GJERSET & LORENZ - Key Persons
Alex is an associate with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Ms. Alverson's practice focuses on advising healthcare clients on both transactional and regulatory matters. Ms. Alverson also assists providers related to their participation in quality improvement programs, coordination provider enrollment in quality network, and assisting providers related to their achievement of quality milestones. Ms. Alverson also assists providers related to their participation in Waiver and non-Waiver-based Medicaid supplemental payment programs.
Prior to her experience working with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP, Ms. Alverson was a licensed funeral director. In her spare time, Ms. Alverson enjoys rollerblading and watching horror movies.
Education
Washington University School of Law, 2022
Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, B.S., magna cum laude, 2015
Andrew Whalen is Of Counsel with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Drawing on his background in litigation, Mr. Whalen helps healthcare clients navigate risks in complex transactions and ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. His work centers on understanding the healthcare industry's mosaic of interacting legal rules with a focus on real-world client outcomes. In particular, Mr. Whalen's experience includes:
Assisting industry stakeholders to design, implement, and operate federally approved, state-directed managed care rate enhancement programs to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars for hospitals providing care to low income and needy patients;
Advising clients on federal anti-kickback laws and Stark law compliance;
Modeling clients' reimbursement impact as the law evolves due to litigation, legislation, or regulation;
Advising hospitals on reshaping their charity care and financial assistance policies to better reflect their operational goals; and
Drafting agreements between physicians, hospitals, managed care organizations, and other healthcare organizations.
Austin Hooser is an associate with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Mr. Hooser's practice focuses on representing hospitals in regulatory and transactional matters, including Medicaid reimbursement programs. His experience includes assisting Louisiana hospitals in all aspects of their participation in a new hospital directed payment program including advising hospitals regarding their current program participation and the impact of potential changes to the program. Mr. Hooser also assists in drafting the documents necessary for hospital transactions, in the operation of hospital non-profit entities, and in drafting of hospital-physician agreements.
At Texas A&M University, Mr. Hooser studied accounting and auditing. Before joining the team at Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP, Mr. Hooser represented clients in asbestos litigation and in multidistrict litigation arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Education
University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 2021
Belma Bajraktarevic joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP in 2018 and currently serves as a Clinical Service Financial Analyst. Belma assists the firm's attorneys by monitoring service contracts between non-profit corporations and indigent clinical care providers, administering disbursements, and addressing all other aspects of the financial management for those non-profit corporations. Prior to joining Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP Belma worked for more than eight years in financial services.
Education
Texas State University, B.A., Accounting, 2012
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Healthcare Policy Direct Dial
Blake Ross joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP as a Healthcare Policy Analyst in 2024. Mr. Ross focuses his work on quality improvement programs for the firm's clients in Louisiana and South Carolina. This work consists of assisting hospitals, clinics, and professional service providers throughout these states in quality improvement efforts and researching new methods for improving quality of care for Louisiana and South Carolina Medicaid patients. In his spare time, Mr. Ross enjoys landscape photography, Hi-Fi audio, and playing pickleball.
Education
Texas A&M University, B.S. in Biology, cum laude, 2023
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant for Professor
Job Titles:
- Senior Analyst, Reimbursement and Finance Direct Dial
Cassidy Willie is an associate with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Ms. Willie's practice focuses on counseling healthcare providers on various transactional matters, state and federal regulatory compliance, and reimbursement matters related to providers' participation in disproportionate share hospital program, upper payment limit demonstrations, Medicaid managed care directed payment and quality incentive programs, Section 1115 and 1915(b) waivers, and graduate medical education programs.
At Texas Christian University, Ms. Willie studied biology, studio art, and psychology, and completed a thesis that explored the effects of external rewards on extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in animals. At Vanderbilt, Ms. Willie was involved in the Vanderbilt Health Law Society, the Intellectual Property Association, and the Energy and Environmental Law Society. In her spare time, Ms. Willie enjoys painting, gardening, and walking with her dog, Phoebe.
