Email: ffedor@murphyaustin.com
Telephone: 916-446-2300
X3036
Frank Fedor is a partner and leads the firm's Healthcare
Practice Team. He has successfully represented healthcare providers
in obtaining or defending millions of dollars in disputes with managed
care payers and in Medicare reimbursement appeals. Representative listings
of his experience, public speaking, and writing in his areas of focus
are presented below.
Frank is experienced
in trial, litigation, arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution
venues. He has practiced litigation since 1983. In 1993 Frank graduated
from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Western Regional Program
given at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a member of
the Milton L. Schwartz American Inn of Court at the University of California,
Davis School of Law from 1992 to 1993. Frank has spoken extensively
for California Continuing Education of the Bar and other program sponsors
on trial and litigation topics such as trial evidence, trial objections,
oral presentation tactics, law and motion practice, and the attorney-
client privilege.
Frank served from
2004-2005 as President of the Northern California Chapter of the Healthcare
Financial Management Association (HFMA). From 1998 to 2000 he was the
founding Chairperson of the Compliance Committee of HFMA’s Northern
California Chapter which sponsors educational programs and networking
sessions for compliance professionals. From 1997 through 1998 Frank
was General Counsel for the Center for AIDS Research, Education and
Services (CARES), an outpatient clinic established by a consortium of
leading healthcare providers for the purpose of treating the AIDS epidemic
in Northern California.
Immediately after
graduation from Duke University School of Law in 1983, Frank served
as a judicial clerk to Justice Christine M. Durham of the Utah Supreme
Court. During this judicial clerkship he assisted Justice Durham in
the opinion of Utah County v. Intermountain Health Care, Inc., 709 P.2d
265 (1985), an early case on the issue of tax exemptions for non-profit
hospitals.
Before receiving
his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley
in 1980, Frank served from 1974 to 1977 with the United States Army.
His service was primarily with the 2d Battalion, Mechanized 60th Infantry,
of the Ninth Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he rose
to the rank of Sergeant.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Representative
of Frank’s experience in representing providers in enforcing their
managed care contracts and in other disputes are the following:
- Represented four
university medical centers and affiliated medical groups in separate
contract arbitrations against a health plan that retroactively recouped
capitation payments on the basis of a unilateral percentage-of-premium
capitation rate reduction by the plan.
- Represented hospital
and affiliated medical group in arbitration against a health plan
to recover payment under a transplant pool arrangement for transplant
related services rendered to a plan member by a transplant center.
- Represented university
medical center and affiliated medical group in arbitration against
a health plan to recover payments under an adverse selection provision.
- Represented trauma
center in various trauma rate disputes, including the qualification
of a patient as a “trauma case” under the applicable trauma
triage criteria.
- Represented hospitals
in contract rate disputes concerning health plans downcoding and “repricing”
hospital charge master charges to reduce total charges in stop loss
and other percent of charges contract rates.
- Represented university
medical centers in contract rate disputes concerning health plans
bundling charge master charges to reduce total charges in stop loss
and other percent of charges contract rates.
- Represented hospitals
in contract disputes concerning health plans reducing level of care
to reduce per diem or percent of charges rates.
- Represented hospitals
in contract disputes concerning health plans carving out certain charges
(e.g. emergency room or prosthetics charges) to reduce total charges
in stop loss and other percent of charges contract rates.
- Represented hospitals
in audit disputes concerning rejection of charges for routine rooms,
supplies, “incremental nursing,” anesthesia services and
medications, alleged “call-back” services, pre-operating
rooms, operating rooms, recovery rooms and payment based on DRGs.
- Represented hospitals
in disputes concerning scope of audit, time limits for audits, and
“late charges.”
- Represented hospitals
in arbitrations, administrative hearings, or state and federal court
civil actions concerning a wide variety of other miscellaneous issues
including medical necessity, the applicability of evergreen clauses
in the context of good faith contract negotiations, and the adjustment
of capitation rates upon a carve-out of services.
- Represented trauma
center in prosecuting administrative claims before the California
Department of Health Services against a health plan for payment for
emergency services rendered to Medi-Cal Geographic Managed Care (“GMC”)
members at the Medi-Cal interim rate.
- Represented trauma
center in prosecuting administrative claims before the California
Department of Health Services against several health plans for payment
for emergency services rendered to Medi-Cal Two-Plan Model members
at the Medi-Cal interim rate.
- Represented hospital
in prosecuting claims against several Medi-Cal County Organized Health
Systems (“COHS”) for payment for emergency services rendered
to Medi-Cal members at the Medi-Cal interim rate.
- Represented hospitals
in claims against a state government entity to recover payment for
emergency services.
- Represented medical
clinics in administrative appeal under the Clinical Laboratories Improvement
Act (“CLIA”).
