Steve Lokensgard practices in the health and life sciences group. After starting his career in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, Steve served as an assistant attorney general for the state of Minnesota. More recently Steve was in-house counsel for a large regional health care system, and also served as its chief compliance officer. He has provided advice on a variety of issues to integrated health care delivery systems, hospitals, physicians, pharmacies, transportation companies, home health companies, hospice companies, DME companies and Medicare Advantage plans. Steve's representative transactions include the following:

Health Care Compliance

• Advise compliance staff and in-house counsel on a wide variety of Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare billing compliance issues including provider-based status, physician supervision, charging, coding and other reimbursement-related issues
• Work with regulatory affairs staff to interpret new regulations, case law or guidance from CMS and how it may impact an organization from a compliance perspective
• Conduct assessments of compliance program effectiveness and recommend improvements in structure, process and outcomes
• Draft charters for committees such as the ethics and compliance committee of the board of directors, or the internal compliance committee composed of senior leaders
• Draft policies on broad issues such as compliance program structure, as well as specific issues such as ethical relationships between providers and drug and device companies, health information privacy, inpatient rehabilitation facility admissions and internal investigations
• Design and conduct compliance education on a variety of compliance-related topics, including HIPAA, the False Claims Act, Stark, Antikickback and various reimbursement and billing compliance issues
• Advise Medicare Advantage plans on compliance operations, including compliance with the Medicare Marketing Guidelines and exercising oversight of First Tier, Downstream and Related (FDR) entities
• Advise providers on preparing for and responding to audits by Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), Medicaid Integrity Contractors (MICs) and Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs)
• Provide interim support to a compliance department searching for a new chief compliance officer

Fraud and Abuse

• Defend providers subject to an investigation by the federal government, or facing a qui tam False Claims Act case, such as the national investigation of Kyphoplasty cases performed on an inpatient basis, as well as the investigation of ICD cases performed in violation of the National Coverage Determination (NCD)
• Advise and represent clients in investigations by a Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC)
• Advise providers on kickback and patient inducement issues, and the use of the HHS OIG self-disclosure protocol
• Advise providers on the Stark Law and use of the Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP) to disclose potential Stark violations to CMS

Physician Transactions

• Negotiate and draft professional services agreements (PSAs) between hospitals and physicians to provide professional services, particularly with respect to cardiologists
• Provide advice on how to structure various clinic models, including freestanding, provider-based, and hospital-based models
• Advise and draft joint ventures between integrated delivery systems and physicians to increase the quality of care and maximize reimbursement in a compliant manner

Audits and Investigations

• Conduct internal investigations under attorney-client privilege regarding potential billing compliance issues and provide advice on self-disclosure issues
• Investigate potential drug diversions and advise on reporting to the local office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
• Investigate allegations of a privacy breach and advise on possible reporting to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
• Work with internal or external auditors to design and implement an audit in support of a company's compliance program, and advise on any potential repayment issues

Civic Activities

• Minnesota Army National Guard, staff judge advocate (1994–2010)
• Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church Benevolence Committee (2010 - present)

Presentations

• Lessons Learned from the First Year of ZPIC Audits
  Sixth National Medicare RAC Summit (2011)
• Compliance Programs: One Size Doesn't Fit All
  MHA-HFMA Fall Finance Conference (2011)
• Compliance Hot Topics
  Health Care Compliance Association Upper Midwest Annual Conference (2011)
• ZPIC Medicare Audits: Lessons Learned from CMS Scrutiny: Navigating the Complex Audit and Appeals Process
  Strafford national audio conference (2011)
• Government Investigations of Health Care Providers
  Health Law Institute, Minnesota CLE (2011)
• Compliance Program: Implications of Recent OCR Enforcement Actions
  Health Care Compliance Association national audio conference (2011)
• Compliance Hot Topics: Panel Session Health Care Compliance Association Upper Midwest Annual Conference (2010)
• "Auditors for 500, Please": What Do the RAC's, MAC's, MIC's, and Z-PIC's Want From You?
  Health Law Institute, Minnesota CLE (2010)
• CMS Audits of Health Plans: How to Avoid the Crisis
  Health Care Compliance Association Annual Conference (2010)
• How Health Care Reform Will Affect Minnesota Minnesota Hospital Association (2010
• Navigating the RAC Process: What You Need to Know
  Minnesota Hospital Association (2009)
• Compliance Hot Topics: Panel Discussion
  Health Care Compliance Association Upper Midwest Annual Conference (2009)
• Preparing Your Practice For the Permanent Recovery Audit Contractors
  MGMA Webinar (2009)
• Bracing for RAC Record Requests, Denials, and Appeals Strategy: Are We Having Fun Yet
  VHA Upper Midwest RAC Seminar (2009)
• Compliance Update: Tools for Quarterly Board Reporting
  HCPro Webiner (2009)
• Getting it Right the First Time—Documentation of Medical Necessity for Short Stay Patients
  National Medicare RAC Summit (2009)
• Preparing for Compliance Awareness Week
  Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (2008)
• Community Benefit and Nonprofit Hospitals: New Developments in Enforcement
  Health Law Institute, Minnesota CLE (2006)
• Tax Exemption Challenge
  Health Care Compliance Association Annual Compliance Institute (2006)
• A New Standard for Collection Practices and Pricing for the Uninsured
  Association for Community Health Improvement Annual Conference (2006)

Published Articles

• Frequent Contributor to Beyond Health Care Reform
  Faegre Baker Daniels' Blog on Legal and Regulatory Impact of Health Care Reform (2010)
• OIG Open Letter to Providers Regarding Self-Disclosure Protocol: Knock and the Door May Not Be Opened
  Faegre.com (2009)
• Recovery Audit Contractors: A New Breed of Medicare Auditors
  Faegre.com (2009)