DEBORAH J. WINEGARD

Ms. Winegard focuses her practice on healthcare litigation, primarily representing physicians, hospitals, physical therapy practices, ambulatory surgery centers, and other healthcare providers in reimbursement disputes with third party payers and in antitrust and ERISA litigation against health insurers. Ms. Winegard also represents medical societies and organizations advocating for physician interests with payers and government and patients seeking coverage for wilderness therapy and other  mental health treatments under the Parity Act.

Ms. Winegard speaks widely on healthcare and reimbursement issues. She has given presentations for the American Medical Association, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, the American Society of Medical Association Counsel, the Medical Group Managers Association, and several state and specialty medical associations. Ms. Winegard has published articles in several publications, including Connecticut Medicine, published by the Connecticut State Medical Society, and Texas Medicine, published by the Texas Medical Association. A webinar on RAC and other medical audits Ms. Winegard conducted for the Physicians Advocacy Institute is available on that organization’s website.

Ms. Winegard’s prior experience includes serving as the General Counsel and Director of Third Party Payer Advocacy for the Medical Association of Georgia, as General Counsel and Senior Vice President for the California Medical Association, as Law & Government Affairs Vice President for four states for AT&T, and as an Associate on King & Spalding’s Healthcare Team.

Ms. Winegard served as the Facilitator for the MDL settlements with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Capital Blue Cross, CIGNA, Health Net, and Humana, handling compliance disputes brought by physicians who complained that these health insurers had violated the settlement agreements reached in the MDL healthcare litigation.

Ms. Winegard graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Politics from Wake Forest University in 1979, where she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She earned her J.D. with honors from George Washington University in 1982. She is admitted to practice in Georgia, as well as in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

Ms. Winegard is based in Atlanta, where she serves as a member of the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee, and Chair of the Audit Committee for LifeLink Foundation. She has previously held leadership positions for the Health Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, and the National Kidney Foundation of Georgia, and has also served on the Boards of Directors for the Alliance Française d’Atlanta and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta.

Ms. Winegard speaks French.  She is Of Counsel to the Firm.