Deborah Gardner

Deborah Kantar Gardner is a Boston-based partner in Ropes & Gray’s health care practice. Her practice focuses on Medicare and Medicaid payment, compliance and enforcement matters, including administrative and judicial litigation in connection with Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Recently, she has been helping clients navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including assisting providers with obtaining and understanding the federal financial relief available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), and the Small Business Administration funding programs. Deborah’s clients include hospitals and health systems, health plans/managed care organizations, clinical diagnostic laboratories, pharmacies, behavioral health providers, dialysis providers, physician practice management companies, therapy practices, durable medical equipment suppliers and medical device companies.

Deborah defends health care entities in connection with federal and state civil False Claims Act, consumer protection, drug pricing and other program integrity investigations, as well as with internal reviews involving billing and coding or regulatory compliance. She represents clients in connection with federal health care program and commercial payor disputes, including administrative and judicial appeals associated with payments and cost report issues, licensure, and billing revocations, and voluntary self-disclosures. She represents hospitals in connection with EMTALA matters, CMS enrollment, decertification and ACGME matters, HRSA and manufacturer 340B audits, and managed care contracting.

Deborah counsels clients, including managed care organizations, on compliance with federal health care program authorities, including regulatory compliance, telehealth, billing, coding and risk adjustment matters, and federal and state fraud and abuse laws.