Biography

Mr. Paniagua's practice includes consulting in connection with local and federal health-related laws and regulations and negotiation and drafting of management agreements, professional services agreements and assets purchase agreements, among others. Mr. Paniagua participates extensively in certificates of need litigation before the Puerto Rico Health Department.

Mr. Paniagua is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and of the Puerto Rico Hospitals Association. He chaired the latter's Legislation Committee from 1999 to 2005 and was recently appointed for two more years. He is currently a member of the Health Law Committee of the Puerto Rico Bar Association. He has been a frequent speaker before the Puerto Rico Hospitals Association, the Puerto Rico Medical Association, and the Puerto Rico Association of Health Services Administrators, among others.

Representative Transactions

His representative transactions include:

• Hospital Español Auxilio Mutuo, Proposal No. 94-07-043: The Health Department held for the first time that the hospital beds per population criterion contained in the Certificates of Need Regulation referred to beds in use instead of authorized beds.
• Hospital Episcopal San Lucas v. Hospital Regional de Ponce, Case No. Q-97-060: The Health Department in a case of first impression held that the term 'new health care service' contained in the Certificates of Need Law, referred to any health care service that had not been offered by a health care facility during the preceding twelve months.
• Corporación Las Vegas, Proposal No. 78-06-194: In a case of first impression, the Secretary of Health held that a home care agency serving part of a Health Region could apply for a certificate of need to render services in the entire Health Region without the need for an administrative hearing.
• San Jorge Children’s Hospital, Proposal No. 04-07-120: The Secretary of Health held, in a groundbreaking decision, that a women and children's hospital qualified as a 'specialized hospital' and thus an application for a certificate of need to establish such a hospital had to be evaluated pursuant to the criteria applicable to specialized hospitals instead of those applicable to general hospitals.

Practices

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