Health Care-The Hot Topics of 2008

Michael L. Blau, Esq. is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, where he is the chair of the Health Care Venture Practice and a member of the Emerging Technologies and Private Equity and Venture Capital Practices and the Health Care Industry Team. He has been recognized as one of the top 10 health attorneys in the country in his specialty by Nightingale's Healthcare News, has received a #1 ranking in healthcare by Chambers USA and has also been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer, among other honors. A frequent lecturer and writer on health law topics, Mr. Blau co-authored Complying with Stark Physician Self-Referral Rules (Atlantic Information Services) and Developing and Managing Physician Networks (Thompson Publishing), among others, and he is the past chair of the Health Law Section of the Boston Bar Association.

Charles B. Oppenheim, Esq. is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and serves as co-chair of the 40+ lawyer Health Care Payments, Compliance & Government Programs Group. As a member of the firm's Health Care Industry Team, his practice includes all aspects of transactional, operational and regulatory health care law. Mr. Oppenheim is a nationally recognized expert on Stark law issues, having written the 2005 American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) monograph on Stark Law, a subsequent edition of a treatise he first wrote in 1998. He has served as an expert on the Stark law and anti-kickback laws in arbitration and litigation, in both civil and criminal proceedings, and he also lectures frequently on Stark law developments, as well as other health care law subjects and related topics.

Judith A. Waltz, Esq. is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and co-chair of the Life Sciences Industry Team, and former vice chair of the Health Care Industry Team. She is also a member of the White Collar Defense & Corporate Compliance Practice, Life Sciences Industry Team and former co-chair of the Health Care Payments/Compliance Practice. A frequent speaker and writer on health care compliance issues, including payment suspensions, health care bankruptcies, and potential issues of personal liability for owners of entities who are the focus of government scrutiny, Ms. Waltz regularly advises clients who are the focus of government investigations and other enforcement actions, and also provides ongoing compliance counseling and Medicare payment advice. She previously served as assistant regional counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in San Francisco.

Cheryl L. Wagonhurst, Esq. is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional. She is a member of the firm's Health Care Industry Team and the White Collar Defense & Corporate Compliance Practice, and focuses primarily on internal investigations, compliance, and health care regulatory matters. A member of the advisory board of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and a former member of the board of directors of the Health Care Compliance Association, Ms. Wagonhurst also serves on the editorial board of Compliance Today (Health Care Compliance Association) and the editorial advisory board of Healthcare Auditing Strategies (Hcpro, Inc.). Ms. Wagonhurst is a frequent lecturer and author on compliance programs, fraud and abuse issues, integrating quality of care and compliance, and internal investigations.