Unclaimed Property Issues in Healthcare: Multi-Party Transactions, Federal and State Law Tension, Audit Strategies

Navigating the management of unclaimed property in the healthcare industry is challenging given the complexity of healthcare transactions involving numerous parties, an increase in mergers and acquisitions, and the tension between federal and state law requirements. As a result, an increasing number of healthcare providers are becoming targets for unclaimed property audits.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted unclaimed property laws that require companies to report and remit unclaimed property. Unclaimed property refers to assets that have not been claimed by their rightful owners within a specified period. In the healthcare industry, types of unclaimed property include patient credit balances, accounts payable checks, refund checks, and more.

 Difficulties may arise where state unclaimed property laws and subsequent audit processes conflict with federal law including data privacy requirements and billing and payment practices. Challenges also arise when determining whether any such property exists where the business of healthcare has rapidly evolved with an increase in M&A transactions and private equity deals; and where individual patient transactions are complex and involve numerous parties including multiple providers and payers. 

Counsel should understand the complexities of managing unclaimed property in the healthcare industry and how to help clients mitigate the risk of and manage the process of unclaimed property audits.

Listen as our expert panel provides an overview of unclaimed property issues in the healthcare industry and offers best practices for compliance and navigating unclaimed property audits.

I. Introduction

A. Unclaimed property overview

B. Types of unclaimed property in healthcare industry

II. Healthcare industry challenges when managing unclaimed property

III. Managing federal and state law requirements

IV. Compliance strategies

V. Navigating unclaimed property audits

VI. Practitioner takeaways

The panel will review these and other important considerations:

• Why is managing unclaimed property more challenging in the healthcare industry?
• What may be required of healthcare providers in state unclaimed property audits? How should counsel and clients navigate potential conflicts with federal law requirements (e.g., where auditors request information subject to federal privacy protections)?
• What are best practices to mitigate risk of state unclaimed property audits? For navigating an audit?