Ellen utilizes her in-depth knowledge of health care regulation to assist clients with government audits and investigations, M&A and financing transactions, and corporate compliance activities. She also provides strategic advice to traditional health care providers, investors, and start-ups on telehealth initiatives as well as the traditional practice of medicine across multiple states. Ellen often comments on developments in telehealth, HIPAA, and the corporate practice of medicine. As an assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ellen represented state agencies responsible for health care reimbursement, licensing, and Medicaid fraud prosecutions. She has successfully argued two cases before the US Supreme Court.
Ellen specializes in providing regulatory and strategic advice to health care providers and payors of all types, including hospitals, managed care organizations, long-term care facilities, pharmacies, pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, telemedicine providers, and urgent care and retail health clinics. She also represents companies doing business with, and investing in, health care providers. One of Ellen’s provider clients was quoted saying, “I can bring her any issue or question and she is able to quickly provide insights and answers that are practical and business-oriented. She is a true health care expert.”
Ellen's practice focuses on Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party payor audits and investigations, the development of corporate compliance programs, and hospital/physician relationships, including compliance with the state and federal anti-kickback laws and the Stark Law. In addition, she advises clients on how to deploy telemedicine and internet based health initiatives, electronic health records, and how to address HIPAA privacy and security matters.
Before joining Mintz, Ellen was an assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, representing state agencies responsible for health care reimbursement, licensing, and Medicaid fraud prosecutions.
Ellen served as a member of the advisory committee that worked with the Massachusetts Health IT Council on the development and implementation of the statewide HIT strategic plan and health information exchange.
She has written about and speaks frequently on state and federal telehealth laws, the corporate practice of medicine, compliance programs, board governance matters, HIPAA privacy and data security, technology and health care, and hospital/physician relationships. Ellen has successfully argued two cases before the US Supreme Court.
Education
- New England Law (JD)
- Simmons College (BA)
Experience
- Regularly advise hospital clients on medical staff peer review laws and internal peer review proceedings
- Advise telemedicine start-ups on state corporate practice of medicine, prescription and telehealth laws
Recognition & Awards
- Best Lawyers in America: Boston Health Care Law Lawyer of the Year (2014)
- Best Lawyers in America: Health Care Law (2008 – 2021)
- Chambers USA: Massachusetts – Healthcare (2008 – 2020)
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States for Healthcare: Service Providers (2014 – 2015)
- Included on the Massachusetts Super Lawyers: Health Care list (2004 – 2018)
- Heroes of the Field Award 2010, Massachusetts Medical Law Report
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent
Recent Insights
Viewpoints
HIPAA 2021 – What Can We Expect?
December 28, 2020 |Blog
HHS Keeps On Sprinting with Proposed Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule
December 14, 2020 |Blog
News & Press
Firm provides pro bono legal counsel to global health nonprofit on groundbreaking initiative to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Events
Join WBL, Mintz and MDLive for a webinar that will examine how COVID-19 has transformed the delivery of telehealth services in just six months and predict which changes are likely to be permanent.
Join us for our 5th Annual Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Industry Summit on Tuesday, October 27 - Wednesday, October 28 for a look at the 2021 legal and policy outlook for pharmacy benefits and the pharmaceutical supply chain in light of these pivotal events.
Viewpoints
Congress Loosens Telehealth Reimbursement Restrictions in Response to Coronavirus, but State Law Practice Requirements Remain
March 17, 2020 | Blog | By Sarah Beth Kuyers, Ellen Janos
Telehealth is going to play a critical role in the delivery of care in the coming weeks and months as health care providers respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the CDC and other public health agencies continue to recommend social distancing and self-quarantine after exposure, telehealth is a vital tool for getting both sick and healthy individuals access to health care services they need if in-person services are not necessary. The use of telehealth services should help alleviate the ever-growing pressures on health care systems as they respond to the outbreak. In light of these benefits, the Emergency Appropriations Bill passed by Congress last week includes provisions that allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to lift certain restrictions that are currently required for Medicare reimbursement of telehealth services.
Read more
Telemedicine and the Coronavirus Outbreak
March 13, 2020 | Video | By Ellen Janos
Ellen Janos discusses the role telemedicine is expected to play in the management of the coronavirus outbreak as well as the Emergency Appropriations Bill passed Congress which contains provisions intended to loosen the restrictions on Medicare reimbursment for telehealth services.
