Suzannah Wilson Overholt

For years, Suzannah had a sign in her office that read “Because we’ve always done it that way” – with a line through it. That sign exemplifies her commitment to identifying new approaches to help clients meet their needs. 

Suzannah’s career path is not of the cookie cutter variety. After becoming an accomplished trial attorney in the private sector, Suzannah joined the government setting, where she designed and implemented a plan for local government reform, litigated employment discrimination and constitutional claims, negotiated labor contracts, and advised city and county departments on policies and procedures. She then applied her substantive knowledge and analytical skills to the nonprofit health care arena, as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of one of the largest health care providers in Indiana, serving more than 50,000 patients. In this role Suzannah led a merger and ensured compliance with all regulatory requirements, drafted policies, negotiated contracts with outside entities, and provided legal advice on employee, regulatory, and corporate issues. Throughout her career, Suzannah has defended both public and private entities against a variety of claims in state and federal court.

At SmithAmundsen, Suzannah draws on her experience to advise clients in licensing and regulatory matters, commercial and corporate transactions, contract negotiations, and nonprofit corporate governance. She helps clients address issues related to the federal fraud and abuse statutes, namely the False Claims Act (FCA), anti-kickback statute (AKS) and Stark law. Suzannah works intimately with the regulations from an operational and defense perspective.

When she isn’t in the office you can find Suzannah spending time with her family, exercising or cooking.   

• Member: Indiana Election Commission 

• As COO and general counsel of a non-profit women’s health care provider, negotiated and led merger with provider in a neighboring state. Oversaw licensing of new facilities as well as ongoing compliance obligations of existing facilities. 
• Led reaccreditation efforts, resulting in reaccreditation with a national health care organization. 
• As Indianapolis Works Transition Director for the City of Indianapolis, led consolidation of governmental services. Designed and implemented plan for local government reform, including merger of police department and law enforcement division of sheriff’s department, as well as consolidation of township fire departments into city fire department. Negotiated framework of the consolidation with local and state elected officials. 
• Successfully defended police department against claim for injunction regarding fourth amendment search and seizure case in federal district court and on appeal to seventh circuit.
• Prevailed in numerous employment discrimination and constitutional actions in state and federal court on behalf of state.
• Defended skilled nursing facility (SNF) against a False Claims Act (FCA) complaint brought by the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and successfully negotiated a resolution of that matter.  The MFCU initially sought fines and penalties in excess of $1M and the matter was resolved for less than $100k.   
• Assisted clients in the health care industry in evaluating and revamping their contracts to ensure compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Stark Law by bringing the contracts within appropriate safe harbors created by the regulations.  Advised clients regarding the requirements and potential exposure under FCA, AKS and Stark, and evaluated the clients’ past practices in light of the federal reporting requirements to determine whether any self-disclosure requirements were triggered.
• Evaluated clients’ billing practices to determine compliance with the AKS and Stark and whether any self-disclosure requirements were triggered.
• Reviewed and drafted numerous contracts on behalf of health care providers to ensure AKS and/or Stark safe harbor requirements were satisfied.

Contributing Author, SmithAmundsen's Labor & Employment Law Update, a labor and employment advisory blog.

Contributing Author, Illinois Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Dispatch, an HR advisory blog.