Stephanie A. Webster

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Stephanie Webster represents many of the country’s leading hospitals and health systems as well as other health care clients in cutting-edge administrative and federal court litigation contesting adverse government agency action. Clients across the health care industry turn to Stephanie for her strategic advice and guidance on complex payment and compliance issues, and challenging high-impact Medicare reimbursement rules and decisions. Recently, she has also provided critical guidance around issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including helping clients navigate ongoing developments in federal funding and reimbursement.

Stephanie draws on her experience in both private practice and government service to assist clients on matters challenging agency action in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal agency programs under the Administrative Procedure Act and similar statutory provisions.

Stephanie led a team to victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark case invalidating substantive changes in Medicare disproportionate share hospital payment policy without proper notice and comment under the unique procedural requirements of the Medicare statute (Allina Health Services v. Sebelius). She also spent several years as an attorney for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Division of the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Stephanie has been repeatedly recognized as a leading health care lawyer by Law360, Chambers USA and Nightingale’s Healthcare News, and twice as a litigation “trailblazer” by the National Law Journal.

Experience

Represented Sentara Healthcare in a federal lawsuit in which the D.C. District Court recently overturned the denial of Medicare bad debt reimbursement that was calculated by hospitals using 3rd party credit reporting services. (Sentara Hospitals et al v. Becerra).
Prevailed in significant D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court appeal affirming the invalidation of a Medicare policy standard involving Medicare Disproportionate Share payments adopted without proper notice and comment (Allina Health Services v. Sebelius).*
Successfully represented medical device company Alcresta Therapeutics in a first-of-its kind federal court challenge to an agency decision denying proper medical coding culminating in a rare D.C. Circuit injunction mandating coding.*
Represented Medicare Advantage health plan in overturning agency denial of service area expansion.*
Represented hundreds of hospitals (including argument) in the lead federal court case invalidating as arbitrary and capricious the 0.2 percent reduction to hospital payment rates made in 2014 in connection with the “two-midnight rule” (Shands v. Burwell).*
Served as co-counsel in thousands of appeals for more than 700 hospitals in successful challenge to a Medicare budget neutrality factor accounting for the impact of the wage index rural floor, including the lead case that successfully overturned the government’s erroneous methodology and led to the largest-ever Medicare litigation settlement (Cape Cod Hospital v. Sebelius).*
Served as co-counsel in first case ever decided by a federal district court requiring the correction of systemic errors and omissions in the calculation of the Medicare Part A/SSI fraction used for determining hospital DSH payments (Baystate Medical Center v. Leavitt).*
Represented large academic medical centers on compliance issues relating to the 340B

*Experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray

Credentials

Publications

Co-author, “An Uncertain Future for HHS Drug Reimbursement Rates,” Law360 (July 6, 2022)
Co-author, “The CMS Changes Coming to Medicare Part D Market,” Law360 (May 17, 2022)
Co-author, “CMS Issues Final Rule Redefining Medicare Part D "Negotiated Price" As Pharmacy's Lowest Possible Reimbursement,” Ropes & Gray Client Alert (May 10, 2022)
Co-author, “CMS Publishes Federal Fiscal Year 2023 Hospital Payment Proposed Rule,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 22, 2022)
Co-author, “U.S. District Court of D.C. Invalidates Decision Denying Hospital Reimbursement for Indigent Bad Debt Based on Third-Party Information,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 5, 2022)
Co-author, “D.C. District Court Sets Aside Medicare Low-Wage Index Redistribution Rule,” Ropes & Gray Alert (March 10, 2022)
Co-author, “CMS Proposes Revised Definition of Medicare Part D Drug “Negotiated Prices”: Rule Could Increase Predictability for Pharmacies and Lower Medicare Enrollee Drug Cost-Sharing but Increase Premiums,” Ropes & Gray Alert (January 18, 2022)
Quoted, “A Blockbuster Year Ahead For Health, Life Sciences Litigation,” Law360 (January 3, 2022)
Co-author, “D.C. District Court Invalidates Reimbursement Decision Applying Rule Denying Capital DSH Payments to Urban Hospital Reclassified to Rural but Leaves Rule on the Books,” Ropes & Gray Alert (November 5, 2021)
Co-author, “Interim Final Rule Implements Controversial Surprise Billing Arbitration Provisions,” Ropes & Gray Alert (October 14, 2021)
Co-author, “Takeaways From DC Circ. Medicare Overpayment Ruling,” Law360 (October 12, 2021)
Co-author, “D.C. Circuit Overturns 2018 D.D.C. Decision Invalidating Medicare Advantage Overpayment Rule: Changed Compliance and Legal Landscape for Medicare Advantage,” Ropes & Gray Alert (August 30, 2021)
Co-author, “FY 2022 Hospital IPPS/LTCH PPS Final Rule,” Ropes & Gray Alert (August 19, 2021)
Co-author, “CMS Publishes 2022 Hospital IPPS/LTCH PPS Proposed Rule,” Ropes & Gray Alert (May 5, 2021)
Co-author, “Is International Drug Pricing Suddenly at Our Doorstep? Seven Take-Aways from the Interim Final Rule,” Ropes & Gray Alert (November 23, 2020)
Co-author, “SBA Proposes Detailed New Questionnaire to Evaluate Post-Hoc the Good Faith of PPP Applicants’ Prior Certifications of Loan “Necessity”,” Ropes & Gray Alert (November 11, 2020)
Co-author, “D.C. District Court Upholds Rule Requiring Hospital Publication of Detailed Charge Data,” Ropes & Gray Alert (June 25, 2020)
Co-author, “2021 Hospital IPPS/LTCH PPS Proposed Rule,” Ropes & Gray Alert (May 21, 2020)
Co-author, “What High Court's ACA Ruling Means For Health Insurers,” Law360 (May 7, 2020)
Co-author, “Supreme Court Holds That the Federal Government Is Obligated to Pay $12 Billion to Insurers Under the Affordable Care Act’s Risk Corridors Program,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 28, 2020)
Co-author, “HHS Provides Additional Guidance on Uninsured Funding and Application for the Remainder of General Distribution Funds,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 28, 2020)
Co-author, “How To Determine Eligibility for HHS Emergency Funds,” Law360 (April 24, 2020)
Co-author, “HHS Provides Guidance on Additional Distributions from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 23, 2020)
Co-author, “Public Health & Social Services Emergency Fund Implementation Guidelines as of April 15, 2020,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 16, 2020)
Co-author, “COVID-19 Related Reimbursement Developments,” Ropes & Gray Alert (March 18, 2020)
Quoted, “Ropes & Gray Signs Health Care Legal Team from Akin Gump,” Bloomberg Law (February 21, 2020)
Profiled, “Prominent Akin Gump Health Partner Departs to Ropes & Gray,” Bloomberg Law (February 3, 2020)
Profiled, “Ropes & Gray Nabs Top Health Care Litigator From Akin Gump,” Law360 (February 3, 2020)
Quoted, “Health & Life Sciences At The High Court: A Decade In Review,” Law360 (December 20, 2019)
Quoted, “Hospitals Look to Courts on HHS Rulemaking, Medicare Payments,” Bloomberg BNA’s Health Care Daily Report (January 3, 2018)
Quoted, “10th Cir. Overturns Medicare Repayment Order, Chides CMS,” Bloomberg BNA’s Medicare Report (June 1, 2016)
Author, “The New Medicare DSH Payment: What’s Baked into the Pie—and How It’s Sliced,” Healthcare Financial Management Association (October 2013)

Presentations

Presenter, “Original Medicare DSH Payment,” American Health Law Association’s 2022 Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues (March 23, 2022)
Presenter, “Original Medicare DSH Payment—An Ongoing Saga,” American Health Law Association’s 2021 Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues (March 25, 2021)
Presenter, “The Role of Informal Agency Guidance in Medicare Payment Disputes,” Virtual Healthcare Law & Compliance Institute (March 10, 2021)
Speaker, “Outlook 2021: Washington, D.C. Updates and Insights on Life Sciences and Health Care,” Ropes & Gray Teleconference (February 25, 2021)
Presenter, “Hot Topics in Medicare Payments,” Texas Health Law Conference (October 6, 2019)
Presenter, “Emerging Issues Regarding the HCPCS Coding Process for Medical Devices,” The MedTech Conference (September 24, 2019)
Presenter, “What’s Old is New Again: The Original DSH Payment,” American Health Lawyers Association Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues, Baltimore, Maryland (March 21 and 22, 2018)
Presenter, “PRRB Appeals: Current Challenges,” American Health Lawyers Association Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues (March 30, 2017)
Presenter, “PRRB Appeals: Current Challenges,” American Health Lawyers Association Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues (April 14, 2016)
Presenter, “PRRB Appeals: Current Challenges,” American Health Lawyers Association Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues (March 26, 2015)
Presenter, “PRRB Appeals: Current Challenges,” American Health Lawyers Association Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues, Baltimore, Maryland (March 27, 2014)

Awards

Legal 500 (2021, 2023)
Chambers USA (2011-2023)
Law360 Health Care MVP (2013, 2014, 2019)
Super Lawyers (2012-2021)
The National Law Journal, Trailblazer (2014, 2019), recognized as one of 50 “people who have made a difference in the fight for justice” for her outstanding work in representing hospitals in Medicare reimbursement disputes, and for being an “agent[] of change in the legal industry who has made an impact on the health sector through new strategies or innovation.”

Professional & Civic Activities

Memberships & Affiliations

Member, Advisory Council, Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy
Former chair, Children’s Hospital Affinity Group of the In-House Counsel and Teaching Hospital and Academic Medical Center Practice Groups, American Health Lawyer Association
Member, Healthcare Financial Management Association
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia