Ann M. Bittinger specializes in advising healthcare entities in their business transactions. Her particular expertise is in legal relationships between hospital systems and physicians or physician groups, such as co-management agreements, joint ventures, clinical integration arrangements, practice acquisitions and employment agreements. Her clients include all types of entities and individuals in the healthcare industry: health systems, physician groups, physicians, a physician-hospital organization, laboratories, pharmacies, distributors and other practitioners. Board certified by The Florida Bar in health law in 2005, she is in particular demand from companies located outside Florida that are expanding their businesses into Florida. She has serviced client companies headquartered in Dallas, Nashville, Boston, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London, U.K.

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phone: 904.821.9000
fax: 904-821-9400
*email: ann@bittingerlaw.com

Ann was elected twice to the American Health Lawyers Association Board of Directors. She is the only attorney in private practice in Florida to ever serve on the Board. She has presented at 12 AHLA in-person seminars on healthcare transactions and legal ethics issues.

Ann is evaluated by her peers as a “preeminent” attorney, and awarded the “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell. The “AV” rating identifies a lawyer with preeminent expertise, experience, integrity, and overall professional excellence.

Ann is dedicated to Northeast Florida and its healthcare community.  A resident of Jacksonville, with a home on the St. John’s River, her local business and community leadership was highlighted in 2014 when the Jacksonville Business Journal named her one of Jacksonville’s Women of Influence. In 2005, the paper named her one of Jacksonville’s top Up and Comers. She is a member of the Leadership Jacksonville Class of 2008, a select group that provides year-long leadership training to the community’s leaders. In 2011, she was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers and in 2006 was named a top up and coming attorney by Florida Trend magazine. Ann was elected to and served on the Board of Governors of the Young Lawyers Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association. She formerly served as a board member of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies in Jacksonville and on the Board of Directors of the March of Dimes of Kansas City. Ann also serves on the Board of Directors of a local environmental not-for-profit organization as well as the Jacksonville Library Foundation.

She lectures frequently on health law matters for local, state and national groups including the American Bar Association and American Health Lawyers Association. From 2010-2012 she was the Chair of the Physician Practice Group of the American Health Lawyers Association. She also edited that Group’s national newsletter. She also served on the Executive Committee of the Health Law Section of The Florida Bar.  She chaired the health law section of the Jacksonville Bar Association for two years. She writes the legal article in the magazine of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Ann has written chapters on different health law subjects in four recent editions of The Health Law Handbook. The 2018 features her analysis of issues that physician groups have with insurance companies. In the 2016 edition of The Health Law Handbook, Ann’s chapter addressed the Halifax Hospital case involving allegations of overpayments of hospital-employment physicians to generate referrals to the hospital. Her prior chapters include: “The Boomerang Effect of Hospital/Physician Integration: Approaching Medical Practice Sales with an Eye on a Future Unwind,” and ”Operating in the Red: Important Lessons on Physician Employment Compensation by Hospitals Anticipating Referrals.” She also wrote the chapter in the AHLA’s Representing Physician Handbook on hospital-based physician groups’ contracts with hospital systems.

She is licensed to practice law in Florida, Missouri and Kansas. Ann graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law, where she earned the prestigious position of editor-in-chief of the law review. Upon graduation, she worked for law firms in Kansas City, Missouri, practicing transactional and regulatory law for business and health care clients. In 2001 she was hired by Nemours as its health law attorney in its Jacksonville headquarters. Identifying a need for health care attorneys in Northeast Florida, she started her firm in 2004. Raised in an entrepreneurial family, she most enjoys representing new businesses and businesses in growth phases.

Ann is a former newspaper reporter, holding a journalism and sociology degree from The American University. As a college student, she was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper and was published in the Washington Post.

 

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Published Articles

How to Approach Negotiation with Payers
American College of Gastroenterology Magazine, Law Mind Column, July 2018

 

The Incredible Shrinking Paycheck: MACRA and the Link Between Accountability and Physician Compensation
American College of Gastroenterology Magazine, Law Mind Column, Winter 2018

 

Enforcing and Avoiding Non-compete Agreements
American College of Gastroenterology Magazine, Law Mind Column 2017, Volume 1

 

Use Smartphones Smartly — What HIPAA Allows You To to Text About Patients
American College of Gastroenterology, Law Mind Column, Fall 2017

 

Bye Bye Baby Boomers: Plan Now for a Wave of Physician Retirements 
American College of Gastroenterology Magazine, Law Mind Column, Summer 2017

 

Enforcing and Avoiding Non-compete Agreements 
American College of Gastroenterology Magazine, Law Mind Column, Spring 2017

 

Operating in the Red: Important Lessons on Physician Employment Compensation by Hospitals Anticipating Referrals
Health Law Handbook, 2014 Edition

 

Establishing a baseline compliance pulse for hospital and physician groups: Evaluations by outside counsel
Compliance Today, April 2014
Co-authors: William Holahan, Esq and Caroline Kubovy, Esq.

