Mr. Buttaci is a 2000 graduate of the The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he was named Best Oralist in the Herman Moot Court Competition. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey.
Mr. Buttaci founded the Firm as Buttaci & Associates, LLC in October 2004, as a health law boutique catering specifically to licensed healthcare providers and healthcare businesses. Today, he manages the Firm’s Corporate Transactions, Facility Licensing, Risk Management, and Professional Associations practices.
Mr. Buttaci represents licensed healthcare providers, group practices, and facilities in a diverse range of matters related to healthcare delivery, access, and reimbursement.
Mr. Buttaci’s transactional practice centers on the representation of clients in corporate and regulatory matters including the formation and purchase/sale of healthcare practices and other provider-related entities; the organization, licensure, acquisition, and/or sale of licensed and/or accredited healthcare facilities including: ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, and office based surgical practices; the preparation and negotiation of employment and professional services agreements; and the defense of state healthcare licensing board actions.
Mr. Buttaci’s practice includes a special emphasis on representing behavioral health facilities including outpatient substance use disorder treatment facilities, outpatient mental health facilities, and residential substance use disorder treatment facilities in all matters of licensure, contracting, and accreditation. Over the last several years, Mr. Buttaci has counseled both startup facility operators and established behavioral health systems on issues related to program development, facility operations, staffing, client rights/grievances, regulatory compliance, and the prevention of fraud and abuse.
Mr. Buttaci’s litigation practice is devoted primarily to the representation of licensed healthcare providers, group practices, and facilities in post payment actions and fraud investigations instituted by both governmental agencies and private insurance carriers. In this respect, Mr. Buttaci has defended clients in overpayment/recoupment actions and fraud prosecutions involving allegations of improper coding and claim submissions, kickbacks, physician self-referrals, improper practice structures, and medically unnecessary services. Mr. Buttaci draws on his experience in these matters in supporting the Firm’s role as co-lead counsel in a series of class action litigations challenging the post payment audit and recoupment practices of certain state and national private health insurance carriers.
Mr. Buttaci also represents professional associations and nonprofit healthcare advocacy groups. He currently serves as General Counsel to the American Physical Therapy Association of New Jersey (APTANJ) and Special Counsel to the Garden State Pharmacy Owners (GSPO), and he is member of the Board of Directors of Recovery Reform NOW. He formerly served as Special Counsel to the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors (ANJC).
Mr. Buttaci was named a “Rising Star” in Health Law by New Jersey Super Lawyers in each year from 2012 to 2015 and a “Super Lawyer” in Health Law in 2018. He was also the recipient of the APTANJ’s 2017 PT Partner Award and the International Chiropractic Association’s 2014 Dr. Chester A. Wilk Award for Courageous Legal Action on Behalf of the Chiropractic Profession.
