Senior Attorney
Laura is a former health care fraud prosecutor who has extensive experience in health care law, specifically fraud and abuse laws. She actively practices in Ohio, Idaho, and Colorado.
As a former Deputy Attorney General for Idaho’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Special Assistant United States Attorney, Laura has represented the government in both criminal health care fraud prosecutions as well as civil cases under the False Claims Act. She has trained extensively with the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units in criminal and civil health care fraud. She has given presentations to national audiences on topics such as the use of statistical sampling in health care fraud cases, and Anti-Kickback law violations.
In addition to in-depth understanding of health care fraud, Laura has represented physicians in matters before state licensing boards, before the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Civil rights for HIPAA privacy rule violations, and matters involving physician service contracting.
Laura has hands-on clinical operations experience. As general counsel and member of a medical service organization, Laura revised front-office and back-office operations and trained physicians and their staff on regulatory compliance. A large portion of this business involved transitioning physician practices from paper charts to could-based EHR and practice management systems, and assisting clients in earning maximum EHR meaningful use incentive dollars from CMS. Earlier in her career, she managed an outpatient clinic, during which time she performed every role from patient registration and pre-authorization, to medical assisting, to billing, to hiring and firing, to janitorial services. Laura understands the fast pace, stress, surprises, and complexities of clinical operations.
Laura grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting. She worked with the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio, and taught theater classes in the Cleveland area. She attended the University of Toledo College of Law, where she competed on the Moot Court Trial Advocacy Team, and earned the honor of highest grade in Prosecutor Clinic and Trial Practice.
In her spare time, Laura drives her two teenage competitive ski racer children up and down treacherous mountain roads to practice and compete in USSA races throughout the Mountain West. She is also a ceramic artist, creating both practical pottery on the wheel and wildlife sculptures.