Damaris Medina is Co-Chair of Buchalter’s Health Care Practice Group, Health Care Dispute Resolution Practice Group, and Health Care & Life Sciences Industry Group, and serves as Chair of the Firm’s Health Systems & Hospitals Industry Group. A Partner in the Firm’s Los Angeles and Orange County offices, Ms. Medina is a nationally recognized health care attorney with more than 15 years of experience advising and representing hospitals, health systems, and other health care providers in complex litigation, reimbursement disputes, and regulatory matters.
Ms. Medina’s practice focuses on managed care litigation involving commercial and Medicare/Medicaid plans, where she has successfully litigated numerous high-value reimbursement disputes against major health plans—recovering millions of dollars for her provider clients. Her experience spans both out-of-network disputes, where she establishes the reasonable value of hospital and physician services, and in-network matters involving unfair payment practices, medical necessity, and coding denials. She represents clients in arbitration, state, and federal courts nationwide.
Ms. Medina also represents hospitals, health systems, physician organizations, and other health care entities in complex disputes beyond reimbursement, including contractual and business disputes, strategic affiliations and joint ventures, physician and medical staff matters, regulatory and compliance-related litigation, and False Claims Act matters. Her deep understanding of health care operations allows her to approach these disputes with insight into the regulatory, operational, and financial considerations that drive both the litigation and the client’s broader business objectives.
Beyond litigation, Ms. Medina provides strategic counsel to hospitals and health systems on managed care contracting, revenue cycle optimization, regulatory compliance, and risk management. She works closely with executive, legal, and operational leadership to develop practical, forward-looking solutions that address the immediate issue while protecting business objectives, preserving important relationships where appropriate, and reducing future risk. She also defends providers in government and private payor audits, False Claims Act investigations, and enforcement actions brought by agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
