Healthcare Consulting Division

SourceGroup's healthcare consulting division provides legal, compliance and operational consultation and advice to rural and smaller hospitals, long term care facilities and independent physician practices.

SourceGroup's consulting division is lead by James Abelsen who served for over 25 years as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer with SMDC Health and Essentia Health System in Duluth, Minnesota, one of the Midwest's largest health care organizations.

The health care consulting division is staffed by senior-level health care executives with many years of experience dealing on a practical level with the legal, regulatory and operational challenges faced on a daily basis by physicians, hospitals and long term care facilities. The services we offer include the following:

Legal and Regulatory Services

• Negotiation and handling of mergers, acquisitions and restructuring; drafting of related documents and assistance with implementation
• Assistance in developing strategies for positive physician/hospital relationships and strategies for partial or total integration
• Assistance with physician contracting, development of recruitment incentives, intervention in practice and professional issues
• Assistance with contracting matters including negotiation of terms, document drafting, contract enforcement and dispute resolution
• Management of patient claims and disputes,  liability claims and personnel issues
• Advice and assistance with responses to governmental inquiries and investigation; representation before governmental agencies
• Analysis and advice regarding tax exemption issues
• Review and recommendations concerning organizational articles, bylaws, policies, and other governing documents

Corporate and Regulatory Compliance

• Assistance with developing and implementing a formal program of Corporate Compliance to ensure adherence with all laws and regulations affecting the organization
• Assistance with development of the organizations annual compliance plan and compliance audits
• Conducting Board and employee compliance education
• Assist with or conduct internal investigations and audits

Operations and Management Services

• Coding and billing assistance
• Provider based billing and appropriate revenue enhancement strategies
• Assistance with all aspects of corporate insurance activity and risk assumption
• Development of risk management and patient relations programs
• Development of physician and hospital integration strategies
• Analysis of information technology security
• Financing options and strategies
• Guidance regarding compliance with Fraud and Abuse laws, Stark laws and other regulatory mandates

James Abelsen
Business Operations and Corporate Advisor
 
Jim Abelsen brings over 25 years of health care executive leadership, program development and regulatory oversight to Source group's Consulting Division. As Executive Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel with SMDC Health System and Essentia Health, Jim has been intimately involved in the development and growth of one of the Midwest's largest and most well respected health care organizations.
 
Mergers, acquisitions and restructurings
As General Counsel for the Essentia Health founding organizations (Duluth Clinic and St. Mary's Medical Center), Jim was responsible for all legal and regulatory matters within the system. During his tenure the organization grew from 135 physicians practicing out of three clinic sites to over 500 physicians and providers operating out of more than 25 locations throughout the upper Midwest. The system now consists of clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, a captive insurance company and many ancillary businesses. During each expansion or acquisition, Jim was intimately involved in negotiating the terms of the agreements, and successfully concluding the transactions.
 
Ethical and Religious Directives
There are few health care lawyers and administrators experienced in structuring complex mergers between Catholic hospitals and secular physician practices. During each Essentia merger involving a Catholic entity, Jim managed the legal process and developed a structure to ensure legal and technical integration, while maintaining enough independence for the merging entities so as not to violate the Ethical and Religious Directives of the Catholic church.
 
Tax Exemption and Bond Financing
In collaboration with tax and finance counsel, Jim converted nearly all acquired or merged taxable entities to 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organizations, which then allowed for the issuance of tax exempt bonds. He also oversaw the legal and regulatory compliance work for a number of major bond issues working with underwriters, rating agencies, outside bond counsel, and bond insurers.
 
Program Development and Management
Throughout his career Jim managed and directed, and in many cases initiated and developed, a number of non-legal programs and departments within SMDC and Essentia, including Regulatory and Corporate Compliance, Internal Audit, Risk Management and Patient Relations, Workers Compensation, IT Security, Insurance and Claims Management, Fundraising and Development, and operation of the organizations off-shore captive insurance company.