Professional Experience

Mr. Belfort has extensive experience representing healthcare organizations on regulatory compliance and transactional matters. His clients include hospitals, community health centers, mental health providers, pharmacy chains, health insurers, IPAs, pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, information technology vendors and a variety of other businesses in the healthcare industry. He has also worked extensively with healthcare industry trade associations.

Mr. Belfort has particular expertise in the following areas:

• Fraud and Abuse. He regularly advises clients on structuring transactions and conducting day-to-day business operations to ensure compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark law, Medicare and Medicaid participation and billing requirements, professional licensing rules, and corporate practice of medicine and fee splitting restrictions. He also performs risk assessments, develops compliance programs, conducts internal investigations and represents clients in government investigations and audits.
  
  
• HIPAA/Privacy. He assists clients in managing health information within the parameters established by HIPAA and state confidentiality laws. He conducts internal gap analyses, drafts privacy policies and advises on the development of other privacy safeguards. He helps clients respond to complaints and privacy breaches. He also works with regional health information organizations and other multi-stakeholders entities to develop patient consent and other data sharing policies and practices.
  
  
• Managed Care. He represents health insurers and other managed care organizations in complying with Medicaid managed care requirements, Medicare Part C and D rules, HIPAA portability and non-discrimination mandates, and state insurance licensing and market conduct laws. He also has extensive experience drafting and negotiating the full range of managed care contracts, including provider participation agreements as well as specialty carve-out and PBM arrangements.

Education

New York University School of Law, J.D. 1988.
Order of the Coif; Root-Tilden Scholar; American Jurisprudence Award in Torts; Benjamin F. Butler Award.

Oberlin College, B.A., Economics and Government, magna cum laude, 1981.
Phi Beta Kappa.

Memberships & Activities

Admitted to practice in New York.

Member, New York State Bar Association.

Member, American Health Lawyers Association.

Honors & Awards

Named as one of the Top-Ranked Attorneys, Chambers USA, 2008.

Selected for “The Best Lawyers in America” in 2007, 2008 and 2009 in the specialty of Health Care Law.

Selected for New York Super Lawyers, 2008.

Publications

Co-author, "Congress Acts on the Stark Disclosure Dilemma: Federal Health Care Reform Authorizes New Stark Self-Disclosure Protocol," New York State Bar Association Journal, Spring 2010.

Co-Author, “A Stark Change: New Regulations Will Require Restructuring,” Health Law 360, September 18, 2008.

“Confusion Persists on EHR Subsidies,” Health Care IT News, December 2005.

“Patient Blogs,” Health Executive, December 2005.

Co-Author, “Through the Land of RHIOs,” ADVANCE for Health Information Executives, March 2005.

“Anti-Kickback and Stark Law Issues Faced by Health Care Systems,” New York State Bar Association Health Law Journal, Summer/Fall 2004.

“Play It Safe When Marketing Drug Cards,” Modern Healthcare, April 5, 2004.

“Employers Say Confusion About HIPAA Compliance is Widespread,” Andrews Employment Litigation Reporter, November 3, 2003.

“Applying Old Laws in New Times:  Fraud and Abuse Risk Areas for Medicaid Managed Care Plans,” New York State Bar Association Health Law Journal, Winter 2002.

“Reviewing HIPAA’s Medical Privacy Rules,” New York Law Journal, February 2001.

Co-author, “Coverage Gaps:  Improving Retention Rates in New York’s Medicaid and Child Health Plus Programs,” The New York Community Trust, December 2000.

“The Next Y2K: Getting Ready for HIPAA,” Hospital and Health News, October 2000.

Co-author, Managed Medicare & Medicaid, “Organizing a Managed Care Plan:  A Road Map for Hospitals,”  December 1998.

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, “Security, Privacy and Other Compliance Risks in the ARRA Era,” Healthcare Stimulus Exchange National Event Series, April 2010.

Speaker, “Managing Patient Authorization in Regional Health Information Organizations,” Thirteenth National HIPAA Summit, September 2006.

Speaker, “Managed Care in New York State: Current Issues and Future Trends,” New York State Bar Association, September 2006.

Speaker, “Avoiding Anti-Kickback Liability Under the Part D Program,” Health Care Compliance Association Part D Compliance Conference, September 2006.

Speaker, “Designing Health Information Networks for Privacy and Public Trust,” The World Congress Leadership Summit on RHIOs, EMRs and Patient Portals, August 2006.

Speaker, “Criminal Liability Under HIPAA,” Strafford Publications Nationwide Teleconference, November 2004.

Speaker, “Community-Wide Health Information Exchange: HIPAA Privacy and Security Issues,” Ninth National HIPAA Summit, September 2004.

Speaker, “Health Information Exchange: HIPAA Privacy and Security Issues,” Connecting  Communities for Better Health Conference, June 2004.

Speaker, “HIPAA’s Effect on New York Law,” New York State Bar Association, December 2003.

Speaker, “Special HIPAA Compliance Challenges Facing MR/DD Providers,” National Institution for People with Disabilities Conference, May 2003.

Speaker, “Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures,” New York State Bar Association, March 2003.

Speaker, “Managing Behavioral Health Care: Special Needs, Special Issues,” Empire State Reports Conference, 1999.

Speaker, “The Health Care Consumer Bill of Rights,” New York City Club, 1998.

Speaker, “Trends in Managed Care Consumer Protection,” Managed Health Care Liability Conference, 1997.