- Represented hospitals
in Medicare reimbursement appeals in hearings before the Provider
Reimbursement Review Board (“PRRB”) and in federal court.
- Represented school
of medicine in prosecuting claims against former faculty member for
breach of faculty compensation plan.
- Represented providers
in the litigation of disputes under the California False Claims Act.
SPEAKING
ENGAGEMENTS
Negotiating
Managed Care Agreements, MGMA Administrators in Oncology/Hematology
Assembly Conference, Myrtle Beach, April 19, 2005
Enforcing
Your Managed Care Contracts: Stand Up For Your Rights, Healthcare
Financial Management Association Twelfth Annual Conference On Managed
Care, San Francisco, September 27, 2002
Enforcing
Your Managed Care Contracts: A Legal View, Healthcare Financial
Management Association Annual National Institute, Seattle, June 17, 2002
Enforcing
Your Managed Care Contracts, Lorman Education Services, September
12, 2001 - Sacramento
Avoiding
the Hidden Pitfalls in Managed Care Contracts, Healthcare Financial
Management Association National Audio-Teleconference, June 6, 2001
Enforcing
your Managed Care Contracts, Lorman Education Services, April
18, 2001 - San Francisco
Ethical
Obligations and Legal Risks When Advising Health Care Clients,
Sacramento County Bar Association, Health Law Section, February 15, 2001
- Sacramento
Integrating
Agents Into Your Compliance Program, Healthcare Financial
Management Association, Third Annual Region II Healthcare Symposium, January
16, 2001 - Las Vegas
Key
Developments In Medicare In California, Lorman Education Services,
October 5, 2000 - Sacramento
Managing
Your Managed Care Contracts, Lorman Education Services, August
18, 2000 - Sacramento
Managed
Care Liability, Department of Family Medicine, University of
California, Davis School of Medicine, March 2, 2000 - Sacramento
Managed
Care Liability, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California,
Davis School of Medicine, October 29, 1999 - Sacramento
Managed
Care Liability, Department of Orthopaedics, University of California,
Davis School of Medicine, September 14, 1999 - Sacramento
Compliance
Update for Patient Financial Services, Healthcare Financial
Management Association, Northern California Chapter, February 26, 1999
- Sacramento
Cost
Effective Compliance Strategies for Smaller Organizations, Second
Annual National Congress on Health Care Compliance, February 12, 1999
- Washington, D.C.
Cost
Effective Compliance, Child Health Corporation of America, December
11, 1998 - Chicago
Compliance
for the Small Provider, American Health Lawyers Association,
Annual Conference, June 28 - July 1, 1998 - San Diego
Compliance Issues in Outsourcing Arrangements, American Health Lawyers
Association Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues, March
25-27, 1998 – Baltimore
PUBLICATIONS
A Close Call
for ‘Usual Charges’, Healthcare Financial Management, September
2007
Independent Dispute Resolution
Process, Healthcare Financial Management, May 2007
Reasonable Value of Noncontracted
Emergency Services, 3 Health Plan Myths, Healthcare Financial Management,
January 2007
ERISA and Hospital Charges:
Granting an Inch, Not a Mile, Healthcare Financial Management, September
2006
The Balancing Role
of Balance Billing, Healthcare Financial Management, May 2006
Unbundling the Confusion About "Unbundling"
of Charges, Healthcare Financial Management, January 2006
Recovery
Audit Contractors "RAC" Up Another Challange for Providers,
Healthcare Financial Management, September 2005
Contracted
Payers: The Latest Challengers to Hospital Billed
Charges, Healthcare Financial Management, May 2005
Cutting
to the Heart of the Theory: The Latest on Charity Care Litigation,
Healthcare Financial Management, March 2005
Changing
Views About "Usual Charges," Healthcare Financial Management,
January 2004
Medicare
Does Not Govern Commercial Contract Rates,
HFMA Northern California Newsletter, The Edge, December 2003
An
Arbitration Primer For Providers, Healthcare Financial Management, November 2002
Model
Contract Language Guide, VHA West Coast, September, 2001 (with
the VHA West Coast Contract Language Workgroup)
Resolving
Conflicts Between EMTALA And Managed Care Requirements, Healthcare
Financial Management, September 2001 (with Anthony M. Perez)
New
Statute Reduces The Value Of Liens For Payers, HFMA Northern California
Newsletter, The Edge, April 2001
The
Top Ten Pitfalls In Managed Care Contracts, Healthcare Financial
Management, April 2001 (with Anna Orlowski)
A
New Era Of Prompt Payment Dawns, HFMA Northern California Chapter Newsletter,
The Edge, March, 2001
Another
Provider Victory In The False Claims Act War, HFMA Northern California
Chapter Newsletter, The Edge, February 2001
Percentage
Compensation Arrangements: Suspect But Not Illegal, Healthcare
Financial Management, January 2001
New
False Claims Act Developments Help Providers, HFMA Northern California
Chapter Newsletter, The Edge, December 2000.
