Silhol Law

Silhol Law provides sophisticated yet reasonably priced legal services in complex matters to healthcare providers. The firm is led by Michael Silhol, an accomplished and experienced healthcare attorney with more than 35 years of experience. Mr. Silhol is board certified in healthcare law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is also a Fellow of the American Health Law Association, named as a Super Lawyer for more than 10 years, and has served as general counsel of several healthcare organizations. Mr. Silhol leads the firm with associate attorneys. The firm has offices in Dallas, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The attorneys at Silhol Law have counseled numerous healthcare providers nationwide on a variety of operational matters.In addition, Silhol Law has worked with ancillary providers such as medical devicecompanies, GPOs, healthcare marketing firms, and electronic health record (EHR) vendors. Theattorneys at Silhol Law have witnessed and experienced first-hand the many changes to the U.S. healthcaresystem over the past 35+ years. Among healthcare operational matters they have worked on are the following:

• Negotiating clinical trial agreements between investigators and contract research organizations (CROs) or study sponsors, including pharmaceutical and biomedical device companies
• Structuring and negotiating contracts between healthcare referral sources to comply with the federal anti-kickback statute and Stark law
• Working with healthcare providers to implement HIPAA privacy and security policies and procedures
• Drafting and negotiating Business Associate Agreements
• Developing gainsharing arrangements
• Addressing the legalities of electronic health record (EHR) systems
• Advising hospital governing boards regarding fiduciary and legal obligations
• Drafting and revising hospital and medical staff bylaws, and rules and regulations
• Serving as hearing officers in physician peer review hearings
• Assisting with licensure and certification of healthcare facilities

As healthcare reform is implemented, many providers are seeking ways to prepare for new payment models. Consequently, the pace of healthcare transactions has increased. The attorneys at Silhol Law have worked on numerous healthcare transactions including:

• Representation of a children’s hospital in the acquisition of a chain of pediatric urgent care centers
• Representation of buyers and sellers of diagnostic imaging centers
• Physician practice acquisitions
• Representation of a non-profit health system in the acquisition of a minority interest in a for-profit hospital, in a transaction valued at $198 million
• Representation of the buyer of a for-profit hospital valued at $50 million
• Representation of a large physician group in a joint venture with a national supply chain entity to establish a physician-owned-distributorship
• Representation of buyers and sellers of ambulatory surgery centers

Advising clients on healthcare compliance matters has become a larger part of the practice at Silhol Law as federal and state authorities increase their enforcement activities. In representing providers, Silhol Law partners with other resources, including coding consultants, forensic accountants, and healthcare valuation experts to provide cost-effective representation. The attorneys at Silhol Law have represented a number of healthcare providers in state and federal investigations to include the following:

• Representation of providers subject to RAC audits
• Representation of a pharmacy in a Texas Medicaid Integrity Contractor (MIC) audit and enforcement action
• Multiple representations of healthcare providers in HIPAA data breach investigations by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
• Representation of a physician investor in a pharmacy concerning an investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office
• Representation of a hospital in a federal investigation into marketing practices with referring physicians
• Representation of a physician practice in a Medicaid Special Investigation Unit (SIU) inquiry into Evaluation & Management (E&M) coding practices
• Representation of hospitals in EMTALA investigations and reviews by state Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs)
• Representation of a hospital in an OIG Provider Self-Disclosure concerning the employment of an excluded individual
• Representation of an imaging center in an OIG Provider Self-Disclosure concerning the payment of above fair market value rents to referral sources
• Representation of a hospital in an OIG Provider Self-Disclosure regarding Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) reimbursement
• Representation of numerous physicians in Texas Medical Board investigations.