Meet Michael H. Cohen

Michael H. Cohen focuses on healthcare & life sciences clients such as physician practices, medical device and dietary supplement manufacturers, and healthcare ventures (from medical spas to MSOs to mobile medical apps). Michael served as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Author of 6 leading books on healthcare law and policy, Michael is a thought leader pioneering legal strategies and solutions for clients in traditional and emerging health and wellness markets.

Michael counsels healthcare clinics, healthcare institutions, healthcare providers, dietary supplement companies, health insurance organizations, medical spas, medical device makers, telemedicine ventures, online health and wellness companies, mobile medical app developers, wearable / virtual / augmented reality / cognitive health technology ventures, sleep and addiction treatment facilities, integrative medicine centers, medical management organizations (MSOs), medical and osteopathic doctors, psychologists, nurses, dentists, psychologists, chiropractors, and celebrity healthcare doctors and healers.

Michael’s areas of expertise include: HIPAA, FDA/FTC compliance, Medicare, telemedicine, fraud and abuse (Stark and anti-kickback; Business & Professions Code 650), concierge medicine, informed consent, off-label use, pharmacy law, telemedicine, integrative medicine, anti-aging and regenerative medicine, and other areas.  He counsels on regulatory and corporate matters, as well as on dispute resolution and litigation.

Background

Following law school, Michael served as judicial clerk for the Honorable Thomas P. Griesa, United States District Judge in the federal Southern District of New York.

Michael started his legal career as an associate in the Corporate Department at Davis Polk & Wardwell, focusing on banking, securities law, and mergers & acquisitions.

He then was on the faculty of several law schools, teaching civil procedure, conflicts of laws, constitutional law, criminal law, health law, and insurance law.

Michael next served as Director of Legal Programs at the Center for Alternative Medicine Research and Education (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), and then the Harvard Medical School Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies and Harvard Medical School Osher Institute. He was also Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, with a joint appointment as Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health.

While on faculty at Harvard Medical School, Michael was Principal Investigator on two grants, Legal and Social Barriers to Alternative Therapies (National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health) and Pediatric Use of Complementary Therapies by Parents: Ethical and Policy Choices (Greenwall Foundation), and Co-Investigator on several other funded projects, including Models of Integrative Care in an Academic Health Center. Among his activities, Michael pioneered the course, “Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Health Law and Policy” at the Harvard School of Public Health. He also was awarded a Fortieth Anniversary Senior Fellowship at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School.

Michael has published over 100 articles, and books including: Creative Writing for Lawyers (Citadel Press, 1990); Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Legal Boundaries and Regulatory Perspectives (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998); Beyond Complementary Medicine: Legal and Ethical Perspectives on Health Care and Human Evolution (University of Michigan Press, 2000); Future Medicine: Ethical Dilemmas, Regulatory Challenges, and Therapeutic Pathways to Health and Healing in Human Transformation (University of Michigan Press, 2003); Legal Issues in Integrative Medicine (NAF Press, 2005); and Healing at the Borderland of Medicine and Religion (University of North Carolina Press, 2005).

Following a successful academic career, Michael returned to the practice of law and founded the Cohen Healthcare Law Group.

Education