Biography
Aleah Schutze knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue a career in health care and obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Health. Her decision to attend law school was born out of an altruistic desire to help more people by helping health care entities fulfill their individual missions. Continuing to build her health care acumen, Aleah spent three years as the Associate General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for Res-Care, Inc. (now BrightSpring Health Services), the largest diversified health and human services provider in the U.S. In that role, she gained experience in providing residential services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as home care, behavioral health, rehabilitation services, and other health-related support services. As a result, Aleah developed a more in-depth understanding of the issues health care entities face from a business, as well as a legal standpoint.
Since joining Steptoe & Johnson, Aleah continues to be inspired as she helps clients navigate ever-changing health care regulations, structure and document complex contracts and transactions, and advise on licensure and public and private payor requirements.
Clients appreciate Aleah’s practical, business-like approach as she works with them to evaluate risks, advises them on regulatory requirements, and recommends courses of action.
Representative Experience
- Drafted and reviewed contracts and developed policies for higher education institutions for on-campus health clinics
- Regulatory counsel on a wide variety of topics, including the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, HIPAA, the HITECH Act, EMTALA, licensure, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, the corporate practice of medicine doctrine, and Certificate of Need programs
- Advises healthcare clients on medical and recreational cannabis laws nationwide, and assists clients in developing policies related to medical and recreational cannabis
- Regularly drafts agreements for healthcare clients, including leases, medical director agreements, professional services agreements, physician recruitment agreements, independent contractor agreements, staffing agreements, and employment agreements
- Assists clients with internal investigations, compliance reviews, and reimbursement audits
- Represents healthcare entities in sales, acquisitions and mergers
- Advises national healthcare client with multiple business lines on necessary filings in 42 states for licensing and Medicaid compliance
- Represents healthcare providers in Medicare and Medicaid payment, overpayment refund, and compliance disputes
- Counsels healthcare clients on regulatory, reimbursement and compliance issues involving all aspects of Medicaid fee-for-service and waiver programs
- Reviews and drafts HIPAA policies and procedures, medical record confidentiality and disclosure policies and procedures and other operational and related documents for health care clients
- Provided federal and state regulatory guidance to multi-state long term care company in sale of assets
- Advises clients during and post regulatory surveys, including mitigation of immediate jeopardy, responding to statements of deficiency, and challenging citations, Civil monetary penalties, and other enforcement activity
- Advised client regarding state licensing requirements and operational policies for foster care provided to both medically fragile adults and at risk youth
- Advises clients on telehealth policies, procedures, and related privacy issues
- Assisted various health care providers through the Kentucky Certificate of Need approval process
Education
- J.D. Georgetown University Law Center
- M.P.H. The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
- B.A./B.S. The Evergreen State College
Memberships
- American Health Lawyers Association
- Health Care Compliance Association
- West Virginia Rural Health Association
- Pennsylvania Healthcare Association
- Ohio Healthcare Association
- Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities
Achievements
- Certified in Health Care Compliance
- Medical Privacy Award, ACLU of Southern California for work on Patient Zero v. California Division of Industrial Relations et al., 2011
- Pro Bono Award from the American Health Lawyers Association, 2011
Speaking Engagements
- Co-presenter of “Medical Marijuana: Legal and Practical Considerations for Long Term Care Providers” at the American Health Law Association’s Long Term and Post-Acute Care Law and Compliance program on February 27, 2024
- Presentation on “Medical Cannabis and Long Term Care – Considerations for Providers” at the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities 2023 Annual Meeting & Expo on November 15, 2023
- Co-presenter of “Current Survey and Enforcement Actions” at the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities 2023 Annual Meeting & Expo on November 15, 2023
- Co-presenter of “An Update on Recent Cannabis-Related Litigation” at the American Cannabis Nurse’s Association Cannabis Care Conference on May 21, 2023
- Co-presenter of “Legal Ethics: Understanding and Preserving Privilege” at the American Health Law Association’s Long-Term Care and the Law Conference on March 23 and 24, 2022
- Co-presenter of “Current Survey and Enforcement Actions and Compliance Efforts Post-Pandemic” at the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities 2021 Annual Meeting & Expo on November 11, 2021
- Presentation on “Medical Cannabis: Legal and Practical Considerations for Health Care Providers” at the American Cannabis Nurse’s Association Cannabis Care Conference on October 19, 2021
- Co-presenter of “Compliance Challenges and Best Practices for Providers of Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services” at the Health Care Compliance Association’s Annual Compliance Institute on April 20, 2021
- Co-presenter of “Marijuana Legalization: Considerations for Long Term Care Providers” at the American Health Law Association’s Long-Term Care and the Law Conference on March 3, 2021
- Co-presenter of “Understanding and Preserving Privilege During Compliance Investigations” at the HCCA Healthcare Enforcement Compliance Conference on November 17, 2020
- Co-presenter of “Understanding and Protecting the Quality Assurance Privilege” at the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities 2020 Annual Meeting on November 12, 2020
- “Experimental Drugs, Marijuana, and Complimentary Medicine Risks and Best Practices,“ Health Care Compliance Association, April 2019
- “Mental Health Issues and Liability for Suicide Prevention in a Long Term Care Setting,” American Health Lawyers Association Long Term Care and the Law Conference, February 2019
Publications
- Co-authored “Health Care Receivables Financing” Chapter in 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health Care Law Publication
- Ms. Schutze has authored various alerts and blogs on healthcare issues
Speaker Event
Legal Insight