Bankruptcy Process and Procedure

Financing pitfalls in agricultural bankruptcies (both ch 11 and 12) (and not limited to classic small farmers) Business Suggested Speakers Joseph Callaway Joseph_Callaway@nceb.uscourts.gov United States Bankruptcy Judge Eastern District of North Carolina

Constitutional Law Wasn’t Like this in Law School We should get a speaker(s) for a lunch plenary discussion about the cutting edge legal issues relating to the former president. Does he have immunity. Did he engage in insurrection, etc.

Not everyone wants to hear about bankruptcy especially when this is front and center of the legal world. Other John Lucas jlucas@pszjlaw.com Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones

Macro-Level Healthcare Finance for Bankruptcy Professionals Many bankruptcy professionals are being called upon to help healthcare provider organizations as this industry faces unprecedented business distress. Whatever the professional's role, some basic understanding of healthcare finance can strengthen decision-making and performance.

This session will provide a high-level view of the unique fiscal considerations in the healthcare provider organization, specifically: 1) accounting and financial statements; 2) cashflow including the massive revenue cycle and accounts payable functions; 3) a murkier part of cashflow buried in the various governmental and private payer reimbursement models, and 4) fraud.

Beginning with accounting and financial statements, the mystery of gross revenue, net revenue, and accounts receivable on the income statement will be examined. Even experienced healthcare CFOs can trip up on accounts receivable calculations given the complexities of payer reimbursement models and payment practices, as well as the payer market changes occurring at an ever-faster pace.

Healthcare provider cashflow management consists of voluminous variations and constant change, more so in revenue cycle but also in accounts payable. Years ago, revenue cycle was simply called “billing.” The term revenue cycle more accurately describes the revenue generation process which can involve every function in the healthcare provider organization, from physician and nursing care to lab work and housekeeping.

Third, fundamentals of the most common healthcare reimbursement models will be discussed starting with basic fee-for-service reimbursement and moving through other models to the present attempts at value-based reimbursement. It may be surprising that while the industry grapples with the new value-based models, a sizable part of reimbursement is still fee-for-service.

Finally, there will be brief mention of fraud and embezzlement which can develop in the troubled healthcare provider organization and may be a significant contributor to poor financial performance.
Participants will gain a high-level perspective on the unique fiscal considerations in the healthcare provider organization to inform their work in advising clients in this troubled industry. A solid base of knowledge in healthcare finance will support accurate financial performance projections, prioritization of turnaround strategies, and organization valuations. Given the esoteric complexities in this field, attendees will also gain an appreciation for situations where using healthcare financial specialists may be helpful.

First, participants will understand special aspects of income statements for healthcare provider organizations, in particular the difficulty of estimating accounts receivable due to the variability in the payer market, reimbursement models, and billing policies and procedures.

Second, attendees will be able to discuss the umbrella structure of cashflow in the healthcare provider organization from revenue generation to accounts payable.

They will understand the fundamentals of the “revenue cycle” which spans the entire healthcare provider organization. They will also be able to outline some mid-level billing functions, common operational problems with billing in the distressed healthcare organization, and practical solutions to address them, including artificial intelligence (AI).

On the other side of cashflow management, participants will understand the cash management structure and issues in vendor contracting, purchasing, and accounts payable in the healthcare organization.

Next, participants will gain a deeper awareness of how various healthcare reimbursement models in the marketplace – e.g., Medicare Advantage, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), high-deductible plans, accountable care organizations (ACOs), etc. – affect the financial performance of healthcare provider organizations.

Finally, attendees will be made aware of some places fraud and embezzlement may develop in the distressed healthcare organization.
Creditor Suggested Speakers Jeanne Goche, MA, JD jgoche@SolutionsinHealthCareManagement.com Solutions in Health Care Management, a consultancy and financial advisory specializing in health care

Bankruptcy adjacent skills Using our existing bankruptcy knowledge, practitioners that are not as busy as they are used to can pivot to do foreclosure work, non-consolidation opinion drafting, forbearance agreements, loan workouts, and general contract review. We know how to write settlement agreements, review loan documents, etc. Perhaps when the economy is good we could teach primers on that kind of work to help bolster the careers of our members. Business Suggested Speakers Jen McLemore jmclemore@williamsmullen.com Williams Mullen

Jurisdictional Issues in Bankruptcy Cases Do bankruptcy courts have supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1367? [Could also discuss Fourth Circuit decision in Kiviti v. Bhatt, No. 22-1216 (4th Cir. Sept. 14, 2023). Other Judge Kenney by Harner Judge_Harner@mdb.uscourts.gov US Bankruptcy Court

Consumer Issues in Chapter 13 Cases With a focus on the “increase in equity” issue when a case converts from 13 to 7, and who owns the appreciation (does “vesting” solve the problem?). Consumer Judge Kenney by Harner Judge_Harner@mdb.uscourts.gov US Bankruptcy Court

Report of the ABI Subchapter V Task Force The Task Force will be releasing its report in April 2024, and a panel reviewing the key findings are recommendations would be appropriate, I think. Business Suggested Speakers Michelle Harner Judge_Harner@mdb.uscourts.gov US Bankruptcy Court

A panel with a focus on DIP Lending Market What Happened to the DIP Loan Market, or Leveling the DIP Loan Playing Field: Can Existing Secured Creditors' Negotiating Leverage Be Effectively Reduced? This one would benefit from the participation of a judge or two who could discuss how they would approach a DIP priming fight. Business Ret. Judge Drain by Harner Judge_Harner@mdb.uscourts.gov US Bankruptcy Court

Training Law Students and Young Lawyers on the Use of AI Perhaps the focus on the interaction of professors and law students -- who already are using generative AI, unlike those in law firm, which currently mostly are banning its use -- will get people thinking more specifically about its imminent impact on the profession. In a fairly recent conversation with Jared Ellias, he noted that he and his colleagues have been observing that some students at Harvard are using it as a very helpful tool while for others it is a crutch that actually keeps them from learning to think like lawyers. Is it just a matter of more heavily emphasizing how to ask the program the right questions? But how do you ask the right questions if you don't yet know the underlying subject matter? I also know that LEXIS and/or WestLaw have given effective presentations fairly recently to ABA leadership on generative AI. Other Ret. Judge Drain by Harner Judge_Harner@mdb.uscourts.gov US Bankruptcy Court

Exporting Corporate Bankruptcies Explore the potential use of foreign restructuring schemes that offer more favorable tools (e.g., third party releases) to reorganize US sub of foreign holding company and then use the chapter 15 process in the states (e.g., In re Vitro, In re Modern Land, etc.). Could coordinate with International Board Committee and include international speakers. Business Suggested Speakers Michelle Harner Judge_Harner@mdb.uscourts.gov US Bankruptcy Court