Education
Vanderbilt University, J.D., 2023
Research Assistant for Professor Brian Fitzpatrick, 2021
Texas Christian University, B.S. in Biology, summa cum laude, 2020
John V. Roach Honors College, Dean's Scholarship
Science and Engineering Research Center Grant, Fall 2019
Job Titles:
- Director, Reimbursement and Finance
Chris Blackshare joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP in 2017. Mr. Blackshare focuses his work on Medicaid reimbursement programs and provides specialized, analytical support to the Firm's clients. Mr. Blackshare assists providers with establishing eligibility for participation in government reimbursement programs and identifies opportunities for clients to expand program participation while maintaining compliance with federal and state healthcare regulations.
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Reimbursement & Finance
Garrett Ward joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP as a Reimbursement and Finance Analyst in 2024. He focuses on providing analytical support to attorneys for clients involved in government reimbursement programs, including the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program, hospital Directed Payment Programs, and Quality Improvement programs.
Before joining Gjerset & Lorenz, Mr. Ward spent four years in the Technology and Public Sector Compensation fields, gaining valuable technical knowledge and skills he uses to support the needs of his clients.
Education
Texas State University, Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, 2020
Gerry Sharp joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP as a Program Manager in 2024. Mr. Sharp utilizes his expertise to drive projects to meet the unique needs of the firm's clients. He holds responsibility to develop and maintain work plans for various Medicaid program initiatives and supporting business process improvement projects.
Prior to joining Gjerset & Lorenz, Mr. Sharp served in various project management leadership roles in the industrial manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries. He also served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy.
Education
United States Naval Academy
Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics, 2004
University of Texas at Austin,McCombs School of Business
Dr. Lambeth provides invaluable consulting services regarding the clinical components of various Medicaid reimbursement programs that contain a population health or care quality component. Dr. Lambeth is a licensed physician that specializes in internal medicine and has over 35 years of experience in the medical field. Dr Lambeth did his undergraduate work at Texas A&M and attended the University of Texas in Houston for his medical degree. Dr. Lambeth's internal medicine residency was at Brackenridge Hospital. He began his career in Beverly Hills, California working at Cedars Sinai Hospital and Century City Hospital, as well as UCLA. When his partner retired, he returned to Austin, where he has been in private practice with several partners for the last 25 years. He serves on the medical executive committee and is chairman of the pharmacy and therapeutics committee at St Davids Hospital in Austin. Dr. Lambeth provides consultation services regarding the following:
Jacob A. Holt is Of Counsel with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Mr. Holt's practice encompasses the representation of healthcare clients in both transactional and regulatory matters. Mr. Holt endeavors to provide legal counsel that is rooted in a knowledge of healthcare provider operations.
Mr. Holt's professional interests include administrative law, healthcare policy, and the 340B drug discount program. His personal interests include poetry, film, and Houston Astros baseball.
Since joining Gjerset & Lorenz as an associate in 2012, Mr. Holt has gained experience in a variety of healthcare matters, including:
Reviewing 340B pharmacy operations and compliance at public and private hospitals;
Advising public and private hospitals on Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program participation in multiple states, providing reporting recommendations, and creating models for estimated program reimbursement;
Analyzing changes in state and federal regulations in order to draft legal and business analyses regarding impacts for hospital operations and reimbursement;
Conducting reviews of hospital charity care practices and providing tailored legal analyses and recommendations for optimizing hospital charity care policies within the parameters of federal and state law;
Advising local governments and private hospitals regarding the implementation of local provider taxes and integration into the Medicaid reimbursement ecosystem;
Drafting and reviewing physician employment agreements to ensure compliance with Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute requirements; and
Working with many other aspects of hospital compliance and operations.
Mr. Holt has presented to groups of attorneys on the ethics of joint representations in healthcare business ventures and on privacy and security practices for patient health and financial information.
