Charles Gass is a Denver-based health care M&A attorney who represents physician groups, private equity sponsors, and health systems in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and regulatory matters across the United States.

Charles Gass structures and executes complex health care transactions — including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, equity and debt financings, and general corporate matters — representing clients across the full spectrum of deal positions: physician practices navigating a first sale, private equity sponsors building platforms through add-ons, health systems pursuing strategic acquisitions, non-profit health care entities expanding through practice combinations or mergers, among others.

Charles is a member of Foley’s Health Care Transactional and Health Care Regulatory Practices, with deep experience advising physician groups, hospitals, private equity firms, ambulatory surgery centers, licensed health care facilities (home health, hospice, skilled nursing facilities, medical spas, laboratory services companies, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and health tech startups.

What distinguishes Charles’s practice is a deep understanding of the interests and concerns that arise across different deal positions — from the physician owners navigating a first exit to the private equity buyer executing a platform roll-up. On sell-side matters, Charles works closely with each ownership group to protect interests that go far beyond purchase price: post-closing employment terms and compensation structures, restrictive covenant negotiations, rollover equity protections, anti-frustration covenants, board governance rights, retirement and exit provisions, and ongoing regulatory compliance. On buy-side matters, he structures transactions to align physician and investor incentives while managing diligence and integration risk. His approach emphasizes streamlined deal execution, direct access, and communication that keeps pace with fast-moving transaction timelines.

Charles also serves as outside general counsel to an independent rural hospital in Colorado, advising on physician recruitment, service line expansions, joint ventures, professional services agreements, and revenue cycle matters — a role that deepens his understanding of how transactions affect day-to-day operations. His regulatory practice encompasses the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), Stark Law (physician self-referral), corporate practice of medicine compliance, Friendly PC/MSO structures, and state licensing requirements. He also works regularly with investors, entrepreneurs, and startup businesses navigating all aspects of corporate and health care law.

Key Capabilities

• Private equity health care platform builds and add-ons
• Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) joint ventures and acquisitions
• Health care regulatory compliance (Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, corporate practice of medicine)
• Rollover equity and physician employment structuring
• HUD/FHA health care facility financing
• FQHC transactions and governance

Industries Served

• Physician practices (orthopedics, cardiology, vascular surgery, optometry, audiology)
• Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs)
• Behavioral health, mental health, and addiction treatment
• Home health and hospice agencies
• Skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities
• Medical spas and aesthetic medicine
• Laboratory and diagnostic services
• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
• Health tech and digital health startups