Margaret C. Scavotto, JD, CHC

• Designs, implements and manages customized compliance programs to maximize compliance with complex and evolving requirements
• Develops policies and procedures, training programs and audit tools to improve processes and operational outcomes
• Leads workshops on compliance program development and implementation for nursing home administrators and staff
• Helps providers promote a culture of compliance to make their program last

Bio

Margaret Scavotto, JD, CHC builds healthcare compliance programs that work. She helps health care clients design, implement and manage customized compliance programs to maximize quality and billing accuracy. Scavotto uses risk assessments, policies and procedures, online training programs, audit tools and culture campaigns to improve processes and operational outcomes. Scavotto’s training and culture strategies help clients maintain their compliance programs on a day-to-day basis, year after year.

Scavotto has spoken on compliance for LeadingAge, the National Association of Rural Health Centers, LeadingAge Illinois, LeadingAge Missouri, the Illinois Health Care Association, the Senior Living Forum, the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, and the Illinois Nursing Home Administrators Association, among others.

Before joining MPA, Scavotto practiced healthcare law at Lashly & Baer, P.C., in St. Louis. She advised long-term care facilities, hospitals, and other health care providers on how to comply with HIPAA and other regulatory requirements; represented clients in administrative hearings; and negotiated contracts for a multi-hospital GPO. In addition, Scavotto drafted contracts, policies and bylaws for health care entities, and represented nurses and social workers before state licensing agencies. Scavotto’s healthcare law background brings an acute understanding of the complex issues today’s providers face.

When practicing law, Scavotto devoted considerable time to pro bono work, serving as counsel to a local clinic serving indigent children, and securing a certificate of need for a not-for-profit children’s hospital.

Scavotto served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Kenneth M. Romines on the Missouri Court of Appeals. Scavotto received her BA (Political Science) from Kenyon College; and a JD from Washington University in St. Louis; and is certified in healthcare compliance (CHC).

Education and Credentials

• Juris Doctor, Washington University
• Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, Kenyon College
• Certified in Healthcare Compliance

Publications

The following were published by national third party publications. References to the Compliance and Ethics Blog refer to the national blog published by the Health Care Compliance Association and the Society for Corporate Compliance Ethics. For MPA's own blog posts, see blog.

• Compliance Lessons from Gate K8, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, March 16, 2022
• As Cases Drive Home, Ignoring Complaints Plays Role in Fraud Cases, Interviewed, by Nina Youngstrom, Report on Medicare Compliance Volume 31, Number 3, January 24, 2022.
• No Compliance Monkey Business: Compliance Lessons from Jane Goodall, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, December 15, 2021.
•  What Your Holiday Shopping Habits Suggest About Your Compliance Planning (Seriously), published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, December 8, 2021
• What Are You Doing to Keep the Lights On?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, September 15, 2021
  
• Is Your Compliance Program Misbranded?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, July 9, 2021
• Stop Ordering Chips at the Rx Drive-Thru Window, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, June 11, 2021
• Does Your Compliance Program Spark Joy?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, May 26, 2021
• Treat Your Compliance Program Like a Toyota, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, February 1, 2021.
• Magnified by COVID-19, Social Media Posts Risk HIPAA Violations, Allegations of Abuse, by Nina Youngstrom, Report on Medicare Compliance, February 2021 (quoted)
• Compliance Officer Burnout, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, September 9, 2020.
• What Do We Do About Compliance Now?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, May 8, 2020
• Top 5 Reasons You Need a Compliance Program Review, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, February 19, 2020
• Compliance Lessons from Operation Varsity Blues, published in Compliance Today magazine, February 2020
• Have You Tested Your Compliance Hotline Lately?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, October 9, 2019
• What Has Compliance Done for You Lately?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, August 21, 2019
• Why Compliance Should Care about the War on Opioids, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, June 21, 2019
• There’s No HIPAA for Cats, by the Way, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, April 5, 2019
• I’ll have a Brown Sugar Rosemary Latte and a HIPAA Breach Please, published on the Compliance and Ethics blog, March 25, 2019
• Compliance Officer Interview: Connie Rhoads and Pet Posters!, published on the Compliance and Ethics blog, December 28, 2018
• Compliance Program Annual Review: A Game Plan, published in Compliance Today, a publication of the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), December 2018
• Health Law Daily Wrap Up, STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES--Stop, don't click! HIPAA, photos and abuse in long-term care, September 13, 2018, published by Wolters Kluwer
• Little Data Matters Too: Analyzing Compliance Hotline Data, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, September 12, 2018
• A Tale of Two Doctor’s Visits, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, August 29, 2018 
• Boost your compliance culture with Corporate Compliance and Ethics Week, Copyright 2018 Compliance Today, a publication of the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), August 2018.
• Why Leading a Compliance Program Is like Going to the Gym, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, February 7, 2018.
• What Sexual Harassment Teaches Us about Compliance, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, January 2, 2018
• When PR Becomes a HIPAA Problem, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, December 4, 2017
• What's In Your Envelope? HIPAA Wants to Know, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, November 2, 2017
• HIPAA Alert: Forgotten Physical Safeguards Lead to Stolen Records, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, August 23, 2017
• Selfie Time: What Could Go Wrong? published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, August 17, 2017
• Tweet, Tweet: Resident Abuse Takes a New, and Dangerous, Form, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, August 22, 2016
• Why Your Compliance Officer Should Talk About Texting, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, July 26, 2016
• HIPAA Alert: Is Your Compliance Officer's Head In The Cloud?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, July 20, 2016
• HIPAA Alert: First Settlement with a Business Associate, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, July 14, 2016
• False Claims Act Penalties Double, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, July 11, 2016
• Feds Told to Clean Up Poor Documentation, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, June 9, 2016
• Compliance Culture Building Blocks Blog Series, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, 2015-2016  
• HIPAA Hazard: the $750,000 Business Associate Agreement, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, April 22, 2016
• The OCR Announces a New Round of HIPAA Audits! Are You Ready?, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, March 25, 2016
• HIPAA Compliance: What You Need to Know for 2016, published on the Compliance and Ethics Blog, February 8, 2016
• The Top 5 Social Media Posts Your Privacy Officer Fears Most, published on the Compliance and Ethics blog, November 12, 2015 (Ranked 6^th most popular blog post in 2015)
• Red hot PEPPERs: Why agencies should access the new home health billing tool this summer, HCPro Homecare DIRECTION, Vol. 23, No. 4, 2015 (quoted).
• State Healthcare Privacy Laws Survey, American Health Lawyers Association, 2013 (author, Missouri portion).

