By Terry Baynes

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Law firm McDermott Will & Emery, with one of the largest healthcare teams in the country, has been expanding the practice area over the last two months, adding eight lawyers or professionals, according to Stephen Bernstein, who heads the firm's health industry advisory practice group.

The latest hire, announced by the firm last week, is Clare Ranalli, a health regulatory partner from Holland & Knight who has expertise in "certificates of need," the legal clearance that many states require when healthcare providers seek to expand their facilities, purchase major technologies or merge with other entities.

The ramping up of the healthcare practice to approximately 90 lawyers is a reflection of the work the firm is fielding as a result of the Affordable Care Act, said Bernstein.

He said the firm is looking to add more lawyers with food and drug expertise and others focused on government programs and managed care to advise clients seeking to reduce costs and achieve other goals of the new law.

For example, since the law encourages providers to place more of a focus on primary care, hospitals increasingly are partnering with community-based providers that use a primary care model, Ranalli said.

That in turn has created more demand for specialization in certificates of need, Ranalli said.

Legal services are also required for clients seeking to comply with complicated new regulations the government has been releasing weekly which affect the healthcare industry's dynamics. Main areas of concern for clients include the medical loss ratio regulations, which require insurers to spent a certain percentage of health insurance premiums on medical care and improving healthcare quality, Bernstein said.

New rules governing what essential health benefits insurers must provide as well as patient privacy protections are also driving the demand for legal services, he added.

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