Peter J. Martin

Helping adapt to changes in the Massachusetts Medicaid program

Peter has been on the front lines of reforms to the Medicaid program in Massachusetts, helping healthcare clients constantly adjust and comply with fast-paced changes. For example, he formed Accountable Care Organizations for physician practices and hospitals, which are required to provide the whole range of services, including behavioral health. “When this process involves community partners, I’ve assisted several community partners with negotiating collaborative agreements.” The client is awaiting selection and finalizing of a contract, having created an entity and made its proposal to MassHealth.

Helping a non-profit find a way to accommodate unforeseen changes

Several charitable and educational nonprofits rely on Peter for legal counsel, including a land conservancy. “The group’s mission is focused on three river watersheds in central Massachusetts, stemming from a bequest in the 1970s for the purchase of fee interests of land in one town.” The gift has grown significantly and the town has too, and environmental science has evolved over the past 50 years. “In order to protect more land and still serve the bequest’s purpose,” Peter noted, “I drafted and submitted a Deviation Complaint to the court for relief and negotiated with the Attorney General’s Office for its OK.” The Attorney General’s office assented to the requested relief, which the court subsequently granted, so that now the group will use its resources for land protection and stewardship projects with many fewer restrictions. “This approach is significant for other nonprofits as a practical way to accommodate the fact that times, science and other conditions might have moved on since the terms of an original bequest.” 

Helping a long-term care provider expand its continuum of care

Health care providers often seek ways to increase financial stability by diversifying their lines of business to include health care services appropriate to various stages of their patients’ lives. One client, which operates a skilled nursing facility and an assisted living facility, has sought Peter’s help in acquiring a Medicare-certified home health agency business, so that the client can expand its elder care services to include in-home care. “Capturing these patients at an earlier stage in the aging process both helps ease their transitions to more intensive forms of care, but also positions the client to take a broader role in being responsible for the overall health of an expanded patient population, which is important for the client’s participation in value-based and population-health centered payment systems.”

Other Experience 

• Helping a human services provider expand its suite of services to vulnerable populations by acquiring a home health agency 
• Working with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office on the distribution of charitable assets following the closure of educational institutions, including colleges and private high schools 
• Assisting medical practices and their owners with transitioning out of active practice management through acquisitions by larger multi-site practice platforms 
• Advising medical practitioners on cross-border and telehealth regulatory issues 
• Negotiating digital rights agreements on behalf of college athletic conferences