With 2020 now well underway, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the work of the Health Care Committee in 2019. Last year was a great year for the committee. We currently have 283 members and have been active in providing regular communication to them and developing meaningful programming throughout the year.
Here are a few highlights from the committee’s activities during 2019:
Newsletters
With contributions from committee members and others, we published 4 newsletters with 12 articles covering a wide range of topics — everything from how to handle patient health information in a sale to special issues unique to rural hospitals. These articles were timely and insightful — and they not only enhance the knowledge of those with experience in health care restructuring, they also serve as a valuable resource to restructuring professionals who encounter new issues. They are all available in the archives on the committee’s web page.
We appreciate the contribution of all of the authors who have helped to fill our newsletters with thoughtful and relevant content. They include Samuel R. Henninger (University of Tennessee College of Law); David N. Crapo (Gibbons, P.C.); Jeffrey R. Barber, Chad J. Hammons and Kristina M. Johnson (Jones Walker LLP); Laura Day DelCotto and Dean Langdon (DelCotto Law Group); Craig M. Geno (Law Office of Craig Geno); Adam M. Back and Jessica Middendorf (Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC); Rob Vanderbeek and Brian Bonaviri (Grant Thornton LLP); Jameson J. Watts and Lynn H. Butler (Husch Blackwell LLP); Linda W. Knight (Gullett, Sanford, Robinson & Martin, PLLC); Stuart M. Brown, Thomas R. Califano and Rachel Nanes (DLA Piper LLP); Madlyn Gleich Primoff, Alexander Adams Rich and Henry Vaughn Hutten (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP); and Ana Alfonso and Agustina Berro (Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP).
Of course, we also wish to thank David N. Crapo, who served as Newsletter Editor for the first half of 2019, and current Newsletter Editor Elizabeth J. Austin (Pullman & Comley, LLC).
Please be in touch with us if you have ideas for articles for an upcoming newsletter.
Committee Educational Sessions: In Person and Online
The committee hosted a number of educational sessions. At the Annual Spring Meeting in April, we partnered with the Commercial and Regulatory Law Committee for a program titled, “A Collision of Complex Laws: The Interplay Between and Among State and Federal Regulatory Laws in Health Care Cases.” The tension between health care debtors and regulatory agencies carried through to our program at the Winter Leadership Conference in December, where we partnered with the Business Reorganization Committee for a program titled, “Litigating Issues in a Health Care Case.” We appreciate the work of committee Education Director Daniel I. Waxman (current) and former Education Director Eric Walker (Perkins Coie LLP) in organizing these programs.
The committee also participated in two online webinars. Building on a program held at a regional ABI conference, one webinar focused on debt restructuring for critical-access hospitals, and the other, a collaboration with the Business Reorganization Committee, focused on unique challenges and hot topics.
ABI-Live: Stayin' Alive...Debt Restructuring for Critical Access Hospitals
ABI-Live: Hospital Bankruptcies – Unique Challenges and Current Hot Topics
We welcome ideas you may have for webinars in 2020.
Listserv, Membership Matters and Special Projects
The listserv is a valuable tool for committee members to share information with one another and to stay up to date on current events. During 2019, the committee distributed 23 updates to the listserv through the work of Andrew Helman (former Listserv/Communications Manager) and Warren J. Martin Jr. (Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, PC), who currently serves in that role with the assistance of his colleague Robert M. Schechter (Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, PC).
Please do not hesitate to be in touch with Warren or Liz Nicolle Boydston (K&L Gates LLP), the committee’s Membership Relations Director, with any committee news or questions about how you can get involved as a member of the committee. We also welcome your suggestions for any special projects. Adam T. Berkowitz (Garfunkel Wild, PC) and Brian Bonaviri serve as Special Projects leaders for the committee.
Stand-Alone Health Care Restructuring Events
Lastly, this newsletter would not be complete without special recognition to Suzanne Koenig and Nancy A. Peterman (Greenberg Traurig, LLP). Thanks to their efforts, in 2019 ABI hosted its first-ever stand-alone health care conference — and it was a big success. The conference, Disruption, Consolidation and Innovation in the Health Care Industry: Get Smart! Chaos Is Your New Friend, drew more than 130 attendees for a day-long program in Washington, D.C. The program featured high-profile speakers, including Donald F. McGahn, former White House counsel, and Gov. Howard Dean.
View the sessions on cle.abi.org.
Please be in touch with us throughout 2020 about ways to become more involved. We welcome your feedback and contributions to the committee.
2019 Health Care Committee Leadership
