Lanchi Nguyen Bombalier

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8520
Fax: 404.873.8521
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

Lanchi is a partner in the Healthcare practice, and a member of the Hospitals & Health Systems, Post-Acute & Long-Term Care, Healthcare Privacy/HIPAA, and Healthcare Private Equity industry teams. She is also the chair of the firm’s Hiring Committee and serves as the Hiring Partner. Lanchi has over 20 years of experience working in the healthcare industry and has distinguished herself as a healthcare lawyer who provides full-service regulatory counsel to providers across the healthcare continuum. Her clients include hospital systems, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, personal care homes, home health agencies, hospice agencies, outpatient rehabilitation therapy providers, and behavioral health providers, among others. Her clients appreciate her deep knowledge and multifaceted experience in the healthcare industry, which is the result of a joint degree in law and public health and her prior experience as a licensed, practicing physical therapist. With this 360-degree background, Lanchi provides a unique vantage point in partnering with her clients to navigate the complexities of the healthcare industry.

Lanchi represents providers before state and federal agencies, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS), the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). She is known for her technical acuity and comprehensive understanding of payor and reimbursement issues, Medicare/Medicaid certification, voluntary disclosures, HIPAA compliance, corporate practice doctrine, and fraud and abuse laws, including the federal False Claims Act, among others. She has extensive experience working closely with government auditors (UPIC, SMRC, MAC, TPE), nationwide to counsel providers on negotiating the administrative appeals process, including challenging the use of statistical sampling and extrapolation. In addition to defending providers in regulatory enforcement actions, she also serves as healthcare regulatory counsel to advise on regulatory risk and compliance on a wide variety of matters, from the establishment of innovative health care models to HIPAA risk assessments, to the acquisition, merger, and restructuring of large national providers.

Lanchi recognizes the needs of healthcare organizations across the continuum of care through the lens of first-hand experience. Prior to joining AGG, Lanchi was a physical therapist specializing in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation and served as a clinical instructor for several physical therapy programs. She remains an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and has been appointed to several committees, including the APTA Public Policy and Advocacy Committee and the Payment Policy Committee of APTA’s Private Practice Section. She also served on the Board of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts, a non-profit organization that provides legal assistance and educational programming to arts and arts organizations.

Experience

  • Represented a publicly traded REIT in a $1.125 billion acquisition and restructuring of a senior housing provider that operates 96 senior-living communities as well as pharmacies in the Midwest.

  • Represented a private equity client in its acquisition of a leading national provider of business support services to 350 dental offices in 17 states. AGG’s team worked to deliver regulatory diligence and transaction regulatory support, as well as credit facility-driven post-transaction regulatory work.

  • Conducted internal investigations for multiple national health care providers to provide advice on compliance issues and determine self-disclosure and other reporting obligations under state and federal law.

  • Represented multiple long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and hospice providers in responding to Medicare Program Integrity audits and related reimbursement appeals before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services, including Administrative Law Judge hearings at the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals.

  • Counseled a national provider of long-term care services in a multi-state restructuring and acquisition of a large national provider of nursing home and rehabilitation services, which included consideration of change of ownership, certificate of need, Medicare, and Medicaid regulatory issues.

  • Assisted a national REIT in its minority investment in a portfolio of a variety of healthcare providers, including assisted living, memory care, hospice, and private-pay in-home care. The providers were located in multiple states, including Arizona, California, Illinois, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. AGG’s involvement included in-depth diligence, including a review of the providers’ licenses, permits, certifications, and accreditations, PEPPER reports, government investigations and surveys, hospice cap calculations, compliance program, background screening, HIPAA, medical directorships, admission agreements, commercial payor audits, and corporate practice of medicine. AGG also assisted with preparing the underlying investment agreement and related disclosure schedules.

  • Advised a private equity client on its acquisition of a national operator of more than 100 outpatient physical therapy clinics with a strong presence in the Southeast. AGG’s role included healthcare regulatory diligence, regulatory input for the transaction documents, and interfacing with lender counsel and reps and warranties underwriters.

  • Advised Griffin-American Healthcare REIT III, Inc. and NorthStar Healthcare Income, Inc. in their $1.125 billion joint-venture acquisition of controlling interest in Trilogy Investors LLC, the parent company of Trilogy Health Services LLC, a leading owner-operator of integrated senior healthcare campuses, operating approximately 100 properties comprised of more than 10,000 beds throughout Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky.

  • Represented a national pain management company address state and federal regulatory matters related to acquisitions and subsequent corporate reorganization.

  • Served as healthcare regulatory counsel for a large national for-profit hospice provider on day-to-day operational and compliance matters, including issues related to certification, reimbursement, payor audits and appeals, and de novo growth, as well as in acquisitions and the restructuring of the company related to private equity investment.

  • Advised and guided multiple providers through the regulatory audit process by a Medicare and Medicaid contractor.

  • Assisted with counseling a national nursing home provider on government investigations for fraud and abuse.

  • Assisted with state and federal regulatory filings for national providers of health care services across the continuum of care (i.e., short-term post-acute rehabilitation, skilled nursing, long-term care services, home health, hospice, behavioral health, etc.).

  • Counseled a non-profit healthcare provider on the Georgia Hospital Authority Act, including related Certificate of Need, licensure, and Medicaid rules and regulations related to a corporate reorganization.

  • Counseled a private equity firm investing in healthcare providers on a national basis on various state regulatory requirements related to change of ownership and change of control.

  • Represented a hospice provider in the acquisition of a hospice company with more than 60 locations in 14 states.

  • Represented a private investment management firm in an $870 million acquisition of the real estate and transfer of operations to 4 separate operating entities for over 160 senior care facilities across 12 states, including both skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.

  • Represented one of the nation’s largest private post-acute care providers in a merger with a publicly traded post-acute care provider resulting in a combined publicly traded company with annual revenues of $5.5 billion.

  • Supported complex regulatory due diligence reviews for a large private equity firm interested in acquiring an outpatient therapy provider.

Credentials

  • Emory University School of Law, Juris Doctor
  • Emory University, Master of Public Health
  • Georgia State University, Bachelor of Science - Physical Therapy,
    magna cum laude
  • Emory University, Bachelor of Science
  • Emory University, Bachelor of Arts
  • State of Georgia 2009
    • Dean’s Award, The Role of Patents Seminar, Emory University, 2008
    • Fellow, Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys, Georgia Hospital Association, 2007
    • Grant Recipient, Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program, 2006

Recognition

  • Payment Policy Committee, APTA Private Practice Section, 2017-20
  • “Rising Star,” Georgia Super Lawyers, 2019
  • Public Policy and Advocacy Committee, APTA, 2011-15
  • Board Member, Georgia Lawyers for the Arts 2017-2023

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