Oversight
Of Contractors/Subcontractors, Chapter 650, Health Care Program
Compliance Guide, Bureau of National Affairs, Summer 2000
Cost
Effective Compliance For The Small Provider, Healthcare Financial
Management, July, 2000
Healthcare
Provider Compliance Issues, (Chapters 1 and 3), Issues Collection
Series, American Health Lawyers Association, March 1999
New
Exclusions and Penalties Underscore Importance of Compliance Programs,
Healthcare Financial Management, December 1998
Compliance
Plans For The Small Provider, American Health Lawyers Association
Program Materials, Annual Meeting, June 1998
Outsourcing:
Opportunities for Better Performance and Compliance, American
Health Lawyers Association Program Materials, Nineteenth Annual Institute
on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues, March 1998
PUBLISHED AND PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE CASES
St.
Luke’s Methodist Hospital v. Thompson, 315 F.3d 984 (8th Cir.
2003)
St.
Luke’s Methodist
Hospital v. Thompson, 182 F.Supp.2d 765 (N.D. Iowa 2001)
The
University Of California Davis Medical Center v. Omni Healthcare,
Inc., Department of Health Services, State of California, Administrative
Hearing re: Emergency Services Claims Disputes, Final Decision April 24,
1998
Alameda
Hospital-Skilled Nursing Facility (Alameda, CA) v. Blue Cross Blue
Shield Association
/United
Government Services, LLC-CA, PRRB Hearing
Dec. No. 2002-D46, CCH Medicare & Medicaid Guide 80,905 (Sep. 27,
2002)
Colleton
Regional Hospital-Skilled Nursing Facility (Waterboro, SC) v. Blue
Cross Blue
Shield Association/Blue
Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina,
PRRB Hearing Dec. No. 2002-D8, CCH Medicare & Medicaid Guide 80,795
(Feb. 21, 2002)
Centennial
Medical Center -Skilled Nursing Facility (Nashville, TN) v. Blue
Cross Blue
Shield Association/Blue
Cross Blue Shield/ Riverbend Government
Benefits Administrator, PRRB Hearing Dec. No. 2001-D54, CCH Medicare & Medicaid
Guide 80,745 (Sept. 28, 2001)
Newman
Memorial County Hospital (Emporia, KS) v. Blue Cross Blue Shield
Association/Blue Cross
and Blue
Shield of Kansas, Inc., PRRB Hearing Dec.
No. 2001-D41, CCH Medicare & Medicaid Guide 80,731 (May 15, 2001)
San
Joaquin Community Hospital-Skilled Nursing Facility (Bakersfield,
CA) v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association/Blue Cross of California, PRRB Hearing Dec. No. 2001-D17, CCH Medicare & Medicaid Guide 80,654
(April 17, 2001)
Mercy
General Hospital v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association/Blue Cross
of California, PRRB
Hearing
Dec. No. 2000-D87, CCH Medicare & Medicaid
Guide 80,572 (Sept. 22, 2000)
Fort
Bend Community Hospital - Skilled Nursing Facility (Missouri City,
TX) v. Mutual of
Omaha Insurance
Company, PRRB Hearing Dec. No. 2000-D86,
CCH Medicare & Medicaid Guide 80,571 (Sept. 21, 2002)
St.
Luke’s Methodist Hospital-Skilled Nursing Facility (Cedar Rapids,
Iowa) v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association/Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Iowa, PRRB Hearing Dec. No. 2000-D11, CCH Medicare & Medicaid Guide
80,386 (Dec. 14, 1999)
Riverview
Medical Center - Skilled Nursing Facility (Gonzales, LA) v. Mutual
of Omaha
Insurance
Company, PRRB Hearing Dec. No. 99-D67, CCH Medicare & Medicaid
Guide 80,331 (Sept. 2, 1999)
BAR ADMISSIONS
- California
- Supreme Court
of the United States
- United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Eastern, Northern, Central and
Southern Districts of California
EDUCATION
- Duke University
School of Law
J.D., 1983
William Neal Reynolds Scholarship
- University
of California at Berkeley
B.A., 1980
Phi Beta Kappa
LEADERSHIP
POSITIONS
- Healthcare
Financial Management Association, Northern California Chapter
President (2005 - 2006)
President-Elect (2004 - 2005)
Secretary
(2003 - 2004)
Member of the Board of Directors (2001 - 2003)
Chair/Co-Chair Compliance Committee (1998 - 2003)
- General Counsel,
Center for AIDS Research Education and Services (CARES) (1997 to
1998)
- Pro Tem Settlement
Judge, Sacramento County Superior Court
- Arbitrator,
Sacramento County Superior Court