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Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
February 5, 2020 | Blog | By Rachel Irving Pitts
Artificial Intelligence is a growing part of our day-to-day life. And AI promises to improve our health care system. ML Strategies Vice President Christian Tomatsu Fjeld recently sat down with other experts for a panel discussion hosted by the San Francisco Business Times to discuss AI and some business and policy considerations across multiple industries. This viewpoint considers some of the impacts on health care specifically, and links out to the panel's discussion.
Read more
A New Decade of HIPAA: What Can We Expect?
December 23, 2019 | Blog | By Sarah Beth Kuyers, Dianne Bourque, Ellen Janos
As the decade winds down, it’s hard to believe that the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules are almost twenty years old. It has been ten years since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published the first breach notification rule – the one based on the harm standard. And the Omnibus Rule’s “low probability of compromise” standard is almost seven years old! Regulators and regulated entities are heading into the new year and decade with a lot of momentum on some important issues. As we prepare to welcome 2020, we’d like to indulge in a bit of hindsight – as well as speculation – about what the new decade might hold for HIPAA-regulated entities.
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Telemedicine Platform Recalled Over Failure to Obtain Pre-Market Clearance or Approval from FDA
August 29, 2019 | Blog | By Benjamin Zegarelli, Ellen Janos
On August 8, 2019, FDA issued a notice on its medical device recall database that a company called Opternative, Inc. had initiated a recall for the Visibly Online Refractive Vision Test, a software application offered directly to consumers. This represents a recent example of FDA taking enforcement action against a telemedicine software company that ultimately resulted in removal of the app from commercial distribution.
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OIG Approves Free Post-Discharge Care Program
March 18, 2019 | Blog | By Ellen Janos
Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued an advisory opinion (Advisory Opinion No. 19-03) (Opinion) concluding that a program consisting of free, in-home follow-up care to patients at a higher risk of admission or readmission (the Arrangement) was “low risk” under the civil monetary penalties prohibition on beneficiary inducement (the Beneficiary Inducement CMP). This comes as good news to hospitals and other providers who are focused on care coordination and value-based programs.
Read more
Strategies to Unlock AI’s Potential in Health Care, a Mintz Series
October 12, 2018 | Blog | By Ellen Janos
The Journal of the American Medical Association in its September 18, 2018, issue included four articles on deep learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In one of several viewpoint pieces, On the Prospects for a (Deep) Learning Health Care System, the author’s conclusions aptly describes why health care providers, entrepreneurs, investors and even regulators are so enthusiastic about the use of AI in health care.
Read more
CMS Proposes Changes to Telehealth Reimbursement
August 27, 2018 | Video | By Ellen Janos
Ellen Janos discusses the key developments in the proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2019 which serves a marked departure from CMS’ historical approach to reimbursing for telehealth services.
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Medicaid Reimbursement for Telehealth Services
August 27, 2018 | Video | By Ellen Janos
Ellen Janos explains that despite complex state-by-state structures, Medicaid has been receptive to reimbursing for telehealth services recognizing that patients and providers have fully embraced the technology.
Read more
Telehealth Gets a Boost in Proposed Physician Fee Schedule
July 13, 2018 | Blog | By Ellen Janos
Some very good news for the telehealth community can be found amidst the more than 1,400 pages of the proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2019(“Proposed Rule”) issued by CMS yesterday.
Read more
News & Press
Mintz Advises Partners In Health on Massachusetts COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative
April 08, 2020
Firm provides pro bono legal counsel to global health nonprofit on groundbreaking initiative to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Mintz Recognized by Chambers USA 2019
April 26, 2019
Talking to a Robot: Technology Comes to Health Insurance
August 8, 2018
This feature article discusses how artificial intelligence solutions could be used to help answer beneficiary questions, review claims. Ellen Janos, a Member and experienced health care regulatory attorney, provides commentary within the piece.
Mobile therapy apps: With suicide rates on the rise, can text chats rescue those on the edge?
June 15, 2018
This feature story discusses the rise in use of mobile therapy apps as suicide rates increase. The regulatory concerns and issues associated with these apps are highlighted within the piece and Health Law Member Ellen Janos is quoted providing commentary.