Education
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2012
John W. Glynn, Jr. Law & Business Program
Job Titles:
- Managing Analyst, Reimbursement and Finance
Jake Underbrink joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP as a reimbursement and finance analyst in 2021. Mr. Underbrink focuses on strategic analysis of providers' participation in governmental reimbursement programs, including the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program, Uncompensated Care Cost program, the Texas Delivery System Reform Incentive Pool program, and related application and audit activities. In addition, Mr. Underbrink provides analysis in support of collaborations between multiple hospital systems to support local initiatives, which strategically address healthcare needs, developing agreements for the acquisition of hospital systems, and in the development of healthcare reform initiatives to assist in the establishment of a value-based purchasing program. Mr. Underbrink brings problem-solving skills with a strong understanding of underlying business issues to Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Government Policy
- Vice President of Government Policy & Reimbursement With
Jim Frizzera is the Vice President of Government Policy & Reimbursement with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP, where he focuses on assisting institutional healthcare providers with their operations and participation in government reimbursement programs.
Mr. Gjerset founded Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP in 1998 with Shauna Lorenz. Mr. Gjerset has extensive experience representing a wide spectrum of the healthcare industry, and he routinely advises clients on complex government reimbursement issues, diverse business transactions, day-to-day operational issues, and regulatory compliance. Mr. Gjerset works with healthcare providers on a broad swath of issues including licensure, certification, reimbursement, antitrust, fraud and abuse, cost reporting, government contract negotiation, and preparing for, responding to, and defending against state and federal government investigations and administrative penalty actions. Prior to the creation of Gjerset & Lorenz, Mr. Gjerset served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Texas Office of the Attorney General focusing on healthcare, insurance and anti-trust regulations and was a member of the healthcare practice section of Haynes & Boone, LLP.
Jared Konczal is a partner with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Mr. Konczal focuses his practice on counseling healthcare providers on transactional, state and federal regulatory, and reimbursement matters related to Medicaid Waiver payment programs and the implementation, operation, and maintenance of collaborations between public and private healthcare providers.
Jeff Brinker's practice focuses primarily on structuring business transactions in light of reimbursement concerns. Mr. Brinker joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP in 2004 assisting clients with their qualification for and participation in the Medicaid DSH program. At the same time, he worked with hospitals to develop the structure and financing for a program to allow private hospitals to receive Medicaid supplemental payments, ranging from the initial discussions with the State to propose changes to its Medicaid plan to implementation of hospital charity programs. Mr. Brinker managed the operations of charity services corporations, developed corporate documents and contracts to implement the programs and advised hospitals on funding qualifications and Medicaid reimbursement. Over the past nine years, Mr. Brinker has assisted with the development and implementation of various collaboratives between public entities and private hospitals to find ways to utilize the scarce resources available for reimbursing hospital services to the low income population, including the development of new hospital companies and analyses of options for structuring hospital acquisitions.
Mr. Brinker leverages his experience in banking, securities and corporate transactions to work with clients on a variety of corporate transactions and contractual relations, ranging from structure and formation to acquisition. Prior to joining Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP, Mr. Brinker served as General Counsel at Sanacea International and a Senior Attorney at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in its San Francisco and Washington D.C. offices.
In his spare time, Mr. Brinker enjoys abstract painting, hiking and Elvis Costello concerts.
Education
University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1990
Jessica D. Cottey is Of Counsel to Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Dr. Cottey represents hospitals and health systems - including investor-owned companies, tax-exempt organizations, academic medical centers and publicly owned hospitals - on a wide variety of operational and transactional matters including licensing, compliance with federal and state healthcare regulations (including the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute), and governmental and private reimbursement issues. Healthcare providers rely on Dr. Cottey to represent and protect their business and legal interests in transactional matters as well as legislative and regulatory initiatives in the State of Texas. Dr. Cottey advises health systems, hospitals and physicians on the following:
Quality Incentive Programs:
Work collaboratively with state stakeholders to design state-specific Medicaid quality improvement programs.
Work with the state Medicaid agency to submit programs to CMS for approval.
Work with participants to implement approved programs, including:
Identifying opportunities for improvement on select healthcare quality measures
Designing a pathway to improve the selected quality measures
Creating intermediate goals toward achieving improvement of quality outcomes
Work with participants to complete audits of prior reporting.
Medicaid certification and reimbursement:
DSH: help many hospitals qualify for and receive their share of funding due under Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program. Provide operational, financial, and legal guidance to help clients receive funding relative to which it is entitled.
