Brianna Powell provides healthcare regulatory counsel to a wide range of clients, including hospital systems, hospices, long-term care providers, physician groups, and private equity firms. Brianna counsels clients on an array of complex regulatory issues, including:
- Government Enforcement & Compliance – Navigating government enforcement and compliance matters, including:
- Representing clients in responding to and, if necessary, appealing the results of payor claims audits, as well as payment suspensions and extrapolated overpayments arising from audits from various contractors (e.g. Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), Unified Program Integrity Contractors (UPICs), and the HHS-OIG Office of Audit Services (OIG-OAS)). This includes representing clients in Administrative Law Judge hearings.
- Representing clients in responding to and, if necessary, appealing Medicare enrollment denials and revocations; complaints from state licensing boards; and surveys performed by state regulatory agencies.
- Developing, implementing, and assessing compliance programs, including drafting and revising compliance program documents (e.g. Codes of Conduct, Compliance Plans, and policies and procedures) and assessing the effectiveness of existing compliance programs.
- Counseling in connection with compliance obligations under Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAs), as well as developing compliance plans and assessing compliance protocols to maintain compliance post-CIA.
- Performing internal compliance investigations to respond to inquiries from government agencies and/or proactively identify and remediate potential regulatory, compliance, and clinical concerns. This includes coordinating the engagement of and collaborating with third-party clinical, statistical, and/or billing and coding experts, as appropriate.
- EMTALA Matters – Representing hospitals in various matters related to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), including:
- Assisting in responding to Statements of Deficiencies, including immediate jeopardy findings, and preparing Plans of Correction to address the cited deficiencies.
- Representing hospitals in EMTALA reviews conducted by Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) and HHS-OIG, including preparation of written submissions and meeting presentations in response to alleged violations.
- Advising on day-to-day regulatory and operational matters that implicate EMTALA, including policy development, contracting, and risk management.
- Healthcare Fraud & Abuse – Advising on compliance with federal and state healthcare statutes and regulations such as the Anti-Kickback Statute, Civil Monetary Penalties Law, Stark Law, and False Claims Act. This includes, as indicated, advising on self-disclosures and repayment of overpayments.
- Contracting, Regulatory & Operational Matters – Counseling on a variety of day-to-day healthcare operations and compliance matters, such as fraud and abuse, patient care, reimbursement, contracting, and risk management issues.
- Healthcare Transactions – Providing advice on regulatory and compliance issues arising in healthcare mergers and acquisitions.
In addition to her work for healthcare clients, Brianna has been involved in several of the firm’s pro bono initiatives, including representing families in adoption proceedings and working with children relocated to Tennessee to establish Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).
Prior to joining Bass, Berry & Sims, Brianna served as a law clerk to the Honorable Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2015–2016) and to the Honorable Bernice Bouie Donald for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2016–2017). During law school, Brianna served as an intern for the Honorable Judge Susan K. Lee with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Brianna earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a B.S. in psychology and Spanish from Loyola University in New Orleans.