Chambers USA 2018 Ranks Mintz Attorneys & Practices
May 03, 2018
Mintz partner and Massachusetts lawyer Julie Korostoff is one of 49 attorneys recognized as “Leaders in Their Fields” by the 2018 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide. Chambers named Korostoff a “Recognized Practitioner” in Technology.
Medicare Push for Data Exchange Still Burdening Providers
April 27, 2018
This feature article discusses a Medicare proposal to expand patient access to medical records. The piece notes that while the proposal could help to streamline the use of electronic health records, it could prove to be burdensome to health care providers.
Consumers Should Be Wary of Health-Care Wearables
April 12, 2018
This feature story notes concerns in regards to the potential hacking of all the data being collected by makers of personal health care devices. Mintz Health Law Member Ellen Janos is among the industry sources providing commentary within the piece.
Medicare Patient Data Vulnerable to Hackers
April 10, 2018
Health Law Member Ellen Janos provides commentary in this feature article discussing the recommendations of a recent Government Accountability Office report noting the need for increased data security oversight by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Mintz Member and health care attorney Ellen Janos is quoted in this article, which notes that Medicare plans will make sharing patient records easier. Ellen is among those sources quoted discussing the potential impact of the plan which would give patients more control over their medical data.
Upcoming Rule Would Curtail Blocking Exchange of Health Data
January 11, 2018
Ellen Janos, a Member in Mintz’s health law practice, quoted in Bloomberg BNA regarding the upcoming information blocking ruling and whether or not it will curb the blocking of the exchange of health data.
Roadmap Gives Directions to Nationwide Health-Data Exchange
January 5, 2018
Ellen Janos is a Member in the Health Law Practice at Mintz. The government issued a draft of the Trusted Exchange Framework, released on January 5th, encouraging health-data networks to link up and provide access to each other.
Mass. Digital Health Developments: What To Know Now
September 22, 2017
Member Ellen Janos is a health law and health care enforcement defense attorney. She authored a column for Law360 column on the topic of digital health. Ellen points out some questions to consider when assessing a digital health service or product.
Best Lawyers named 85 Mintz attorneys to its 2018 list of The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Mintz attorneys Matthew J. Gardella and Samuel M. Tony Starr were named “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practice areas.
Eighty-Four Mintz Attorneys Named 2016 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
October 18, 2016
Fifty-three Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2016 and thirty-one have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars. The findings will be published in the November 2016 issue of Boston Magazine and in a stand-alone magazine, New England Super Lawyers.
Best Lawyers named 73 Mintz attorneys to its 2017 list of The Best Lawyers in America. Mintz attorneys selected for inclusion in this year’s list span 44 practice areas.
Firm’s National Healthcare Practice, NY Corporate/M&A and Litigation: General Commercial Among Newest Rankings
The 2015 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide names 52 Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. attorneys as “Leaders in Their Fields.”
Julie Korostoff, Co-chair of Mintz’s IT Transactions & Outsourcing Practice, and Mintz partner Ellen Janos are participating in a panel on “Operating a Successful Telemedicine Program” at the 2015 American Telemedicine Association Annual International Meeting & Trade Show.
Mintz partner Julie Korostoff is giving a presentation on "IT Contracting for Telemedicine” and participating with Mintz Partner Ellen Janos in a panel on legal and contract issues facing telemedicine programs at the 2014 American Telemedicine Association Annual International Meeting & Trade Show.
Mintz Wins Dismissal of False Claims Act Charges Against Shopko Stores
November 13, 2013
Events
Moderator
Dec
1
2020
Telehealth: What's Next?
Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation (WBL) Event
Online Event
Moderator
Mar
25
2020
Telehealth: Keeping Up with the Fast-Moving Federal and State Regulatory Landscape During the COVID-19 Pandemic
View the Webinar Recording
Speaker
May
13
2019
Regulatory and Business Strategies for MedTech and Telehealth
Effective Business Planning: Additional Regulatory and Policy Challenges
Wiley Rein LLP, 1776 K Street, NW
Speaker
May
2
2019
4th Annual Mintz /ML Strategies Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Industry Summit
Mintz and ML Strategies
Boston, MA
Panelist
Dec
13
2018
HFMA Annual Compliance Update
Compliance Roles and Responsibilities in Relation to Disruptive Technology
Offices of Deloitte & Touche, 200 Berkley Street, Boston, MA
Panelist
Speaker
Speaker
Panelist
Panelist