Imagination Is Essential for Good Legal Defense
By Erica ErmanAttorney
Dickinson Wright
Growing up, my family played an unusual game around the dinner table. After sharing about our days, my dad (also a health care attorney) would ask my sisters and me to argue. He’d pick a topic, such as why my younger sister should have a later bedtime than me, or what movie we should rent at Blockbuster, and then we’d each be given roughly three minutes to present our arguments and another minute for rebuttal. The most challenging (and fun) part of the game was that we always had to argue the side other than what we naturally would have wanted. As it turns out, my dad gave my sisters and me a gift with this game - the ability to think critically about a topic, and a lifelong tool for how to critique our own arguments to make them stronger and recognize the strengths and weaknesses of others’ arguments. My little sister and I both became attorneys (my older sister became an educator) and all three of us use these skills every day.
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Friendly PC Model: 3 Key Ancillary Agreements for CPOM Compliance
By Dustin PlumadoreHealth Care Attorney, Dickinson Wright
With the rebound of private equity ("PE") activity in healthcare across the United States, the Corporate Practice of Medicine and Dentistry ("CPOM" or "CPOD") has likewise experienced renewed focus by state legislatures and enforcement agencies in 2025. However, despite this rekindled attention, the often-referenced "Friendly PC" model remains the best structural strategy to ensure post-closing compliance with CPOM and CPOD regulations in most jurisdictions. Constructing a compliant “Friendly PC” structure will probably require the support of expert legal counsel to draft and negotiate the series of agreements necessary for its proper implementation. However, the following paragraphs identify some key considerations for three ancillary agreements, outside of the base transaction documents, commonly used to ensure compliance with CPOM and CPOD.
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Understanding and Resolving Common MCReF Error Codes
By Heather KeserSenior Manager, Provider Reimbursement Health Care Consulting Services, Moss Adams (now Baker Tilly)
While the Medicare Cost Report E-Filing system (MCReF) is an essential tool for health care providers submitting Medicare cost reports, users often encounter error codes that can delay submissions or lead to rejections. Understanding these error codes used by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) helps streamline the process, reduce rejections, and improve the likelihood of timely acceptance.
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Health Plan Financial Reports for California and Washington State
By David PeelPublisher and Editor, Healthcare News
We recently updated our financial reporting for health plans in California and Washington State. Click on the links below to see the numbers.