The Boomerang Effect of Hospital/Physician Integration: Approaching Medical Practice Sales with an Eye on a Future Unwind
Health Law Handbook, 2013 Edition

 

Hospital-Based Physician Representation
Representing Physicians Handbook, Third Edition 2012

 

Hospital-Based Physician Representation
Representing Physicians Handbook, Second Edition 2009

 

The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act
Co-author
American Health Lawyers Association Member Briefing, August 2008

 

Deciphering the OIG 2005 Work Plan
Co-author: Kimberly A. Lammers
American Health Lawyers Association: Physician Organizations Practice Groups Newsletter
Winter (January) 2005, Volume 8, Issue 1

 

The Pain Management Catch-22: Avoiding Criminal Charges for Prescribing Controlled Substances
Health Lawyers News, November 2005

 

EMTALA Changes May Create New Standard of Care for Physicians
Healthcare Liability & Litigation Newsletter
Spring (May) 2004, Volume 7, Issue 1

 

Patience Privacy Rights
HIPAA/HITECH Resource Guide, First Edition
Co-Author: Caroline Kubovy, Esq.

 

 

Speaking Engagements

Strange Bedfellows: Employment Relationships Between Payers and Physicians
American Health Lawyers Association: Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute
New Orleans, February 2018

 

BMWs and FMV: The Latest in Physician Compensation Valuation Issues
Health Care Industry Conference
Florida Institute of CPAs, April 2016

 

Zen and the Art of Representing Hospital-Based Physician Groups
Co-presenter: Jay Martus, Esq
American Health Lawyers Association, February 2016

 

2016 Coding and Reimbursement Conference
Florida Orthopaedic Society and Bones Society of Florida Coding Conference, January 2016

 

Fighting Payer Recoupment
Co-presenter: Maggie Mac, CPC, CEMC, CHC, CMM, ICCE
Coding Con 2015, Las Vegas, December 2015

 

Best Practices on How to Market Yourself
Co-speaker: Matthew Fisher
American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, June 2014

 

Disarming the Narcissistic Lawyer: Legal Ethics in Addressing Not-so-Nice Opposing Counsel
American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, June 2014

 

Diversion of Controlled Substances in Healthcare Settings
Co-speaker: Lorri Abramowitz
American Health Lawyers Association: Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute, February 2014

 

Physician Post Integration Issues: After the Honeymoon Are We Friends or Foes?
Co-speaker: Teresa A. Williams
American Health Lawyers Association In-House Counsel Program and Annual Meeting, 2013

 

The Group Practice Annual Exam: Diagnosing and Addressing Legal Issues in Medical Practices
Co-speaker: Michael Schaff, Esq.
American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, 2012

Impact of ACOs on Physician/Provider Membership Decisions
American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, 2011

 

My Score is Better than Your Score (and so is my Reimbursement) Issues in “Inducing” Non-Employed Physicians to Assist with Hospital Quality Initiatives
Co-speaker: Marc Goldstone, Esq.
American Health Lawyers Association: Physician and Physician Organizations Law Institute and Hospitals and Health Systems Law Institute, 2011

 

What’s Wrong with this Picture? Negotiating Hospital-Based Physician Group Contracts with Hospitals: The Physician Group Perspective
American Health Lawyers Association: Physicians and Physician Organizations Institute, 2010

 

Top Legal Issues in Operating an Urgent Care Center
Urgent Care Association of America National Convention, 2008

 

EMTALA and Urgent Care Centers
Urgent Care Association of America National Convention, 2008

 

Florida Health Law Emerging Issues
American Bar Association Emerging Issues in Health Law, 2007

 

Employing Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
Florida Allergy and Immunology Society Annual Meeting, 2007

 

Employment Law Issues in Medical Practices
Florida Allergy and Immunology Society Annual Meeting, 2007

 

How to Avoid a Medicare Audit
Florida Rheumatology Society Annual Meeting, 2006

 

Payer Contract Negotiation Pitfalls
Florida Rheumatology Society Annual Meeting, 2006

 

How to Establish Fair Market Value for Stark and Anti-Kickback Purposes
American Health Lawyers Association: Physicians and Physician Organizations Institute, 2004

 

How to Implement an Effective HIPAA Compliance Plan
HIPAA Summit, 2000

 

Webinars

From Contract to Crime: Fraud and Compliance Fundamentals for Physician Representation
Sponsored by the American Bar Association, August 17, 2016
Co-speaker: Stephen Lee

 

Medicare Chronic Care Management: Billing, Compliance and Implementation Issues
Sponsored by the American Health Lawyers Association, March 2015

 

Impact on Physician Network Development and Medical Staff
Sponsored by the American Health Lawyers Association, April 3, 2013
Co-speaker: Bob Homchick

The Evolution of Payor Payments to Physician Groups 
Sponsored by the American Health Lawyers Association: Physician Organizations Practice Group and Payors, Plans, and Managed Care Practice Group, August 23, 2012
Co-speakers: Charles E. Gooder and Alice G. Gosfield

 

Are Professional Service Agreements (PSAs) an Attractive Physician-Hospital Integration Option?
Sponsored by the American Health Lawyers Association, March 6, 2012
Co-speakers: John D’Andrea and Tim Reed