Supplemental Payment Funding Programs
Texas' Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver Program funding
Uncompensated Care
Delivery System Reform Incentive Payments
Medicaid managed care reimbursement:
Worked with State Medicaid agencies to obtain CMS approval of Medicaid managed care directed payment programs.
Assist hospitals and physician groups in obtaining Medicaid managed care incentive payments for developing and implementing initiatives to improve access and quality of care to Medicaid managed care beneficiaries.
Assist hospitals in obtaining enhanced payments from Medicaid managed care organizations for services provided to Medicaid managed care beneficiaries.
Stark Law compliance, with an in-depth understanding of the Stark Law, its enforcement, and how to address alleged violations
Anti-Kickback Law compliance, helping clients analyze arrangements for potential violations of the Anti-Kickback Law
Assist State anti-kickback compliance
Medical staff credentialing, peer review, and related matters
Assist hospitals and health systems with contracting issues and disputes, helping them design and implement strategies to align their interests with physician practices
Assist hospitals and physician practices with practice acquisitionsinvolvingsinglespecialtyandmulti-specialty practices and entire group practices
negotiation of management and employment agreements, including non-compete and non-solicitation provisions
asset purchase agreements
promissory notes
Lease and sublease issues arrangements
Licensing and regulatory compliance matters
Company structure and formation
Regulatory compliance, including reimbursement, fee splitting, corporate practice and licensing
Employee compensation and benefits
Represent hospitals in alleged patient dumping violations (EMTALA) involving civil money penalties assessed by the Office of the Inspector General
Assist provider organizations with their ongoing responsibility to comply with the patient information privacy requirements of The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the disclosure requirements of The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, as well as state-specific patient privacy laws
Obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status with the IRS and state tax authorities
Advise healthcare providers regarding Texas' prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine and the necessity for, and formation and maintenance of, certified health organizations through the Texas Medical Board
Licensure requirements for the practice of medicine in Texas and other states
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, representing healthcare entities in connection with the structuring and development of joint ventures
Education
University of Texas, J.D., with honors, 2004
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, M.D., 1998
Baylor University, B.A., cum laude, 1994
Professional Affiliations
Member, Health Law Section of the Austin Bar Association
Member, Health Law Section of the State Bar of Texas
Member, Health Law Section of the American Bar Association
Member, Texas Young Lawyers Association
Member, American Health Lawyers Association
Member, Travis County Medical Society
Member, Texas Medical Association
Job Titles:
- College, Dean 's Scholarship
Joseph Gromatzky is an associate with Gjerset & Lorenz. Mr. Gromatzky's practice focuses on advising health care providers on a number of transactional, state and federal compliance, and reimbursement matters. Mr. Gromatzky assists providers with various issues related to Medicaid payment program financing, entitlement, and opportunity in both managed care and fee-for-service settings. As such, Mr. Gromatzky advises hospitals and physicians on matters related to their participation in various supplemental payment and directed payment programs.
Julie Pici joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP in 2017 and currently serves as a Clinical Service Financial Analyst. Ms. Pici assists the firm's attorneys by monitoring service contracts between non-profit corporations and indigent clinical care providers in their communities, as well as facilitating the administration of payments and associated financial operations. As part of this work, Ms. Pici ensures timely payment of invoices, monitors and reports on the status of funding in comparison to budget, and addresses issues raised by individual payees. Prior to joining Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP Julie had over 15 years of financial service in advertising and marketing and over 4 years of business ownership.
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Reimbursement and Finance
Karson Rader joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP as a reimbursement and finance analyst in 2023. Mr. Rader works with the firm's attorneys to analyze hospital financial and patient data to develop reporting recommendations that comply with the rules governing the Disproportionate Share Hospital program and the Uncompensated Care programs in multiple states. Mar. Rader also assists in advising clients regarding the financial impact of their reporting decisions.
Education
University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Science in Corporate Communications with honors, 2023
Kris Walters joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP as a reimbursement and finance analyst in 2022. Mr. Walters focuses on providing attorneys analytical support for clients participating in government reimbursement programs including the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program and the Uncompensated Care Cost program. As part of this work, Mr. Walters advises hospitals on reporting of patient metrics and provider demographic information necessary to accessing their funding entitlement in these programs. Mr. Walters also assists in the development of pro forma related to hospital mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Gjerset & Lorenz, Mr. Walters spent over 15 years in business management and client relationship roles.