Recent and Upcoming Speaking Engagements

• Is Your Compliance Program Ready for Survey? Kansas Adult Care Executives, 2022 Tanner-Foster Educational Foundation Virtual Only Conference, February 22, 2022
• Compliance Culture Case Studies, Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Webinar, January 10, 2022
• HIPAA Hazards & Social Media Snafus, Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network webinar, December 13, 2021
• HIPAA Lessons from the Headlines, HCCA webinar, November 17, 2021
• Top 10 Compliance Tips for a Successful 2020, ProviderTrust webinar, October 28, 2021
  HIPAA, Social Media, & COVID-19, Missouri Association of Nursing Home Administrators webinar, Septeber 23, 2020
• Phase 3 Compliance Update for Nursing Homes, HCCA webinar, March 18, 2020
• Compliance Enforcement Update, Wolters Kluwer webinar, February 6, 2020
• Phase 3 Compliance Update, LeadingAge Illinois webinar, February 5, 2020
• HIPAA Hazards and Social Media Snafus, LeadingAge Illinois webinar, January 22, 2020
• HIPAA Hazards for SLFs, AALC Conference, October 23, 2019
• Is It a Breach? NARHC Fall Institute, St. Louis, October 9, 2019
• HIPAA in the Headlines, HCCA Webinar, July 25, 2019
• Disaster Planning in Senior Living: HIPAA Still Matters, HCCA/SCCE Webinar, May 28, 2019
• Culture Case Studies, Health Care Compliance Association, Annual Compliance Institute, April 8, 2019, Boston
• HIPAA Parade of Horribles: Lessons from the Headlines, HCCA/SCCE Webinar, November 7, 2018
• Tales of the Unexpected: Puzzling HIPAA Breaches, HCCA/SCCE Webinar, July 10, 2018
• How to Conduct a Compliance Risk Assessment, HCCA's 22nd Annual Compliance Institute, Las Vegas, NV, April 17, 2018
• Avoiding HIPAA Hazards & Social Media Snafus, HCCA/SCCE Webinar, February 27, 2018
• CAH Compliance Officer Update, Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, October 12, 2017
• Social Media Snafus, Trinity Risk Solutions Webinar, May 2, 2017
• Compliance Officer Workshop, Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, Springfield, IL, April 27, 2017
• PEPPER Deciphered, Trinity Risk Solutions Webinar, March 28, 2017
• ProviderTrust Webinar, Great, You Have a Compliance Program, Now What?, June 23, 2016
• Hidden HIPAA Weaknesses: How to Tackle Them and Prevent a Breach, LeadingAge MO Annual Conference, September 13, 2016
• Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, Compliance: What's New?, Webinar, October 6, 2016
• Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, Compliance Workshop, Springfield, IL, May 26, 2016
• Affordable Assisted Living Coalition, HIPAA Hazards and How to Avoid Them, Springfield, IL May 17, 2016
• National Association of Rural Health Centers Conference, Top HIPAA Hazards and How to Avoid Them, St. Louis, Oct. 29, 2015
• Missouri Association of Nursing Home Administrators, Compliance & HIPAA Workshop, St. Charles, MO, Oct. 27, 2015
• LeadingAge Missouri, Compliance Conundrums and Legal Landmines, St. Louis, MO, September 2, 2015
• Missouri Assisted Living Association, The Inevitable Data Breach: Are You Prepared? St. Louis, MO, April 21, 2015
• Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, Compliance Workshop, April 15, 2015, Springfield, IL
• LeadingAge Annual Meeting, October 19-22, 2014, Cultivating a Culture of Compliance
• Illinois Health Care Association Convention, September 9-11, 2014, Compliance Updates: Are You at Risk?
• Illinois Nursing Home Administrators Association Conference, March 19-20, 2014, Using PEPPER to Spice Up Your Compliance Program and Avoid Costly Mistakes
• Life Services Network of Illinois Webinar, February 26, 2014, How You Can Advance Your Compliance Effort – Now.
• LeadingAge Missouri Webinar, February 18, 2014: What PEPPER Means for You and Your Compliance Effort
• Life Services Network of Illinois Webinar, February 12, 2014, The Real Price of Waiting to Comply
• LeadingAge Missouri Compliance Workshops, 2012-2013
• Life Services Network of Illinois Annual Meeting and Exhibition, May 2-4, 2012: Achieving Quality of Care and Financial Success in Long Term Care Facilities with Effective Compliance Programs
• Illinois Nursing Home Administrators Association March 15, 2012: Achieving Quality of Care and Financial Success in Long Term Care Facilities with Effective Compliance Programs

Judicial Clerk

• Served as law clerk for The Hon. Kenneth M. Romines, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District

Health Care Attorney

• Represented clients before Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee
• Won dozens of Certificate of Need approvals for hospitals and long term care facilities
• Developed policies, procedures and bylaws for health care providers
• Drafted and negotiated professional service and employment contracts
• Interpreted and applied HIPAA, HITECH, RAC and other compliance/privacy law and regulation
• Represented licensed nurses before the Missouri Board of Nursing
• Drafted and negotiated multi-hospital group purchasing agreements
• Trained provider teams in contract negotiation strategies
• Provided pro bono legal counsel to local health care institution serving children