“Health Law” is a generic term used to refer to the various types of state and federal laws and regulations which govern the health, business and legal interests of patients, health care providers and third party payers such as the government, insurance companies, and HMO’s. Health laws impact patients, hospitals, clinics and other institutional and individual health and mental health care providers in a variety of areas. These areas include Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, insurance, managed care, long term care, living wills, health care surrogates, powers of attorney, medical records, and physician-patient privilege, privacy, confidentiality, acquisitions, mergers, group practices and networks, corporate restructuring, self-insurance, joint ventures, antitrust matters, medical staff privileges, medical employment contracts, licensure, cost containment, certificates of need, real property leasing, building and development, financing, taxation, estate and asset planning, and corporate and contract matters.