John Wagner is a seasoned healthcare lawyer with a broad practice, primarily focusing on healthcare litigation. His practice combines administrative cases, before federal and state agencies, and court litigation. Mr. Wagner's strength as a litigator is his creativity and his dedication to mastering the details of a case. He has handled hundreds of Medicare and Medi-Cal cases, including the landmark Redbud Hospital case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, winning millions of dollars for his clients.
These cases have covered the inner workings of hospitals and health systems ranging from soup to nuts, including: control by a parent over affiliate operations, detailed aspects of bond financings, reserve funds, classifications of unused space and unavailable beds at hospitals and nursing facilities, contract interpretation, aspects of Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), treatment of interest by expense and income, challenges to Medicare regulations on a variety of topics and fraud and abuse issues.
Mr. Wagner has an established reputation before numerous state and federal tribunals and agencies as thoroughly professional, completely credible and always fully prepared. As a result, not only has he won virtually all of his cases, but also he has achieved many favorable settlements, including settlements in significant fraud and abuse investigations and cases.
Mr. Wagner completed the American Health Lawyers Association's Alternative Dispute Resolution training program and has served as a mediator in both small and large healthcare disputes. He was recognized by San Francisco magazine as a Northern California "Super Lawyer" in the area of Health Care Law in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and is also AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. From 1991-1993, Mr. Wagner took a sabbatical from the practice of law to do human rights work in Peru.
Representative Work
Heckler v. Redbud Hospital District
Mayhew Tech. Center Phase Two v. County of Sacramento
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento v. Shalala
St. Elizabeth Community Hospital v. Heckler
Sacramento - Sierra Hospital Group v. BCBSA/Blue Cross of California and Aetna Life Ins. Co.
Professional Affiliations
American Bar Association
American Health Lawyers Association
American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics
California Academy of Attorneys for Healthcare Professionals (Vice President)
California Healthcare Association
California Society of Healthcare Attorneys
Healthcare Financial Management Association
Sacramento County Bar Association
Scribes (membership based on excellence in legal writing)
Awards & Honors
Named a Northern California "Super Lawyer" in the area of Health Care Law by
San Francisco magazine in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Presentations
Speaker on numerous healthcare related topics.
Speaker, "California's New Law on Hospital Charity Care and Discount Payment Plans," Northern California Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), April 20, 2007.
Speaker, "Health Care Law Update," Roundtable: Healthcare, California Lawyer, September 2002.
Speaker, "Physician Well-Being Committee Issues," Western U.S. Regional Conference on Physician Well-Being Committees, Riverside, CA, 2000.
Speaker, "Winning Physician Discipline Cases," American Health Lawyers Association Physicians and Physician Organizations Law Institute, 2000.
Speaker, "Corporate Compliance: Successful Strategies for Responding to the Medicare Fraud and Abuse Crackdown," National Roundtable, Healthcare Business, January-February, 1999.
Publications
Co-Author, "A Stark Contrast," Daily Journal, April 20, 2009.
Author, "Procedures After Trial," California Administrative Mandamus, Third Ed. 2003-present (Continuing Education of the Bar).
Author, numerous "Nossaman E-Alerts" on healthcare topics, 2001-present.
Editor, numerous chapters in CEB treatise, California Administrative Mandamus and California Hearing Practice, 2003-present.
Author, "The Growing Reach of Fraud and Abuse Cases," Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine, July/August 2002.
Author, "Challenging the Regulators," Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine, May/June 2002.
Author, "In the Crosshairs—The New Fraud and Abuse Era in Healthcare and What Clients Need From Outside Counsel," Nossaman Bulletin, February 1998.
Author and Speaker, "Rural Health Networks," Paper to American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, 1996.
Author, "Medi-Cal Program Is Causing Chaos and Disruption," Sacramento Business Journal, July 4, 1994.
Author, "Violence and Hope in Peru," Maryknoll Magazine, May, 1993.
Author, "The Case of Chillutira," human rights report submitted to U.S. Congress, 1993.
Author, "A Guide To Federal Anti-‘Patient Dumping' Law," National Healthcare Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, 1990. (This paper was the first national summary of what would become known as EMTALA – the first federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.)
Author, "Judge Robert A. Sprecher: A Law Clerk's Tribute," 78 Northwestern L.Rev. 301, 1983.
Author, "Justice Stevens and the Emerging Law of Sex Discrimination," 1982 Pepperdine L.Rev. 315, 1982.
Author, "Wisconsin's New Juvenile Waiver Statute: Are We Waiving Goodbye to Juvenile Rights?" 1979 Wis. L.Rev. 190.
Author, "Research Bibliography," Ethics For Scientific Researchers, Charles E. Reagan, 1969.
Education
J.D., University of Wisconsin School of Law, 1980
cum laude, Order of the Coif, Articles Editor, Wisconsin Law Review, Am-Jur Legal Writing Award
1974, Harvard University
Certificate of Continuing Education
A.M., University of Chicago, 1971
B.A., Western State College of Colorado, 1968
Admitted
California
Wisconsin
United States Supreme Court