Education
Central College, Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, 2006
Argosy University-Chicago, Master's in Business Administration, 2012
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Reimbursement and Finance
Lance Ramsey is a partner with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Lance has extensive experience representing public, non-profit, and investor-owned hospitals on a broad range of financing issues. Lance's practice focuses on accessing Medicaid funding to reimburse hospitals for the costs associated with treating the uninsured and underinsured patient populations. In this capacity, Lance works on behalf of his clients in collaboration with industry and government stakeholders to design and operationalize Medicaid supplemental reimbursement programs, through restructuring of Medicaid financing mechanisms, such as intergovernmental transfers, certified public expenditures, and healthcare-related taxes. Lance also counsels clients on numerous reimbursement-related matters, regulatory compliance issues, and appeals of state and federal reimbursement audit determinations.
Prior to law school, Mr. Ramsey served as a law clerk to the Hon. Harry Lee Hudspeth, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Reimbursement and Finance
Logan Benefield joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP as a reimbursement and finance analyst in January 2023. Mr. Benefield assists clients with analyses of the self-reported data used to participate in the Disproportionate Share Hospital program and the Uncompensated Care program within the state of Texas. Mr. Benefield also assists healthcare providers in Louisiana analyze and report data used in determining funding in various supplemental government payment programs. Prior to joining Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP, Mr. Benefield studied finance at Baylor University.
Education
Baylor University, Bachelor of Arts in Finance, 2022
Job Titles:
- Director, Reimbursement and Finance
Matt Briganti joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP in 2003. He focuses his work on Medicaid reimbursement programs and provides clients with in-depth, individualized financial analysis. Working with data and financial reports from client and government sources, Mr. Briganti assists clients with establishing eligibility to participate in and maintaining compliance with various government reimbursement programs, such as the Texas Medicaid DSH and 1115 Waiver programs. Mr. Briganti also applies strategic methods to assist our clients with appropriately capturing costs to minimize liabilities in Medicaid DSH and Waiver audits. Mr. Briganti's Medicaid experie ne spans several states, enabling him to identify and analyze reimbursement entitlement opportunities. He also provides crucial modeling of reimbursement programs for allocating statewide Medicaid DSH and Waiver funding.
Mr. Briganti has:
Quantified the reimbursement impact of Medicaid policy changes resulting from regulatory and legislative revisions.
Developed and implemented technical processes to assist clients in streamlining their internal data for government reporting.
Analyzed methods and strategies to accurately identify Medicaid and uninsured costs for Medicaid DSH and Waiver audits, to assist in eliminating recoupment liabilities.
Analyzed the impact on Medicaid DSH and Waiver funding from the consolidation or deconsolidation of hospitals.
Prepared and directed the filing of more than 500 applications and audits of Medicaid DSH and other supplemental funding programs, including applications for private and public hospitals, as well as for physician groups.
Successfully appealed erroneous data used by the state to qualify and establish Medicaid DSH funding for several hospitals.
Assessed aggregate Medicaid reimbursement limits at a statewide level for the development of supplemental Medicaid programs in multiple states.
Modeled hospital-specific and statewide reimbursement trends to assist clients with financial decision-making, as well as policy advocacy.
Education
The University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Business Administration, 2003
Meghan Ferguson is Of Counsel with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Ms. Ferguson represents healthcare clients in a variety of transactional, compliance, and regulatory matters, with a focus on Medicaid supplement and incentive payment programs. Ms. Ferguson extensively engages with healthcare clients, governmental stakeholders, and state agencies to navigate the evolving landscape of quality-based payment initiatives in Medicaid programs. Ms. Ferguson's work in this practice area includes:
Collaborating with stakeholders to design and implement Medicaid programs to provide incentive payments to healthcare providers;
Counseling clients on their participation in Medicaid incentive programs including the clinical and analytical components of quality metric requirements;
Assisting clients with identifying areas for improvement and developing proposals to advocate for changes to Medicaid quality incentive payment programs; and
Ensuring compliance with state and federal requirements for quality-based Medicaid payment programs.
