Christine Burke Worthen

Health care providers, payers, digital health companies, and investors call on attorney Christine Burke Worthen for legal and strategic advice as they navigate complex regulatory and business challenges in the continuously evolving health care delivery and reimbursement landscape.

Her practical guidance enables clients across the health care ecosystem—health systems, hospitals, physician practices, digital health companies, behavioral health providers, third-party administrators, health plans, and investors—to implement both short- and long-term strategies that align with their organizational goals.

Christine possesses a wealth of experience working on matters concerning Medicare reimbursement, Medicare Advantage, participation in CMS Innovation Center payment models, managed Medicaid, managed care contract negotiations, and value-based payment arrangements with commercial payers, self-insured employers, and Medicare Advantage plans. She provides counsel on the regulatory, operational, and financial considerations necessary for maneuvering through the changing payment environment, including various forms of risk-based payment models, price transparency, revenue cycle and payment integrity, clinically integrated network development and value-based enterprise models, risk adjustment, and provider compensation arrangements.

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New market entrants rely on Christine for assistance in establishing compliant care delivery models across markets, whether through traditional brick-and-mortar models, home-based models, or virtual models of care, and transforming innovative ideas into reimbursable strategies. Investors rely on Christine for assistance with evaluating the opportunities for optimizing payer contracts and network relationships to achieve sustainable financial performance and regulatory due diligence in transactions.

Christine also advises on other areas of concern for payers, investors, and providers, such as health care fraud and abuse compliance, HIPAA/Part 2 compliance, licensing, mental health parity compliance, and payer disputes.

Beyond her health care practice, Christine provides ERISA counsel to employers regarding their defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans, as well as self-insured and fully insured welfare benefits plans. She has represented clients in government audits conducted by the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Before joining EBG Advisors and its affiliate, Epstein Becker Green, Christine was a partner in the health care practice of a national law firm. She previously served as Vice President and Senior Counsel at a health system in Maine. Earlier in her career, Christine was a partner and chair of the Healthcare Services Practice Group in a regional law firm's Portland (Maine) and Boston offices.

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Education

• Boston University School of Law (LL.M in Taxation)
• New England Law – Boston (J.D.)
• Boston University (B.A., cum laude)

Professional & Community Involvement

• American Bar Association
  • Health Law Section on Employee Benefits, Vice Chair (2017)
  • Health Law Section on Tax and Accounting, Vice Chair (2013 to 2017)
• American Health Law Association
  • ACO Tax Force, Vice Chair of Publications (2016 to 2019)
  • Delivery and Payment Reform Affinity Group, Chair (2020 to July 2022)
  • Regulation, Accreditation and Payment Practice Group, Special Topics Vice Chair (July 2022 to July 2023)
  • Payers, Plans, and Managed Care Practice Group, Vice Chair of Publications (July 2023 to  Present)
• Portland Recovery Community Center, Board Member (2020 to May 2024)