Medicaid and Long-Term Care: Protecting Clients, Navigating Coverage, and Addressing Healthcare Challenges

Knicole Emanuel, Partner | Poyner Spruill LLP

Knicole Emanuel is a partner in the Health Care practice of Poyner Spruill LLP in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she represents healthcare providers in Medicare and Medicaid audits, payment disputes, reimbursement suspensions, alleged overpayments, and contract terminations. She has spent more than 25 years handling regulatory, reimbursement, administrative, and litigation matters for providers.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Emanuel earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 2000, and her B.A., magna cum laude, from North Carolina State University in 1996. She is licensed to practice in North Carolina and Georgia.

• Recognition & Leadership

Since 2023, Ms. Emanuel has appeared weekly as a panelist on RACmonitor’s Monitor Monday podcast, offering analysis of Medicare and Medicaid audits and enforcement trends. She speaks regularly on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, healthcare regulatory compliance, and enforcement developments, with 2026 programs at the AHLA Winter Institute, the HCCA Regional Healthcare Compliance Conference, and the 30th Annual Compliance Institute.

• Professional Involvement

She co-presented “Ensuring Medicare Coverage for Post-Acute Services  10 Years After Jimmo v. Sebelius” in 2023 and presented “A Guide to the RAT-STATS Statistical Software” in 2024. She authored “Pneumatic Compression Devices Are in the Spotlight for 2024 Audits” for Today’s Wound Clinic. Ms. Emanuel is a member of the American Health Law Association and serves on the Board of Directors of Autism Services and the Brotherhood of Warriors.

• Experience

Ms. Emanuel has argued thousands of healthcare administrative cases in more than 40 states and has challenged multimillion-dollar Medicare and Medicaid payment determinations for providers. She has obtained federal court injunctions that let providers keep operating while they contest reimbursement suspensions, fraud allegations, and contract terminations. Her representative matters include a New Mexico behavioral health entity facing a $12 million alleged overpayment, which was litigated down to $865.35, and an Indiana geneticist whose suspended Medicaid reimbursements were restored through a federal preliminary injunction.

Her clients include physicians, hospitals, behavioral health providers, home health and hospice agencies, dentists, chiropractors, and durable medical equipment suppliers. She also defends providers before state medical and professional licensing boards and counsels them on False Claims Act allegations, Civil Investigative Demands, and Anti-Kickback Statute concerns. She joined Poyner Spruill in 2026 after practicing as a partner at Nelson Mullins.

Amanda L. Owens, Shareholder | White & Allen, P.A.

Amanda L. Owens is a shareholder at White & Allen, P.A., where she concentrates her practice in elder law, special needs planning, and estate planning for clients across Eastern North Carolina. She counsels older adults, individuals with special needs, and their families on asset protection, long-term care planning, Medicaid and Medicare questions, and guardianship.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Owens is a Board Certified Specialist in Elder Law by the North Carolina State Bar and a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) through the National Elder Law Foundation. She is also an accredited attorney for veterans’ benefits. She earned her J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2011 and her B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University in 2008. She is admitted in Ohio and in all North Carolina state courts, as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the United States Supreme Court.

• Recognition & Leadership

White & Allen named Ms. Owens a shareholder in December 2025, capping a career at the firm that began as a paralegal. Her board certification in elder law, announced in December 2023, places her among the 3.9% of North Carolina lawyers who hold a State Bar specialty designation.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Owens is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Elder Law & Special Needs Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.

• Experience

Ms. Owens advises seniors and their families on asset protection, estate and long-term care planning, and Medicaid and Medicare matters, helping them prepare for the possibility of long-term care and preserve family resources. Her practice also covers special needs planning and special needs trusts, guardianship, and estate administration.

As a Marine Corps veteran spouse, she assists veterans in obtaining the benefits they have earned.

SESSION 1 – Medicaid Planning, Asset Preservation, and Long-Term Care Decisions | Amanda Owens | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session examines the legal considerations involved in preparing individuals and families for the financial and practical demands of long-term care. Amanda Owens will address Medicaid planning strategies, eligibility requirements, asset preservation, estate planning considerations, and the potential consequences of asset transfers and other planning decisions. The discussion will explore how attorneys can help clients evaluate care options, anticipate future expenses, coordinate estate and long-term care planning, and identify legal risks before a crisis arises.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – Healthcare Coverage, Medicaid Reimbursement, and Regulatory Challenges in Long-Term Care | Knicole Emanuel | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session examines the healthcare system challenges that can affect access to and delivery of longterm care services. Knicole Emanuel will address Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement frameworks, coverage and payment disputes, audits, investigations, alleged overpayments, and regulatory compliance concerns affecting healthcare providers. The discussion will consider how reimbursement and enforcement issues can affect provider operations and the availability of services, helping attorneys recognize the legal challenges that may arise when individuals, families, and healthcare organizations encounter coverage or payment disputes.