s Services in New York City. Mara earned her LL.M. in Advocacy from Georgetown University Law Center in 2000, her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1996, and her B.A. from Tufts University in 1991. She also founded AWARE: Actively Working for Acquaintance Rape Education, an interactive educational program on acquaintance rape. Before law school, Mara was the general manager of a non-profit theater company in the Boston area that produced and toured original productions based on social issues. She has bicycled twice from Washington, DC to Raleigh, NC, and twice from Boston, MA, to New York, NY to raise money for HIV and AIDS programs and research.

Douglas M. Wolfberg, Esq.

Mr. Wolfberg is a founding partner of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, LLC, a legal and consulting firm with a practice focused on representing Emergency Medical Services agencies throughout the United States. His practice areas health care compliance and transactional issues. Prior to law school, Mr. Wolfberg served as an EMS provider and EMS director at the county, statewide and Federal levels, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is a 1987 graduate of Penn State University, and a 1996 magna cum laude graduate of Widener University Commonwealth Law School. He has taught Health Law for over 20 years as an adjunct professor at Commonwealth Law School, and also serves on the Board of Trustees for Widener University in Chester, PA.

Christyan A. Telech, Esq.

Christyan Telech is an Associate in Stevens & Lee’s Scranton office. He assists in the representation of clients in transactional, organizational and contractual matters, as well as a broad range of health care related issues. He has a range of experience in a variety of health care transactional matters, including acquisitions and sales of practices, affiliations, joint ventures, membership substitutions and organizational restructuring.

Brian S. Quinn, Esq.

Mr. Quinn is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania who currently serves as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Pennsylvania, Inc., a Lawyers Assistance Program established in 1988 for the purpose of helping lawyers, judges and law students recover from alcoholism, drug addiction and mental health disorders. Mr. Quinn obtained his undergraduate degree in 1970, his law degree in 1973 and a certificate in Drug and Alcohol counselling in 2012, from Villanova University. Prior to his work with Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, he was a private practitioner for over 40 years and has also worked in the field of Alcohol and Drug Counseling in suburban Philadelphia. Mr. Quinn is a past member of the Board of Directors of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Pennsylvania and served as a peer volunteer for over six years prior to accepting his current role as the organization’s Educator in 2017. He has written and presented on lawyer wellness topics to law firms, Bar Associations and legal education providers for state, national and international groups as well.

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