Caroline L. Wolverton focuses her practice on litigation involving federal administrative and regulatory matters, including Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, and providing counsel on rulemakings and other federal administrative procedures.Ms. Wolverton previously served as a senior trial counsel in the Federal Programs Branch of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Division where she litigated civil cases of national significance involving regulatory, statutory, constitutional and other challenges on behalf of a diversity of federal agencies, including the departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Treasury, Transportation, Education, Defense and State.
She also provided counsel to multiple federal agencies on rulemakings as well as litigation risk and strategy.While at the DOJ, Ms. Wolverton defended the HHS and the Treasury in litigation challenging implementation of the Affordable Care Act. She defended the HHS against challenges to Medicare rulemakings and against other challenges involving Medicare, as well as challenges involving Medicaid.
Among other significant representations, Ms. Wolverton’s work also included defending the Department of State in discovery in a Freedom of Information Act challenge regarding former Secretary Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server for State Department business.Prior to her years of service at the DOJ, Ms. Wolverton was an associate at another Washington, D.C. law firm. She also served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Edward W. Nottingham in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Representative Work:
- Obtained favorable resolution of federal court challenge to administrative decision denying medical device manufacturer’s request for medical coding, after obtaining preliminary injunction from D.C. Circuit in first-of-its kind litigation. (Alcresta v. Azar)
- Defeated motion to dismiss Equal Protection and Administrative Procedure Act challenge to federal government’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador nationals residing in United States. (CASA de Maryland v. Trump)
- Prevailed in challenge to agency rulemaking that contradicted statutory requirement by delaying the effective date of a Medicare payment adjustment for hospital outpatient services at the nation’s leading cancer treatment centers. ( Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, et al. v. Azar)
- Prevailed in challenge to agency regulatory interpretation that improperly lowered hospitals’ Medicare disproportionate share hospital adjustment by excluding patients receiving Medicaid benefits under demonstration project from calculation of adjustment. (Healthalliance Hospitals, et al. v. Hargan)
Affiliations:
- trial attorney, Federal Programs Branch, United States Department of Justice (1997-2005, 2008-2014)
- judicial law clerk, The Honorable Edward W. Nottingham, United States District Court for the District of Colorado (1995-1997).
- senior trial counsel, Federal Programs Branch, United States Department of Justice (2014-2017)
Education:
- J.D., Harvard Law School, 1995
- B.A., Harvard University, cum laude, 1991
Bar Admissions:
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
Cost
Rate : $$$