Out of the blue, D.C. healthcare regulators informed Hero Practice Services that its two dental practices needed a “certificate of need.” The lengthy, stringent process to secure one would have hamstrung the practices, which served 50% Medicaid patients. Hero’s general counsel Eleanor Kasper and her team worked with the D.C. council to update the antiquated law so dental practices would no longer be called out on certificates of need.

The story reflects the mission of Hero, a healthcare practice management company whose providers in dental, vision and orthodontics are located in many underserved communities and see 97% Medicaid recipients. In this conversation with McGuireWoods partner and host Geoff Cockrell, Eleanor discusses navigating regulatory requirements across different states, retaining providers and challenging the notion that private equity-backed healthcare is “bad.”