Ms. Feguson works closely with hospital clients on the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) and Uncompensated Care (UC) programs. In these practice areas, Ms. Ferguson advises clients on structuring financial assistance policies, quantifying uninsured and uncompensated care costs, and minimizing recoupment liabilities. Ms. Ferguson provides valuable insights into the interplay between the Medicaid reimbursement and supplemental payment programs in which her clients participate. Ms. Ferguson also coordinates with local governmental entities on opportunities to support Medicaid payments to hospitals in their communities.
Ms. Ferguson's transactional experience includes drafting healthcare provider contracts, managed care payer agreements, and corporate documents related to non-profit health care organizations. Ms. Ferguson also offers support to healthcare clients regarding compliance with HIPAA, Stark law, and federal and state anti-kickback laws.
Education
Saint Mary's University School of Law, J.D. 2014
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Reimbursement & Finance
Mitchell Hanna joined Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP in 2025 as a Reimbursement and Finance Analyst. In this role, Mr. Hanna works across multiple states, providing support to clients using detailed analyses of self-reported data related to Medicaid and uncompensated care programs. Working with data and financial reports from client and governmental sources, Mr. Hanna provides analysis in support of collaborations between multiple hospital systems that work together to strategically address healthcare needs. With a passion for advancing health equity, he is dedicated to supporting providers in accessing various programs that improve access and care delivery to underserved populations. Outside of his professional work, Mr. Hanna enjoys cooking and spending time outdoors.
Education
Texas A&M University, B.S. in Economics, 2022
Nicole Martinez is a partner with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Ms. Martinez's practice focuses on the representation of healthcare providers in regulatory and transactional matters in several states, including Texas, Louisiana, and Virginia. Ms. Martinez's regulatory experience includes advising clients regarding compliance issues with the Texas Delivery System Reform Incentive Pool program, Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Waivers, the Texas Uniform Hospital Rate Increase Program, the Louisiana Medicaid Managed Care Incentive Payment Program, healthcare provider taxes, and other matters related to hospital reimbursement. Ms. Martinez's transactional experience includes drafting provider services contracts, hospital management agreements, and corporate documents associated with non-profit healthcare corporations.
Roni Stutman Sitner (f/k/a Roni Stutman White) is Of Counsel to Gjerset and Lorenz. She is a seasoned senior attorney with nearly 23 years of experience in health care law and compliance, and offers a unique lens and perspective to Gjerset & Lorenz clients as she brings her in-house UnitedHealthcare insurance and managed care experience to presently counsel clients on the provider side. Roni's extensive experience providing counsel related to insurance and managed care extends from commercial (both self-funded and fully insured), and, for the last 14 years, the Government Program books of business (Medicaid, Dual Special Needs Plans, and Medicare-Medicaid Plans (MMP)).
Ronica Hutchison is an associate with Gjerset & Lorenz, LLP. Ms. Hutchison's practice focuses on advising hospitals and physician groups on various transactional, state and federal regulatory compliance, legislative and reimbursement matters related to their participation in disproportionate share hospital programs, upper payment limit demonstrations, Medicaid managed care directed payment and quality incentive programs, Section 1115 and 1915(b) waivers, and graduate medical education programs. Ms. Hutchison also assists healthcare providers with the development and operation of non-profit organizations that support healthcare access and quality improvement initiatives for low-income populations.
While at the University of Michigan School of Law, Ms. Hutchison interned for the United States Department of Justice's Civil Division in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. She also served as the President of the Public Benefits Advocacy Project, where she assisted low-income community members in applying for Medicaid and Medicare benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before beginning her legal career, Ms. Hutchison served as a Program Associate to the United Nations World Food Programme in Maputo, Mozambique while studying Portuguese as a Boren Scholar under the African Flagship Language Initiative.
Education
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, J.D., 2022
Job Titles:
- Director, Reimbursement and Finance
Job Titles:
- Senior Analyst, Reimbursement and Finance