Ashley Fischer

Practice Areas

Partner Ashley Fischer advises clients across all sectors of the healthcare industry on their most critical transactions and collaborations. Her health antitrust practice, which includes investigations and conduct matters, makes her a valuable partner to health care businesses as they work to expand their networks and pursue their strategic business initiatives.

Ashley has successfully defended numerous health system mergers, including competitor collaborations, through federal and state antitrust enforcement agency review and advised them in preparation for such review. Her counsel on antitrust implications in the formation and operation of joint ventures and competitor collaborations is highly sought-after. She works across a variety of care settings, including managed care contracting networks such as clinically-integrated networks (CINs), accountable care organizations (ACOs) and independent practice associations (IPAs). Ashley has also successfully defended health systems in antitrust claims by physicians against hospitals, including those pertaining to medical staff privileging disputes and exclusive contracts.

In addition to her deep health antitrust experience, Ashley routinely counsels health industry clients on ongoing conduct and compliance plans, including managed care contracting practices, physician conflict of interest and medical staff membership disputes, exclusive services agreements, the purchase and use of discounted pharmaceuticals under the Non-Profit Institutions Act, integrated delivery systems and vertical integration, and participation in information exchanges.

Ashley currently serves as a Vice Chair of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Antitrust Practice Group, a role she has held since 2017. She has also served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee since 2017. Previously, Ashley held the role of Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Health Industry Advisory Practice Group in Chicago from 2015 to 2018.

View more at: https://www.mwe.com/en/team/f/fischer-ashley-m

Professional Memberships

American Health Lawyers Association, Antitrust Practice Group Vice Chair;

American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, Health Care Committee Recent Developments, former editor.

Personal

Northwestern University School of Law, JD, (2000); Georgetown University, BA, cum laude, (1996)

Work Highlights

Successfully defended hospital merger investigations of in-market competitors

Counseled nearly 50 provider contracting networks (CINs, ACOs, IPAs, PHOs) on their formation and operation, including the antitrust implications concerning the sufficiency of clinical integration programs and substantial financial risk sharing, joint contracting and size of network, messenger-model compliance, value-based payor contracts, shared savings models and hospital-efficiency contracts, and Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) requirements

Successfully defended against antitrust enforcement agency investigations of provider contracting networks

Advised on competitor collaborations and join ventures, including quality and cost-sharing initiatives, joint purchasing arrangements, co-marketing arrangements, information exchanges and trade association formation and operation