During the NLC’s fourth small group call on April 25th, CCHs shared in a Menti poll that they are having challenges finding the right kind of legal counsel. Mark Humowiecki, Camden Health, weighed in based on his experience as General Counsel.

• Finding general legal counsel: Ask board members, funders, or other nonprofit organizations for references. Local general purpose law firms can be less expensive than bigger firms, but one might also find a bigger firm willing to do some pro bono work.
• Finding legal counsel for contract compliance requirements: One would want a traditional healthcare attorney, though there are a large number of "healthcare compliance experts" who aren't attorneys. We went through the process of developing a compliance program which includes things like HR, data security, financial audit, etc. There is a lot of good information on healthcare compliance available on the web, including: General Compliance Program Guidance | Office of Inspector General | Government Oversight | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hhs.gov)
• Finding legal counsel comfortable with the CCH model: A non-profit corporate attorney is most appropriate. Our contracting workgroup at the Partnership is preparing to develop a model agreement for CCHs. If the CCH is a new organization, they would need to incorporate, apply for 501(c)(3) status and create bylaws.

Do you have experience in finding legal counsel? Please post a comment to share your successes and challenges with your CCH peers!