Keith Benjamin Lefkowitz

Bar / Professional Activity

• State Bar of Texas

Videos

• Healthcare and regulatory compliance attorney Keith Lefkowitz has helped hundreds of clients establish medical practices and wellness clinics, including med spas and IV hydration clinics. Listen in as Keith discusses the proper setup of med spas and other healthcare enterprises, ownership restrictions in Texas, and business models that allow non-physicians to participate in this booming segment of the healthcare industry., Start Your Own Med Spa Webinar: Licensing, Compliance, and Ownership Models in Texas, 2024
• Texas’ Corporate Practice of Medicine doctrine prohibits non-physicians from owning a medical practice or employing physicians. The intent of the law is to prevent undue control or influence over a licensed physician’s professional medical judgment, ethics, and patient care., Can a Non-Physician Own a Med Spa?, 2022
• Under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive; advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and advertisements cannot be unfair. Listen in as healthcare and regulatory compliance attorney Keith Lefkowitz discusses FTC compliance when making healthcare claims about med spa or IV hydration services., FTC Advertising and Marketing Compliance for Med Spas, 2024
• To avoid government scrutiny, medical spa owners and affiliates must comply with all relevant regulations, including Texas’ Corporate Practice of Medicine (CPOM) doctrine, Stark Law, and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS)., What Is the Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine?, 2022

Representative Clients

• Successfully established numerous medical practices in compliance with applicable federal and state regulations, from business formation to company and physician agreements to the negotiation of commercial lease space.
• Structured numerous management service organizations in compliance with Texas’ Prohibition Against the Corporate Practice of Medicine.
• Performed risk assessment of compliance program policies and structure, identifying areas of risk and the relative severity of each risk, for a regional laboratory care provider and a third-party administrator of health insurance plans.
• Provided critical legal guidance to physicians and healthcare executives regarding HIPAA, the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, and commercial real estate compliance.
• Reviewed, drafted, and negotiated physician employment agreements, medical director agreements, management services agreements, partnership agreements, business associate agreements, patient transfer agreements, and more, for a diverse array of healthcare clients.

Honors

• Keith Lefkowitz has been included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America since 2024 for his contributions in Corporate Law. Keith’s meticulous approach to corporate legal matters has earned him a well-deserved spot among the rising stars in the legal profession., Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, Best Lawyers, 2025

Educational Background

• B.S., magna cum laude, Political Science and Sociology (double major), The University of Houston

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Per the Texas Business & Commerce Code, all DSOs in Texas are required to register and then renew their registrations annually with the Texas Secretary of State. This requirement was put in place by the Texas Legislature in 2015 as part of a broader program to permit, regulate, and oversee support organizations catering to the dental industry, and is meant to ensure transparency, accountability, and the protection of patient interests., Author, Dentists: Is Your DSO Registered with the State of Texas?, 2024
• On January 9, 2025, the Texas Medical Board (TMB) implemented comprehensive changes to its rules, marking a significant shift in how medical spas, IV hydration clinics, and other healthcare facilities operate in Texas. These comprehensive changes reflect TMB’s effort to modernize healthcare regulations in Texas while maintaining patient safety standards. Consult with legal counsel to ensure full compliance with these new regulations, particularly in areas where additional guidance may be forthcoming., Author, Major Changes to Texas Medical Board Rules: What Healthcare Providers Need to Know, Healthcare, 2025
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently updated its rule interpreting the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) “60-day Rule.” The changes were published on December 9, 2024, and became effective on January 1, 2025. CMS changed the definition of what it means to “identify” an overpayment and codified the six-month investigation grace period. Under the old rule, a person has identified an overpayment when the person had or should have, through the exercise of reasonable diligence, determined that the person received an overpayment and quantified the amount of the overpayment. In the 2016 final Rule, CMS explains that “reasonable diligence” was demonstrated through timely, good faith investigation of credible information, which is at most six months from receipt of the credible information. Therefore, the old rule provided a total of eight months to identify, quantify, and return overpayments.The new rules keep the same timeframe with new language., Author, CMS Updates 60-Day Rule for Medicare Overpayments Home Blog 2025 January CMS Updates 60-Day ..., Healthcare, 2025
• Physicians and practice managers: Keep an eye on medical billing or health services contractors acting on your behalf. Your practice is liable for any violations of state and federal healthcare fraud laws, including Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the False Claims Act. Careless or improper billing and collections can also lead to recoupments and collection rates far below industry standards. Health insurance SIUs and Medicare auditors are on alert for billing contractors that violate plan agreements and abuse the law., Author, Healthcare Providers: You May Be Liable for Billing Company Fraud, Negligence, 2022
• In October, the Texas Medical Board addressed the emergence of medical business models that may violate Texas regulations. Specifically, TMB President Dr. Sherif Zaafran, M.D., FASA, cited facilities offering intravenous (IV) vitamin therapy or hydration. Dr. Zaafran advised physicians to seek legal guidance before engaging in these new models, or any form of medical intervention in the state., Author, TMB Cracking Down on IV Hydration, 2023
• To protect patients seeking addiction treatment, the federal government passed strict regulations limiting the disclosure of substance abuse patient records. Substance abuse treatment programs must not only comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) but also Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records regulations at 42 CFR Part 2., Author, Stricter Than HIPAA: Is Your Substance Abuse Or Mental Health Program In Compliance With 42 CFR Part 2?, 2024
• Cosmetic injections, such as Botox and dermal fillers, and weight-loss injections, such as Wegovy® and Ozempic®, are popular offerings at med spas, weight-loss clinics, and dermatology practices.But are they considered the practice of medicine in Texas?Yes. Cosmetic injections do involve the practice of medicine in Texas. And, by law, estheticians and cosmetologists can only perform injections, including Botox and fillers, under the authority of a physician., Author, Do Cosmetic Injections Involve The Practice Of Medicine?, 2024

Firm News (Newsletters)

• We are proud to announce that three of our esteemed attorneys at Hendershot Cowart P.C. have been included in the 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, a prestigious, peer-reviewed honor that reflects their excellence in the legal field and high esteem among their peers., Hendershot Cowart Attorneys Recognized in 2025 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America

• Healthcare