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“Rebecca Rodman is an exceptional, responsive, knowledgeable, practical, and absolutely trusted advisor.”

Senior vice president and general counsel, healthcare system

Overview

With a background as general counsel of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Rebecca helps healthcare providers navigate a complex regulatory system to deliver high-quality patient care.

A member of the firm’s Massachusetts-based Healthcare team, Rebecca offers strategic regulatory advice and develops full regulatory strategies for a wide range of healthcare clients, including academic medical centers, community hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, nursing facilities and long-term care facilities, rest homes, assisted living residences, imaging providers, ambulance services, and hospice and home health agencies. She also helps providers navigate regulations and obtain approvals from various agencies, and she provides assistance with Determination of Need applications and licensure matters. In addition, she regularly represents clients before state and federal agencies, including the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), the Health Policy Commission, MassHealth, the Department of Mental Health, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Rebecca’s goal is to help healthcare clients develop plans and projects that work within the regulatory boundaries while allowing them to grow their systems and services. She’s deeply familiar with the regulatory world—thanks to her own years in government, she knows exactly what regulators are seeking from providers, and she instinctively understands how to help clients resolve matters quickly so that they can keep moving forward.

Prior to joining the firm, Rebecca had a more than 20-year career with healthcare-related government agencies, which culminated in her role as general counsel of DPH. She served as the agency’s lead attorney and provided guidance and legal oversight for a staff of nearly 50 legal professionals, the Commissioner’s office, 10 bureaus, 21 boards of professional registration, and the four public health hospitals.

Rebecca is fluent in state government terminology. She has an in-depth understanding of how these agencies think, what they look for in proposals, and where their concerns are likely to lie. Her knowledge of problems that must be addressed before a project goes before state regulators helps prevent delays, and her ease in communicating with government officials helps clients get to yes faster.

“Rebecca Rodman is an exceptional, responsive, knowledgeable, practical, and absolutely trusted advisor.”

Senior vice president and general counsel, healthcare system

Industry

Services

Recognition

  • The Legal 500 United States
    • Healthcare: Service providers, Recommended attorney, 2024

Education

  • J.D., Northeastern University School of Law
  • B.A., New York University
    • magna cum laude

Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • Health Law Advocates, Board of Directors

Clerkships

  • Honorable Benjamin Kaplan, Appeals Court of Massachusetts
Experience
  • Served as lead attorney for state public health agency. Responded daily to both routine and novel legal and procedural issues, including public health emergencies (including COVID-19), the Public Health Council, privacy and data access, legislative and regulatory review, litigation, agency budget oversight, and personnel and employment.
  • Managed legal services for state's Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality and for the Drug Control Program.
  • Provided legal counsel to Determination of Need Program.
  • Provided legal counsel to the Public Health Council on Determination of Need and licensure proceedings.
  • Provided legal counsel for public records, records retention, and open meeting laws. Reviewed and consulted on complicated public records requests to ensure consistency within the Department.
  • For Division of Professional Licensure, conducted hearings on the merits and sanctions hearings. Made evidentiary and legal determinations; ruled on motions including motions for summary decision and discovery matters.
  • Provided legal counsel to the Board of Registration in Medicine. Reviewed Recommended Decisions and relevant case law and provide counsel regarding Final Agency Decisions.
  • Served as founding attorney for the Children's Mental Health Access Project and represented children who had been denied access to mental health treatment. Worked with state and federal healthcare regulations as well as private healthcare insurance rules, special education services, and other agency programs in order to find services for clients.
Outside the Office

Rebecca is an avid bike rider who is fond of commuting to work by bike as well as going on long distance leisure rides. She and her husband particularly enjoyed a weeklong, 600-mile bike trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Rebecca also loves to read, primarily classic novels. She names her favorite as Anna Karenina.

Community Leadership
  • Northeastern Center for Health Policy & Law, Advisory Board, 2023-present
  • Massachusetts Audubon Society, Volunteer