Angela L. Bergman
Angela Bergman represents healthcare providers and companies facing claims of fraud, patient protection violations and government investigations. She represents a broad range of clients in all sectors of the healthcare industry including hospitals, long-term care facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, home health and hospice providers.
More specifically, Angela’s practice encompasses:
- Healthcare Fraud & Abuse – Representing clients in connection with False Claims Act litigation, self-disclosures, internal investigations and responding to governmental inquiries concerning issues of alleged healthcare fraud and abuse conducted by the Department of Justice, United States Attorneys’ Offices, and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Compliance and Government Investigations – Representing clients through claims brought under the False Claims Act, HIPAA, and other federal legislation. This includes representing companies under civil or administrative investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice.
- Internal Investigations – Conducting internal investigations for public and private companies involving potential corporate compliance matters, such as healthcare fraud violations and corporate wrongdoing.
- Government Contractor Appeals – Representing clients in responding to and, if necessary, appealing the results of payor claims audits, including those performed by Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), and Unified Program Integrity Contractors (UPICs). Angela regularly assists companies in appealing claim denials, extrapolated overpayment denials and Medicare appeals up through a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.
Angie is an active participant in the firm’s pro bono initiatives, devoting significant efforts to fighting for the constitutional rights of indigent defendants in Tennessee’s public defender system and other criminal justice reform issues in the state. In 2019 she completed the firm’s first Fellowship placement, serving full time for six months in a pro bono capacity in the community. During her Fellowship, Angie worked with Choosing Justice Initiative where she advocated for bail reform in Nashville’s criminal courts, federal court, and alongside the Nashville Public Defender’s Office. Prior to joining the firm, Angie worked as a business consultant for major companies across several industries including healthcare, insurance and financial services.
Memberships
American Bar Association (ABA)
American Health Law Association (AHLA)
Nashville Bar Association (NBA)
Tennessee Bar Association (TBA)
Young Leaders Council — Spring 2021 Class
Representative Experience
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We successfully defended a national home healthcare provider in appealing an $18 million extrapolated overpayment resulting from a UPIC audit.
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Amicus brief filed in the Tennessee Supreme Court on behalf of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and two Tennesseans sentenced to life imprisonment as juveniles
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Representation of ED company and other defendants in qui tam lawsuit alleging that ED provider’s violation of licensure laws caused submission of false claims and that defendants fraudulently billed services as performed by physicians even though patients were seen only by nurse practitioners. We obtained dismissal of the licensure claims and received summary judgment as to the upcoding claims. U.S. ex rel. Taylor v. Boyko, 2020 WL 520933 (S.D. W. Va. Jan. 31, 2020); U.S. ex rel. Taylor v. Perni, 2020 WL 2499544 (S.D. W. Va. May 14, 2020).
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Currently serve as outside counsel for a publicly traded senior living in responding to home health and hospice audits.
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Representation of owner of ambulance company indicted for Medicare and Medicaid fraud for its transportation of dialysis patients. Following conviction at trial, persuaded Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn defendant’s aggravated identity theft conviction on grounds that the defendant did not “use” the identifying information of Medicare beneficiaries within the meaning of the statute merely by misrepresenting how the beneficiaries had been transported. United States v. Medlock, 786 F.3d 431 (6th Cir. 2015)
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Lead counsel representing senior living companies in qui tam lawsuit alleging defendants fraudulently billed Medicare for home health services. District court dismissed lawsuit on the grounds that the alleged regulatory violation did not satisfy standard for FCA materiality set forth in Supreme Court’s 2016 Escobar decision. U.S. ex rel. Prather v. Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc., 265 F. Supp. 3d 782 (M.D. Tenn. 2017)
Publications
Past Events
Media Mentions & Firm News
Accolades
Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch — Criminal Defense: White Collar; Health Care Law (2021-2022)
Mid-South Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2021)
Nashville Business Journal — Women of Influence (2020)
Tennessee Supreme Court — Attorney for Justice (2021)
Tennessee Bar Association — Harris A. Gilbert Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (2019)
Vanderbilt Law Review — Notes Development Editor
Vanderbilt Scholastic Excellence Awards — Criminal Law, Corporations, and Litigating the Death Penalty
