Gregory J. Pepe Presents on Private Investors Involvement in Specialty Medical Practices

May 21, 2020

Gregory J. Pepe, founding partner of Neubert, Pepe & Montieth, P.C. spoke about some issues which should be of concern to physicians thinking of selling their practices to private equity groups in a recent live webinar. The webinar was sponsored by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Society of Medical Association Counsel (ASMAC). Attorney Pepe’s webinar, “Wall Street Consolidation of Specialty Practices: Who is benefiting?”, is the first in a series of five webinars hosted by ASMAC.

The webinar highlighted the growing involvement of private equity investors in specialty medical practices. The areas covered involve the so-called prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine, the tendency to engage in fee splitting in such arrangements, the reliance on ancillary service revenues to prop up high purchase prices, and the erosion of medical professionalism when equity groups insist on cross-selling non-medical products and services to patients. The webinar also provided an overview of common legal complications that arise in transactions involving the acquisition of significant equity stakes in medical practices by private equity firms.

Attorney Pepe heads the firm’s Healthcare Law and Corporate & Business Transactions practice areas. He advises state and private medical societies regarding physician practice management issues within the context of organized medicine and managed care. Attorney Pepe also represents numerous physician groups, including large integrated practices, IPAs, PHOs, and others involved in healthcare law issues. Within the arena of dispute resolution and mediation Attorney Pepe assumes the patient/provider perspective and works as an advocate for the patient or provider.

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