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SusanBenz

She | Her | Hers

Of Counsel

"Practicing health care law is ultimately about helping vulnerable individuals, something I find extremely gratifying."

Buffalo
P: 716.858.3812
Overview

Biography

Susan represents providers in regulatory compliance, managed care, and corporate matters. Her clients include provider networks, independent practice associations, behavioral health care collaboratives (BHCCs), and care-coordination organizations (CCOs). Susan also represents hospitals; physicians; skilled nursing, assisted living, and independent senior housing facilities; CCRCs; home care agencies; intellectual and developmental disability providers; and behavioral health organizations.

Bar Associations

  • Bar Association of Erie County, Health Law Committee
  • New York State Bar Association, Health Law Section
  • Women's Bar Association of New York State, Western New York Chapter

Selected Memberships & Affiliations

  • Barclay Damon’s Women's Forum
  • American Health Lawyers Association
  • Healthcare Financial Managers Association
Experience

Representative Experience

  • Handled IPA formation, corporate governance, contract negotiations, value-based payment agreements, and data-privacy issues for behavioral health care collaboratives (BHCCs).
  • Represented care-coordination organizations (CCOs) regarding vendor contracts, data-use agreements, security attestations, corporate matters, and HIPAA compliance.
  • Facilitated a provider’s telehealth delivery by designing its corporate and regulatory structure.
  • Negotiated managed-care contracts for physicians, skilled-nursing facilities, and behavioral- health agencies.
  • Successfully challenged Medicaid rates for agencies servicing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
  • Designed and handled corporate restructuring for health care and human service providers to achieve regulatory compliance and business objectives.
  • Trained HIPAA business associates of a Fortune 100 company and developed an industry-specific business associate manual.
  • Successfully defeated a $1.6 million liability arising from an Office of Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) finding that an intellectual/developmental disability (I/DD) agency documentation was insufficient to support reimbursement it received for services provided.
  • Handled a HIPAA privacy breach for a provider involving disclosures to and settlements with the US Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR) and the NYS Attorney General.
  • Represented a consortium of numerous not-for-profit behavioral health care providers in designing and developing a behavioral health care network intended to engage in value-based contracting under a statewide Medicaid reform initiative, including assisting with corporate governance, contract negotiations, value-based payment agreements, and data privacy issues.
  • Acted as outside counsel to a not-for-profit development disability health care provider in its transfer of assets to another provider.
  • Represented a not-for-profit outpatient mental health facility in its petition to the attorney general to transfer substantially all of its assets to another not-for-profit corporation.
  • Represented a client in relation to a data breach caused by an unsecured website regulating in disclosure of private information, including social security numbers and health care details. Coordinated a forensic investigation of the incident. Addressed the legal notification requirements for individuals impacted as well as state and federal agencies. Responded to state and federal regulatory investigations of the incident, including the negotiation of fines and remediation requirements.
  • Represented a client in relation to a data breach situation involving an employee who may have compromised the security of the system, resulting in PII being available on the internet. Coordinated with the forensic investigator to evaluate the disclosure of data and with law enforcement in relation to the investigation of the employee's potential criminal conduct.

Prior Experience

  • Damon Morey LLP, Partner
  • Krokidas & Bluestein, Boston, Massachusetts, Associate

Selected Community Activities

  • The East Aurora Cooperative Market, Founding Member

Selected Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Health Care Law, 2009–2014 and 2016–2023
  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Buffalo "Lawyer of the Year": Health Care Law, 2022
  • Buffalo Business First, Health Care Champion, 2016
  • Buffalo Business First, Who's Who in Law, 2012
Knowledge

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Healthcare Financial Managers Association (HFMA), “Hot Legal and Compliance Topics in 2018 and Beyond”
  • Developmental Disabilities Alliance of Western New York (DDAWNY), “Hot Compliance Issues for 2018”
  • Healthcare Financial Managers Association (HFMA), “Managed Care Contracting in 2016 and Beyond: A Brave New World”
  • Healthcare Financial Managers Association (HFMA) Region 2 Annual Conference, “Riding the Wave of Provider Consolidations, Regulatory, and Antitrust Hurdles”
  • Barclay Damon LLP, “Achieving Success in Affiliations & Consolidations: Best Practices for Avoiding Deal Meltdown”

Selected Publications & Media

Selected Alerts & Blog Posts

Overview Experience Knowledge

Education

  • Northeastern University School of Law, JD
  • State University of New York at Binghamton, Harpur College, BA, With Honors

Practices & Industries

Admitted to Practice

  • New York
  • Massachusetts
  • Vermont

Featured Media

Alerts

NYS Governor Hochul's Budget Places the Future of the CDPAP RFO in Doubt

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About NYS Governor Hochul's Budget Places the Future of the CDPAP RFO in Doubt

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Mizrahi Kroub LLP, Attorneys for Serial Tester Plaintiffs, Now Targeting Businesses in New York State Court

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About Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Mizrahi Kroub LLP, Attorneys for Serial Tester Plaintiffs, Now Targeting Businesses in New York State Court

Alerts

NYS Governor Hochul Vetoes Proposed Grieving Families Act

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About NYS Governor Hochul Vetoes Proposed Grieving Families Act

Alerts

New Notification Requirements for Industrial Development Agencies

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About New Notification Requirements for Industrial Development Agencies

Alerts

HHS OCR Bulletin: Health Care Providers' Websites and Apps Could Contain HIPAA-Noncompliant Tracking Technologies

Read More
About HHS OCR Bulletin: Health Care Providers' Websites and Apps Could Contain HIPAA-Noncompliant Tracking Technologies

Alerts

EPA Finalizes Waters of the United States Rule

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About EPA Finalizes Waters of the United States Rule
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