Bar Admissions

North Carolina

Education

Duke University, J.D., magna cum laude, 2007, Order of the Coif; Staff Editor, Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy, 2006-07

Duke University, B.A., summa cum laude, 2003, Phi Beta Kappa

Profile

Jennifer Hutchens co-chairs the firm’s Health Care Practice Group. She represents health care providers, ancillary service providers, licensed agencies, nonprofits, management services organizations and other industry-based clients of all sizes. Jennifer takes pride in building and maintaining long-term relationships with clients and strives to be a trusted partner and adviser.

Her transactional practice is focused on joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and other affiliation and collaboration transactions, as well as health care contracting matters (professional services, managed and value-based care, and other contracts). Jennifer strives to apply her strong regulatory background to advocate for her health care clients in high-stakes corporate, commercial and risk management matters. She also serves as outside general counsel to several health care clients.

Jennifer has deep experience interpreting federal and state health care guidance, including the Anti-Kickback and Stark laws, corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting prohibitions, scope of practice rules, surprise/balance billing laws and price transparency rules. She enjoys helping clients achieve their strategic, operational and compliance goals in the midst of this complex and highly technical regulatory landscape. She regularly advises clients on topics in health innovation, ranging from telehealth to concierge medicine.

Honors & Awards

Experience

Experience

  • Outside General Counsel

  • Serves as outside general counsel to the national testing organization for the profession of optometry. 

  • Serves as outside general counsel to an innovative joint venture – composed of 12 health systems – formed to operate a provider-led and patient-centered health plan participating in the North Carolina Managed Medicaid Program.

  • Serves as outside general counsel to a North Carolina critical access hospital, providing advice on legal, transactional and strategic matters.

  • Serves as outside general counsel to a collaborative business venture between seven behavioral health providers pursuing innovation in care in North Carolina.

  • Transaction/Corporate Health Care Counsel

  • Represents a national health care corporation in the negotiation and development of joint venture operations with other hospitals and physician partners.

  • Counsels a national health care corporation in its purchases of a wide range of business operations, including dialysis clinics, vascular access centers and physician practice management services.

  • Advises health care industry stakeholders (including providers and professional and trade organizations) in the development of business relationships, affiliations, combinations and integrations.

  • Assisted with corporate representation of a North Carolina insurance company in acquiring minority interest in an urgent care company with multistate clinic operations.

  • Strategic, Operational and Compliance Counsel

  • Counsels a variety of health care industry clients in connection with telemedicine, digital health, remote patient monitoring/prescribing and virtual care (e.g., informed consent, state professional licensure, scope of practice, telemedicine credentialing and reimbursement).

  • Interprets federal and state health care guidance in connection with surprise/balance billing and price transparency for hospitals and health systems, ancillary service providers and other stakeholders.

  • Counsels national radiology platform and its affiliated practices and service lines on a variety of corporate, health care, operational and regulatory matters.

  • Provided comprehensive counsel to a North Carolina hospital in connection with its pilot virtual hospital program offering for orthopedic patient recovery.

  • Offers best practices advice and guidance to clients pursuing concierge or other alternative medical practice models, ranging from provider/patient contracts and related policies and procedures, to compliance (including federal law issues such as Medicare billing (opt out) rules as well as unique state law issues such as scope of practice, fee-splitting and insurance laws).

  • Led health care due diligence review and analysis on behalf of an international public health care company for its $2 billion acquisition of a home dialysis equipment maker.

  • Serves as local regulatory counsel in connection with large transactions, advising out-of-state buyers/sellers on state and local laws and regulations in the Carolinas.

News & Events

News

Events

Insights

Affiliations

Professional Affiliations

  • Robinson Bradshaw Health Care Practice Group, Co-Chair
  • American Health Law Association, Development and Advancement Council, 2020-present; Nominating Committee, 2019-20; Fundamentals in Health Law Conference Planning Committee, 2017-present; Governance Advisory Council, 2017-19; Young Professionals Delegate to Board, 2016-17; Young Professionals Council, Chair, 2014-16 (Vice-Chair, 2013-14); Hospital and Health Systems Practice Group Leadership Development Program, 2012-13; Best Practices Health Law Curriculum Steering Committee, 2014
  • Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellow, 2021
  • North Carolina Bar Association, Health Law Section Council, Chair, 2017-18; Vice Chair, 2016-17; Secretary, 2015-16; Treasurer, 2014-15; Member, 2009-12 and 2013-16
  • American College of Healthcare Executives, Member
  • Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation, Member
  • Greater Charlotte Healthcare Executives, Member
  • Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards, Member
  • American Bar Foundation Fellow
  • Robinson Bradshaw Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, Member
  • Robinson Bradshaw Business Development Committee, Member

Community Affiliations

  • Duke Alumni Admissions Program, Admissions Interviewer, 2007-present
  • Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Scholar & Alumna, 1999-present
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