Health Care Law
Prosecuting Health Insurers
Strumwasser & Woocher served as lead counsel for the Department of
Insurance's successful prosecution of PacifiCare Life & Health
Insurance Company for over 900,000 violations of the Unfair Insurance
Practices Act.
In re PacifiCare Life & Health Ins. Co., No. UPA 2007-00004.
Advising and Representing Healthcare Organizations
The firm also advises the AIDS Healthcare Foundation regarding its electoral
activities, contracting, and impact litigation in support of its mission
to provide care and treatment to HIV/AIDS patients in California. The
firm recently secured two victories for AHF challenging the County of
Los Angeles' violations of the rules governing public contracting.
Protecting Access to Autism Care
Strumwasser & Woocher represents the nonprofit organization Consumer
Watchdog and a developmental pediatrician in a challenge to the Department
of Managed Health Care's policies regarding health insurance coverage
for a highly effective treatment for autism, applied behavioral analysis
("ABA"). In litigation that has lasted nearly five years, the
firm argued that the Department of Managed Health Care had inappropriately
permitted health insurers to deny coverage to families where ABA therapy
was provided by trained personnel who did not have a state license. The
Court of Appeal has granted Consumer Watchdog's petition for rehearing
and the case remains pending as of March 2014.