Lauren P. Carboni
Senior Counsel
Lauren Carboni is a health care focused attorney who counsels clients across the industry on complex regulatory, compliance, litigation, and enforcement matters. Lauren represents a broad range of organizations in the health care and life sciences sector, which includes health systems, hospitals, physician groups, durable medical equipment suppliers and distributors, and others. With a litigation background and as a regulatory advisor, Lauren offers clients strategic counsel on fraud and abuse issues, regulatory risk management, internal investigations, and defense against government inquiries. She co-chairs the Health Care & Life Sciences Sector’s Health Care Litigation Area of Focus and has extensive experience with False Claims Act litigation, audits, internal investigations, risk assessments, providing health care regulatory due diligence advice on transactions, and administrative appeals involving federal and state enforcement agencies.
In addition to her robust health care practice, Lauren advises clients in the cannabis and psychedelic sectors on regulatory compliance, licensing, and business operations, with a focus on navigating the intersection of state and federal law. Her multidisciplinary perspective helps clients across highly regulated sectors address emerging risks and seize new opportunities.
Lauren is committed to providing pro bono services. She strives to represent clients in the Colorado community to ensure every person and organization, regardless of financial means, has access to the justice system. Notable pro bono successes include advocating to the parole board for the release of a disabled client from prison to obtain much-needed health care, and obtaining a settlement with a municipal police department that compensated a disabled client for injuries sustained during a traffic stop.
Awards and Recognition
- Colorado Super Lawyers®– Rising Stars lists (2017–2020, 2022-2025), which recognizes the top 2.5 percent of Colorado lawyers under 40 years of age
- 5280’s Denver’s Top Lawyers (2022, 2025, 2026)
- Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist (2017), Public Justice, for representation of an incarcerated individual challenging his conditions of confinement and access to medical care
Affiliations
- Member, American Health Lawyers Association
- Member, Colorado Bar Association, Health Law Section
- Member, Colorado Women’s Bar Association
- Member, Psychedelic Bar Association; Co-Steward of the Legislation and Regulation Committee
- Former Member, Chanda Center for Health Board
Publications and Presentations
- Presenter, “Chanda Center for Health: Reimagining Access to and Delivery of Long-term Disability Care,” Health Care Law Today Podcast (January 5, 2026)
- Co-author, “The High-Stakes Healthcare AI Battles To Watch In 2026,” Law360 (January 2, 2026)
- Co-author, “Immigrant Access to Health Centers: Confronting Unknowns in the Administration’s Revised Interpretation of PRWORA,” American Bar Association (December 17, 2025)
- Co-author, “How Following “Doctors’ Orders” Provided a Defense in a First Circuit FCA Case,” Health Care Law Today (December 9, 2025)
- Co-author, “HHS Guidance Excluding Non-Qualified Aliens from More Federal Programs Raises Questions for Providers and Grantees,” Health Care Law Today (July 29, 2025)
- Author, “Colorado Medicaid: RAC Program Overhauled with Enhanced Transparency, Greater Provider Protections, and Increased Oversight,” Health Care Law Today (July 15, 2025)
- Author, “New Mexico Becomes Third State in the U.S. to Legalize Access to Psilocybin,” Health Care Law Today (April 9, 2025)
- Co-author, “Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services: 2025 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule Would Expand Access and Medicare Coverage,” Health Care Law Today (July 29, 2024)
- Co-author, “FDA Continues to Take Stance That it Will Not Issue CBD Rules,” Health Care Law Today (April 24, 2024)
- Co-author, “2023 Going Digital Health’s Behavioral Health Tech Conference: Key Investment Takeaways,” Health Care Law Today (November 27, 2023)
- Co-author, “Psychedelic Drugs – Easing the Regulatory Hurdles for Development,” Health Care Law Today (December 15, 2022)
- Co-author, “Top Ten Government Enforcement Updates for In-House Counsel in Health Care (United States),” Association of Corporate Counsel (December 6, 2022)
- Author, “Colorado Legalizes Therapeutic Psychedelics – Now What?,” Health Care Law Today (November 14, 2022)
- Author, “The Psychedelics Renaissance is Here – Colorado May Become the Second State in the Nation to Legalize Therapeutic Psychedelics,” Health Care Law Today (October 26, 2022)
- Co-author, “What To Know About the New Colorado False Claims Act,” Health Care Law Today (June 28, 2022)
- Co-author, “Cannabis Mid-Year Update 2022,” Foley & Lardner Webinar (June 6, 2022)
- Co-author, “Behavioral Health Trends for 2022,” Foley & Lardner Webinar (March 31, 2022)
