As 2022 has come to a close, it is time for the Health Care Committee to look back on an eventful year (for both the committee and the health care restructuring space as a whole). Although 2022 marked the return of live ABI conferences, the trajectory of the health care industry (and thus the committee’s focus) was still linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftereffects. The health care industry remains a “hot topic” in the restructuring community, and we hope that we, as a committee, were able to facilitate those discussions and to provide the necessary education and awareness to our members.
Committee Educational Sessions
At the Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C., in April, the Health Care Committee partnered with the Real Estate Committee to explore the “Real Estate Implications of COVID-19 on Senior Living Business Models.” The panelists, including Harold Bordwin from Keen Summit Capital Partners, Eric Walker from Cooley, LLP, Cynthia Romano from Cohn Reznick LLP and Brian Bonaviri from Grant Thornton LLP, discussed the significant distress in the senior-living sector and the ramifications of that distress on associated real estate assets.
The committee then paired with the Financial Advisors and Investment Banking Committee for the Winter Leadership Conference, where Andrew Helman from Dentons, Benjamin Ilhardt from Houlihan Lokey, Jan Naeifeh from FTI Consulting and Brian Bonaviri from Grant Thornton LLP took us back to the basics and explained “Health Care 101: Facts to Consider When Filing a Health Care Bankruptcy Case.” We give our most sincere thanks to all of the panelists this year who took time out of their busy schedules to prepare, travel and present on these important and timely topics.
Newsletters
After a rocky start in 2022, the Health Care Committee got back into the newsletter game with the appointment of our current newsletter editor, Katie Allare of Perkins Coie. In the past four months, the committee will have published (including this issue) two newsletters and six substantive articles on a wide variety of topics an numerous formats. The committee is particularly proud of the introduction of its new recurring interview feature, in which a prominent health care restructuring professional is asked to comment on the issues of the day. If you have any interest in writing an article for the newsletter, even if you do not have a topic in mind, please do not hesitate to reach out to Katie and offer your services.
ABI Health Care Program
Members of the Health Care Committee were pleased to once again work with ABI, Suzy Koenig and Nancy Peterman on producing the ABI Health Care Program in Nashville, Tenn. Three members of the committee, Daniel Waxman, Cynthia Romano and Brian Bonaviri, served on the program’s advisory board and were honored to play a small role in facilitating this conference, which aligns so well with the goals of this committee. We look forward to the continued growth of the Health Care Program and the continued integration of the program with the Health Care Committee.
Listserv and Member Relations
None of the services provided by the committee are of any use if they are not known to, or accessible by, its members. The committee, led by Rob Schechter of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, facilitated discussions on its listserv, posted articles of interest, and made sure that members were aware of all the events referenced above.
Given ABI’s return to live conferences and the proclivities of one or more of the committee’s executive members, the committee welcomed the opportunity to meet with its members in person, hosting a happy hour at the Boardwalk Bar & Arcade immediately prior to the Opening Reception of ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting. We welcome the participation and involvement of all of our members, and we ask that you please reach out to let us know how we can better serve you in 2023.
— Cynthia Romano, Cohn Reznick LLP
Daniel Waxman, KEWA Financial Inc.