Isabel C. Safie

Partner

Isabel Safie is a senior associate in the Business Services practice group of Best Best & Krieger LLP. Her practice primarily focuses on pensions and benefits, federal and state tax matters, state and federal nonprofit and tax-exemption laws, and providing advice and assistance to hospital districts, nonprofit and municipal hospitals, medical groups, residential care facilities, health care related nonprofits, and medical professionals.

Ms. Safie’s work has included providing advice and assistance regarding Medicare eligibility, reimbursement and recovery, including serving as a liaison between her clients and CMS. She has interpreted and sought advisory opinions from the Office of the Inspector General regarding the application of the anti-kickback statute and from CMS regarding application of the Stark Law. She also provides general corporate counsel to health care entities related to local, state or federal tax issues, and general corporate work including drafting and reviewing employment agreements and leases. In the course of her representation of individuals and entities in the health care industry, Ms. Safie has provided advice regarding state and federal laws regulating the provision of pension and other employee benefits, compliance with state licensing requirements including those overseen by the Community Care Licensing Division, and other federal laws related to health care including COBRA and HIPAA. In addition, she recently concluded a detailed assessment of the tax consequences of providing certain benefits to major donors on behalf of a regional nonprofit hospital.

Ms. Safie currently serves on the board of directors for a nonprofit organization known as the Quest Scholars Program, which works to ensure that the nation’s most talented under-served students have access to the top universities in the United States. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the Riverside County Bar Association, the San Bernardino County Bar Association and the American Bar Association. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Human Biology from Stanford University, and a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Ms. Safie is fluent in Spanish.

Education

• University of California, Los Angeles, J.D.
• Stanford University, B.A.

Bar Admissions

• California (2005)

Awards

• Super Lawyers “Southern California Rising Star,” Employee Benefits (2015-2016)