Laura Ellis & Donna Thiel on Success in Corporate Integrity Agreements [Podcast]

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Donna Thiel

Laura Ellis and Donna Thiel take some time out at HCCA’s Compliance Institute to sit down with Kortney and discuss what makes for a successful CIA, including:

  • Building a relationship with Laura as the OIG Monitor and Donna as the Chief Compliance Officer;
  • The refreshing view the OIG takes on Corporate Integrity Agreements;
  • The importance of honest communication with and between the CCO and Monitor;
  • Why Compliance Officers should try to be involved in the negotiations before the CIA is even signed;
  • How to get upper management to understand the goals of the CIA and the OIG (they want to help you, not hurt you);
  • How setting five-year goals makes everything go more smoothly;
  • The most common challenges compliance officers face under Corporate Integrity Agreements – from Laura and Donna’s perspectives; and
  • The positive results of working hard under a CIA.

For a copy of Laura & Donna’s slides from their Compliance Institute presentation “Making the Most of a CIA”, click here.

Laura Ellis is a senior counsel in the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Ellis works with the Department of Justice on false claims act cases, monitors corporate integrity agreements, and specializes in exclusion appeals.

Prior to joining the Office of Counsel to the Inspector, Ms. Ellis served for five years as an attorney in the Department’s Office of General Counsel, CMS Division. At the Office of General Counsel, Ms. Ellis worked primarily on Medicare reimbursement litigation. Ms. Ellis graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1993 and worked at a legal aid office for four and a half years before joining HHS.

Donna Thiel is the Director for the Compliance Integrity team, a consulting division of ProviderTrust. Donna works with compliance officers across the country to help reduce the stress and anxiety of this very difficult role.

Donna assists Compliance Officers by providing consulting services in areas such as strengthening compliance programs, managing government investigations, implementing and managing a Corporate Integrity Agreement and preparing for the various regulatory changes that impact healthcare providers. Donna has been in the post-acute healthcare setting for over 30 years.