- Co-author, “Compliance Issues in Hospital and Health System Sports Sponsorships,” Health Care Law Today (February 9, 2022)
- Co-author, “A Target on Telehealth: Government Action Against Telehealth Fraud in the Wake of COVID-19,” American Health Law Association (July 14, 2021)
- Co-author, “Latest Open Payments Data Released Under Heightened Government Scrutiny,” Health Care Law Today (July 9, 2021)
- Co-author, “The New Face of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement: An Inter-Agency Task Force,” Coronavirus Resource Center: Back to Business (May 21, 2020)
- Co-author, “The City of Denver a Trendsetter in Cannabis Reform?,” Legal News: Cannabis Industry (April 26, 2021)
- Presenter, “Implications of a Repealed ACA,” Colorado State of Reform 2020 Teleconference (November 17, 2020)
- Co-author, “Government Seizure of Medical Supplies from Health Care Providers – Is It Legal?,” Coronavirus Resource Center: Back to Business (May 15, 2020)
- Presenter, “COVID-19 Provider Relief Funding Webinar,” Foley & Lardner Webinar (April 27, 2020)
- Co-author, “COVID-19: Understanding HHS’s Plans to Disperse Provider Relief Funds Authorized By The CARES Act,” Coronavirus Resource Center: Back to Business (April 27, 2020)
- Co-author, “COVID-19 Not Slowing Efforts to Update Denver’s Cannabis Rule,” Coronavirus Resource Center: Back to Business (April 21, 2020)
- Co-author, “COVID-19: “Hospitals Without Walls” and “Patients Over Paperwork” – Key Takeaways For Hospitals From CMS’ Additional Blanket Waivers,” Coronavirus Resource Center: Back to Business (April 6, 2020)
- Co-author, “COVID-19: Washington Becomes the Second State Approved for 1135 Medicaid Waiver – Key Takeaways,” Coronavirus Resource Center: Back to Business (March 23, 2020)
- Author, “Prime Healthcare Services and its CEO Agree to Pay $65 Million to Settle Fraud Claims: The Government Sends A Clear Message That It Takes Unnecessary Inpatient Stays and ‘Upcoding’ Seriously,” Journal of Health Care Compliance (November-December 2018)
- Co-author, “Work Product Immunity,” Discovery in Colorado (2017, 2018)
- Presenter, “Electronic Documents and E-Discovery: What the Colorado State Courts Are Saying,” Colorado Bar Association CLE (June 21, 2017)
- Co-author, “Managing Risks When Working with Experts and Consultants,” The Colorado Lawyer (June 2017)
- Co-author, “Attorney-Witnesses Face a Host of Hazards,” The Colorado Lawyer (November 18, 2016)
- Co-author, “New Approach To Pleading Standards From Colo. High Court,” Law360 (August 26, 2016)
- Author, “Litigation Update – Legal Recreational Marijuana,” American Bar Association (May 24, 2016)
Psychedelics and the Executive Order: From Schedule I to Treatment Priority
On April 18, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness, directing federal agencies to expedite the research, review, and approval of psychedelic drugs as potential treatments for serious mental health conditions. The Order represents a significant federal policy shift aimed at addressing what the Trump Administration describes as a crisis of serious mental illness in America, with particular emphasis on patients whose conditions have not responded to standard therapies.
Marijuana - Some Products Reclassified to Schedule III: What It Means, What It Doesn’t, and What Comes Next
On April 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced a long-awaited final order (Final Order) placing certain categories of marijuana and marijuana products into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), in accordance with President Trump’s December 18, 2025, Executive Order on Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research.
Hemp Product Use in Medicare: CMS Greenlights Pilot Program under the Substance Access Beneficiary Engagement Incentive
On April 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), through the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI), officially launched a new pilot program which allows participants in specific CMS programs to offer eligible hemp products to eligible Medicare beneficiaries.
Litigation Risks: Protecting Telemedicine/Digital Health Companies
Foley's Health Care Litigation and Telemedicine & Digital Health Areas of Focus are hosting a three-part webinar series covering the most pressing litigation trends impacting the telemedicine and digital health industry.
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Immigrant Access to Health Centers: Confronting Unknowns in the Administration’s Revised Interpretation of PRWORA
This article was originally published in the ABA’s Health Law Section, December 2025, and is reposted here with permission. In July...
Episode 37: Chanda Center for Health: Reimagining Access to and Delivery of Long-term Disability Care
In this episode, Lauren Carboni, co-chair of Foley’s Health Care Litigation Area of Focus, is joined by Chanda Hinton, Founder and Executive Director of The Chanda Center for Health, a pioneering nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals with long-term physical disabilities.