Former DaVita IKC General Counsel Stephen Bentfield Joins Crowell & Moring

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Apr 03, 2024, 09:30 ET

Brings experience focused on complex health care regulatory and transactional matters

DENVER, April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Stephen Bentfield, former vice president and group general counsel at DaVita Integrated Kidney Care, has joined Crowell & Moring's Health Care Group as a partner in the Denver office, expanding the firm's regulatory and transactional depth in the health care industry.

Former DaVita IKC General Counsel Stephen Bentfield Joins Crowell & Moring

Bentfield's practice will focus on fraud and abuse matters, organizational compliance programs and policies, and managed care. He will advise clients on value-based care -- an emerging priority in the health care industry that is focused on quality of care, provider performance, and the patient experience. In addition, his practice will encompass health care regulatory issues, including reimbursement for care, licensure, and state regulatory issues. Bentfield has extensive experience drafting contracts, advising on deal structuring and negotiation, including the creation of joint ventures and other new corporate structures, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

As chief legal counsel for DaVita IKC, Bentfield led a legal team responsible for structuring, advising, and operating the company's portfolio of renal-specific accountable care organizations, risk-based management services agreements with Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans, commercial risk contracts, and other value-based and integrated care arrangements.

"Stephen brings over a decade of experience structuring the legal operations and infrastructure of a Fortune 200 health care company's value-based care business and counseling its top executives on matters that intersect with federal and state health care laws and regulations," said Troy Barsky, co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Health Care Group. "His in-house experience at DaVita gives Stephen a unique perspective into the nuanced art of balancing business objectives with legal and regulatory risk mitigation. This insight will resonate with health care clients of all sizes, further enhancing Crowell's regulatory and transactional capabilities."

Bentfield structured and negotiated a variety of value-based care arrangements with commercial payors and government programs, and he contracted a multi-company network of over 2,100 participating physicians, to achieve DaVita IKC's business objectives. His experience includes devising arrangements with referral sources, beneficiaries, and other parties to further value-based care cost and quality goals and minimize legal and regulatory enforcement risk. He negotiated contracts with commercial payors, managed care organizations, Medicare ACOs, physician groups, health systems, and other risk-bearing organizations.

"We have continued to strategically expand our health care practice to meet the diverse and complex transactional, regulatory, and litigation needs of clients," said Meshach Rhoades, managing partner of Crowell & Moring's Denver office. "Adding a health care regulatory partner of Stephen's caliber, coupled with his valuable in-house experience, to our growing Denver office, is really exciting."

Bentfield is the latest addition to the firm's Health Care Group. In January, Crowell brought on the health care regulatory team of Linda Malek, Jason Johnson, and Blaze Waleski in New York.

"As a former Crowell client, I have a long-standing relationship with the firm and know first-hand the insights and experience that the attorneys in Crowell's health care practice bring," said Bentfield. "I have a deep understanding of applicable federal and state legal frameworks to effectively counsel C-suite executives and other business leaders on complex health care regulatory and other legal issues impacting their strategic goals and day-to-day business operations. I am excited to contribute these skills to deepen the firm's health care regulatory and transactional bench."

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia. Drawing on significant government, business, industry, and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and corporate and transactional issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service, as well as its programs and initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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