Houston Healthcare & Medical Lawyers

What Sets Us Apart

Most Healthcare Law Firms Handle Transactions or Defense. We Handle Both – and Have Since 1987.

At Hendershot Cowart P.C., we've represented Houston physicians, healthcare entrepreneurs, and healthcare businesses through every stage of the practice lifecycle. Whether you're signing your first physician employment agreement, launching a med spa under Texas's corporate practice of medicine rules, or responding to a notice you weren't expecting – we're the firm you won't outgrow.

Our approach: We tell you what's happening, what your options are, and what we recommend – in plain language, without the jargon. And we move quickly, because most of the matters clients bring us have a deadline attached.

Healthcare Law Representation from Formation Through Defense

Our team of healthcare lawyers regularly advises physicians, providers, and healthcare enterprises on a variety of legal and regulatory matters.

Medical Contract Review and Negotiation

Most professionals who call us about a contract dispute wish they had called us before they signed. We review, draft, and negotiate healthcare contracts so you know what you're agreeing to – before you're bound by it. 

We routinely negotiate, draft, and review:

• Physician employment agreements and independent contractor agreements
• Physician non-compete agreements and non-solicitation agreements – including enforceability review for physicians, PAs, and NPs considering a job change or new practice
• Medical director agreements
• Space and equipment leases
• Mobile diagnostic testing agreements 
• Billing agreements and management services agreements
• Compensation agreements, bonus structures, and buy-in arrangements

We have extensive experience in establishing unique compensation plans, buy-in arrangements, bonus structures, exit strategies and buyout formulas. In any situation, our goal is a contract that serves your interests now and doesn't create exposure later.

Starting or Restructuring a Healthcare Practice

Whether you're a physician leaving employment to open your own clinic, an NP or PA ready to practice independently, or a healthcare entrepreneur partnering with a physician, the decisions you make at startup determine your compliance exposure for years to come. Our medical practice set-up attorneys handle entity formation, corporate practice of medicine compliance, MSO and DSO structuring, and practice mergers and acquisitions – from your first decision through exit planning.

We also counsel healthcare entrepreneurs and businesses on:

• Compliance with the Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, EKRA, and other federal fraud and abuse laws through our healthcare regulatory compliance attorneys
• Telemedicine and telehealth practice structuring under state and federal law
• Direct primary care (DPC) practice formation and compliance
• Medical director agreements and clinical supervision arrangements for non-physician-owned entities
• GLP-1, weight loss, and aesthetics clinic structuring under Texas law

Healthcare Litigation

Business disputes happen in healthcare just as they do in any industry, and they often start the same way – a partner stops cooperating, a contract doesn't get honored, or someone walks out and immediately starts competing. The intersection of regulatory law and commercial litigation, however, makes these disputes more complex – and more consequential.

Our healthcare litigation attorneys handle:

• Physician employment agreement disputes
• Medical practice splits and partner disputes
• MSO and DSO disputes
• Breach of contract and partnership disagreements
• Employment disputes within healthcare organizations
• Enforcement of Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act provisions against third-party payors, including claims for principal, fees, and penalties

We have brought successful claims in Texas courts and arbitrations to recover what healthcare providers are owed under the Prompt Payment Act – a practice area few Texas healthcare law firms actively pursue.

Defense Against Government Investigations and Audits

Many Texas healthcare providers receive their first audit notice on a Friday afternoon. By Monday, they're already behind. If your practice receives an audit notice, an OIG subpoena, or a Civil Investigative Demand, what you submit first – and how quickly you respond – matters more than almost anything else in the process.

We defend healthcare providers and healthcare businesses in all types of federal and state healthcare fraud investigations and audits, including:

• Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE fraud allegations
• Stark Law (self-referral) investigations
• Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) violations
• Federal False Claims Act (FCA) violations
• OIG investigations and subpoenas
• Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs)
• RAC (Recovery Audit Contractor) audits
• UPIC (Unified Program Integrity Contractor) audits
• Novitas and Qlarant audits
• Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC) audits
• Texas Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MCFU) investigations
• Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) audits
• MCO audits
• Compounding pharmacy fraud matters
• Prescription fraud allegations
• Medicare billing privilege revocations and appeals
• Medicare exclusion proceedings
• Violations of the 60-day rule

Most providers we work with aren't fraudulent. They're nurses, physicians, and business owners doing their best in a complex billing environment. We help them respond correctly, protect their billing privileges, and – when possible – avoid repayment demands altogether.

Even if you have been told you are not the target of an investigation, contact an attorney before providing any information. Investigators frequently question individuals and businesses before formally opening an investigation. What you say in those early conversations can shape everything that follows.

Medical & Professional License Defense

A single complaint – even one based on false or incomplete information – can trigger an investigation that takes months to resolve and follows you for the rest of your career. Whether you received a letter from the Texas Medical Board, are preparing for a hearing, or want to get ahead of a situation before it escalates, we handle every step of the process. 

Your licensing board doesn't work like a court. The process is different, the stakes are just as high, and the outcome affects not just this job – but every job you'll ever have. Protecting your professional license is our top priority when state boards investigate complaints or regulatory violations.

• Texas Medical Board (TMB) defense: Physician license protection during TMB investigations, complaint responses, and board hearings
• Self-reporting arrests, criminal history, disciplinary actions, or adverse peer reviews to licensing boards
• Texas Board of Nursing defense: Nursing license protection and defense against BON investigations
• Physician Assistant license defense: Texas PA board investigation defense and compliance counseling
• Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council defense
• Professional license defense: License protection for all healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, dentists, occupational and physical therapists, and licensed clinical social workers and psychologists
• License suspension and revocation appeals: Emergency relief and appellate representation for suspended or revoked licenses

Your response to board requests for information is a critical part of your defense – and drafting it without an attorney is one of the most common mistakes providers make. We step in immediately, manage the timeline, and make sure nothing you submit is used against you.

Don't draft your response alone. Contact us before you submit anything to your licensing board.

Compliance Programs

Healthcare compliance touches nearly every part of your practice, from billing and documentation to marketing and referral arrangements. Our healthcare regulatory compliance attorneys build individualized compliance programs for practices, clinics, ASCs, pharmacies, and other healthcare entities, and defend clients when regulators come calling.

Telemedicine and Telehealth

Texas law imposes specific requirements on the practice of telemedicine – including the corporate practice of medicine prohibition, prescribing limitations, and informed consent requirements. We counsel healthcare clients on structuring a telemedicine or telehealth practice in compliance with state and federal law, and we provide responsive defense against telemedicine fraud investigations when they arise.

We Represent Healthcare Providers and Healthcare Businesses of Every Type

We have represented nearly every type of healthcare provider and healthcare business operating in Texas. Our clients include: