| Dennis Diaz is a health care regulatory and transactional lawyer. For over 25 years, he has represented a wide range of health care providers, including multi-hospital systems, community hospitals, physician-hospital organizations, and medical groups, in California and nationally. Dennis focuses his practice on regulatory and compliance matters, provider transactions including hospital-physician joint ventures and other contracts, provider operations, fraud and abuse, and billing and payment issues. He regularly advises and defends providers against government enforcement actions and in investigations involving health care regulatory issues, and has served as lead counsel in structuring hospital-physician integrated delivery organizations, including accountable care organizations, medical foundations, and other joint ventures. Dennis also acts as outside general counsel to hospitals and medical groups.
Practice Highlights
- Defending actions brought by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and local governmental authorities
- Internal health care regulatory and compliance matters, including audits and investigations, corrective actions, refunds, and disclosure to the government
- Structuring and negotiating hospital-physician contracts and joint ventures, including strategies for hospital-physician alignment and integration
- Federal and state physician self-referral (Stark and PORA), anti-kickback, and fraud and abuse issues in connection with physician contracts and provider operations
- Billing and reimbursement disputes with governmental and commercial payors, including the Medicare and Medicaid programs
- Conducting due diligence of health care regulatory and compliance affairs on behalf of buyers, investors, lenders and sellers in acquisitions and financing transactions
- General counsel to community hospitals and medical groups
Selected Experience Internal audit and compliance review of all financial relationships with physicians to evaluate and recommend corrective action for compliance with Stark and anti-kickback laws. Internal audit and compliance review of all financial relationships with physicians to evaluate and recommend corrective action for compliance with Stark and anti-kickback laws. Internal audit and compliance review of all financial relationships with physicians to evaluate and recommend corrective action for compliance with Stark and anti-kickback laws. Primary outside health care regulatory and compliance counsel for multiple California hospitals. Due diligence and health care regulatory review and representation of a multi-hospital system in a $100 million hospital asset acquisition. Resolution of high-profile lawsuits brought by the Los Angeles City Attorney and patients against a Southern California hospital in connection with homeless patient discharges. Defense of patient discharge litigation against a community hospital. Representation of multiple medical groups in multimillion-dollar billing and reimbursement disputes with major health plans. Advice in the structuring of hospital-physician clinic models for multiple hospital systems and community hospitals. Additional Qualifications
- Adjunct Professor of Law, Health Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law
- Adjunct Professor of Law, Health Law, Loyola University School of Law
- Lecturer, Health Care Law for Managers and Entrepreneurs, University of California, Irvine - Executive MBA Program
- Partner, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
- Staff Counsel, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.
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Professional and Community Activities
- American Health Lawyers Association
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Professional Recognition
- Named as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" in Healthcare (California) by Chambers USA, 2010, 2011
- Named one of the country's 12 "Outstanding Hospital Lawyers" by Nightingale's Healthcare News, 2007
- Named as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in Health Care Law by Woodward/White, 2010, 2011, 2012
- Selected to “2012 Top Rated Lawyers Guide to Health Care Law,” Corporate Counsel
- Highest rating (AV) by peers – Martindale Hubbell Legal Rating Service
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Education J.D., University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, 1980 B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1975, with honors | |