Katrina A. Pagonis

Katrina A. Pagonis is chair of the firm’s Regulatory Department and is widely recognized as a leading health care attorney. She advises hospitals and health systems on complex matters involving Medicare and Medicaid policy and reimbursement, federal regulation of Medicare Advantage plans and other managed care payers, and administrative litigation. With a background that includes a federal judicial clerkship and a health law professorship, Katrina brings a distinctive combination of academic rigor and practical insight to her work.

Katrina counsels clients on high‑stakes regulatory and payment issues arising under federal health care programs, including developments related to the Affordable Care Act, the No Surprises Act, the 2025 reconciliation legislation (Pub. L. 119-21), and other major reform initiatives. She is highly valued for her depth of knowledge of both the regulatory nuances and the broader ramifications of health care reform, as well as her ability to clearly communicate with both clients and judges on these complex and rapidly evolving issues. Katrina also represents providers in high‑value managed care negotiations and in disputes involving the Medicare Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the False Claims Act.

She recently secured a significant appellate victory in Bridgeport Hospital v. Becerra, the first Medicare case decided after the Supreme Court eliminated Chevron deference in Loper Bright.  The decision sets out meaningful guardrails on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) regulatory authority. Moreover, the D.C. Circuit confirmed that vacatur is appropriate when a Medicare rule exceeds the scope of agency authority and that interest must be awarded in a successful Medicare appeal even before the precise amount of back payments is finalized. Bridgeport has been widely cited by litigants and has been discussed in subsequent court decisions and Medicare rulemaking.