New York, NY, July 28, 2020 – Proskauer, a leading international law firm, announced today that it secured a favorable Advisory Opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) on behalf of its client, RIP Medical Debt (“RIP”).
The OIG’s Advisory Opinion permits health systems and large physician groups to sell or donate their unpaid medical debts to RIP without fear of sanctions under the federal anti-kickback laws.
RIP is a national 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2014 for the sole purpose of forgiving the medical debt of low-income individuals. To date, while RIP has acquired and abolished more than $2 billion of medical debt. To date, RIP has been limited to purchasing medical debt accounts from commercial debt buyers on the secondary debt market. Now that the OIG has issued this Advisory Opinion, RIP can begin obtaining medical debt directly from health care organizations, which will vastly expand the number of patients and their families who will benefit from the work of RIP.
Proskauer’s team included partner Ed Kornreich and associate Betsy Siegel (Health Care) and partner David Miller (Tax).
Proskauer’s health care practice brings unrivalled experience and a keen understanding of the industry's dynamics. The team combines specialized health law and industry experience with specific practice concentrations that allow us to provide the full range of services for clients across the industry. We advise service providers and health plans, operators, investors, and lenders in matters ranging from complex transactions and regulatory compliance to commercial litigation and defense of government investigations.