Eric Klein leads the 90+ attorney national healthcare practice, and is a partner in the Century City office, of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, a full service AmLaw Global 100 law firm with offices throughout California, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., London, Brussels, Beijing, Seoul and Shanghai. With over twenty-six years of practical legal and business experience, his practice focuses on the healthcare, technology and related industries. Known in the business community for his creative solutions and deal-making ability, Eric uses deep industry knowledge, entrepreneurial solutions, sophisticated negotiation skills and effective legal process to meet the complex business and legal needs of both established and emerging companies.
Eric represents physician groups, hospitals, health plans, ancillary service providers and private equity and strategic investors. He works with publicly traded and privately held companies across the country and advises both for-profit and non-profit clients on mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, operational and contracting matters, strategic planning, HMO licensing and compliance, regulatory matters and information technology transactions.
Eric has been nationally recognized as a leading healthcare lawyer:
Chambers Guide: Eric Klein “is particularly strong in large transactions.” Sources say: “In addition to his wonderful grasp of the law, he understands the medical issues and the business aspects - this is a real gift.”
Legal 500 Guide: He is “a wonderful negotiator, creative, experienced and skillful. Eric is "extremely well versed in healthcare law, and an excellent strategist.”
Law360: Healthcare Law National MVP
Los Angeles Business Journal: Most Influential M&A Advisor
The Healthcare team was awarded the Deal of the Year in the healthcare industry by the M&A Atlas Awards in 2013 for the DaVita acquisition of Healthcare Partners.
Selected Mergers and Acquisitions (clients listed first):
DaVita Inc. in its $4.4 billion acquisition of HealthCare Partners, a leading national coordinated care provider organization
Greater Houston Anesthesiology (one of the largest anesthesia groups) in its affiliation with Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe portfolio company U.S. Anesthesia Partners
Facey Medical Foundation in its long-term affiliation with Providence Health & Services
Greater Newport Physicians and Nautilus Healthcare Management Group in their affiliation with MemorialCare Medical Foundation
Affinity Medical Group in its affiliation with Stanford’s University HealthCare Alliance
Talbert Medical Group in its merger with HealthCare Partners
Bristol Park Medical Group in its affiliation with MemorialCare Medical Foundation
Providence Medical Institute in its affiliation with Axminster Medical Group
MemorialCare IPA in its affiliation with OptumHealth, an affiliate of UnitedHealth Group
Lakeside Systems, Inc. in its acquisition by an affiliate of Regal Medical Group
More than twenty hospital acquisition and sale projects, including the purchase of Alvarado Hospital in San Diego from Tenet Healthcare by Plymouth Health, LLC, and its subsequent sale, and the purchase of Memorial Hospital of Gardena and East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital by Avanti Hospitals LLC
The purchase and sale of Medicare, Medicaid, dental and vision health plans
Sales of multiple ambulatory surgery centers
Selected Operational and Contracting Projects:
Advised on innovative long-term $60 million HCC-RAF agreement between health plan and integrated medical group
Establishment of public/private partnership for county-wide care network that integrates for-profit IPA networks with county owned hospitals and physician clinics
Successful application for Medicare Shared Savings Accountable Care Organization
Preparation of national IPA provider contract template for leading national Medicare Advantage payor
Structuring of strategic alliance between payor and integrated medical group to transition market from fee-for-service model to coordinated care model
Structuring of large scale contractual joint venture for staff model medical group to manage MLR in multiple hospital system and utilize quality-based shared savings structure
Negotiation of a $1 billion pharmacy benefit management agreement
Structuring of "state of the art" management services agreements and physician compensation arrangements
In the hospital sector, Eric has worked on hospital alliances and joint ventures, conversion of non-profit hospitals into for-profit hospitals, credit facilities for hospitals, establishment and acquisition of outpatient treatment centers, outsourcing of hospital departments and hospital syndications. He also has assisted with payor contracting and disputes, governmental investigations and licensing, and hospital-physician contracts and joint ventures. He also recently assisted with several revenue cycle management projects.
In addition, Eric has deep experience in healthcare information systems and technology. Recent projects included multiple large-scale electronic medical records (EMR) systems contracts, including the acquisition of a $12 million electronic medical records (EMR) system by a hospital, formation of a health information exchange and acquisition and physician roll-out of large-scale medical group EMR systems. Other assignments have included: the development and national roll-out of a personal data assistant (PDA) based information system for hospital-based physicians; the creation of a company that provides real-time PDA-based ICU information; the acquisition and customization of an eligibility and credentialing system; and the implementation of an integrated financial system.
In the area of Knox-Keene HMO regulation, Eric is working on multiple Knox-Keene applications. He obtained a Knox-Keene license for a new vision services plan in nine months, one of the fastest licensure processes in the history of the Department of Managed Health Care. He has assisted Knox-Keene plans with licensure issues, compliance and corrective action plans, restructuring, acquisitions and disposition of plans, holding company structures and credit facilities.
Eric also lectures nationally on negotiation skills and has trained many business leaders, investment bankers, lawyers and entrepreneurs in basic and advanced negotiation techniques. He is a frequent lecturer and has been a featured speaker at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association National Summit, the California Association of Physician Groups annual meeting, the Hospital Association of Southern California annual meeting, Health Care Executives, HealthLaw 2.0 and other trade associations.
