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  • Robert D. Belfort

    Partner
    Healthcare Industry
     rbelfort@manatt.com
    Download Contact (.vcf)

    New York
    Direct: 212.830.7270
    General: 212.790.4500
    Fax: 212.790.4545
    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.
    Bar Admissions
    New York
    • Profile
    • Representative Matters
    • Honors & Awards
    • Publications
    • Memberships & Activities
    • Speaking Engagements

    Profile

    Robert Belfort is a partner in the healthcare practice of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and has almost 20 years of experience representing healthcare organizations on regulatory compliance and transactional matters.  Mr. Belfort has extensive experience advising a wide variety of healthcare clients, including hospitals, community health centers, medical groups, mental health providers, pharmacy chains, health insurers, managed care organizations, information technology vendors and healthcare industry trade associations.

    Mr. Belfort’s practice focuses on the following areas:

    • Fraud and Abuse.  He 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 and also helps clients respond to complaints and privacy breaches.  He also works with regional health information organizations and other multistakeholder entities to develop patient consent and other data-sharing policies and practices. 

    • Managed Care.  He counsels health insurers and other managed care organizations on compliance with Affordable Care Act standards, Medicaid managed care requirements, Medicare Part C and Part D rules, HIPAA portability and nondiscrimination mandates, and state insurance licensing and market conduct laws.  He also drafts and negotiates the full range of managed care contracts, including provider participation agreements as well as specialty carve-out and PBM arrangements.

    Representative Matters

    Honors & Awards

    Named as one of the Top-Ranked Attorneys, Chambers USA, 2008-2012.

    Selected for “The Best Lawyers in America” from 2007-2013 in the specialty of Health Care Law.

    Selected for New York Super Lawyers, 2008-2011.

    Publications

    Contributor, "The Legal Framework for Health Information Privacy," Information Privacy in the Evolving Healthcare Environment, Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), 2013.

    Coauthor, "HIPAA Omnibus Rule Reshapes Landscape for Health Care Privacy, Security Compliance," Bloomberg BNA Health IT Law & Industry Report, January 23, 2013.

    Coauthor, "A Look at the Newly Released HIPAA Audit Program Protocols," iHealthBeat, July 30, 2012.

    Coauthor, "Lessons from Project HealthDesign," Journal of Healthcare Information Management, Summer 2012.

    Coauthor, "ACO Fraud & Abuse Waivers," Executive Insight, March 27, 2012.

    Coauthor, "Stanford Hospital Data Security Breach May Trigger More Active Monitoring of Business Associates by Covered Entities," Health Lawyers Weekly, October 7, 2011.

    "Ten Key Privacy Issues for Health Information Exchanges," Health IT Law and Industry Report, July 29, 2011.

    Coauthor, "Considerations for the Development of Accountable Care Organizations in New York State," New York State Health Foundation, June 2011.

    “A New Fraud and Abuse Paradigm for ACOs: Blurring the Distinction Between Providers and Payers,” BNA Health Care Fraud Report, March 23, 2011.

    Coauthor, “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.

    “Provider Participation in ACOs May Hinge on HHS Regulations,” BNA Health Law Reporter, April 15, 2010.

    Coauthor, “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.

    Coauthor, "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.

    Author, “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.

    Coauthor, “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.

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

    Memberships & Activities

    Admitted to practice in New York.

    Member, New York State Bar Association.

    Member, American Health Lawyers Association.

    Speaking Engagements

    Speaker, "Into the Breach Part II, Top Pitfalls of Data Breach Notification, a Legal Perspective," HIMSS Privacy and Security Forum, December 2012.

    Speaker, "Marketing as per the Final Privacy Rule: Review and Analysis of Significant Changes," ACI Health Care Privacy and Security Forum, December 2012.

    Speaker, "Developing an Effective ACO Compliance Program," Health Care Compliance Association/American Health Lawyers Association's Fraud & Compliance Forum, October 2012.

    Speaker, "Recent developments in Stark and Anti-Kickback Statute Enforcement," Health Care Compliance Association, May 2012.

    Speaker, "A Question of Kickbacks: Avoiding Real and Present Dangers in Medicare Managed Care," American Conference Institute, January 2012.

    Speaker, "Breach: Incidents, Protections, Obligations and Liabilities," American Conference Institute, December 2011.

    Speaker, "ACO Fraud and Abuse Issues," New York State Bar Association Health Law Section Meeting, October 2011.

    Speaker, "Managing Compliance in Vendor Contracts," American Health Lawyers Association Fraud and Compliance Forum, September 2011.

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

    Speaker, "Avoiding Legal Land Mines in EHR Subsidy Programs," Greater New York Hospital Association, December 2009.

    Speaker, "Compliance Issues for Retail Medical Clinics,” American Health Lawyers Association Fraud and Compliance Forum, October 2008.

    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, “HIPAAs 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.