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Robert Leventhal is a partner and litigation attorney in Payne & Fears’ Los Angeles office.
Robert Leventhal is a partner and litigation attorney in Payne & Fears’ Los Angeles office. He has substantial experience with complex healthcare litigation, insurance coverage disputes, reinsurance disputes, and complex business litigation.
Robert has litigated cases against insurance companies on numerous coverage issues. He has represented employers who participated in group insurance programs that became insolvent and pursued brokers who placed the employers in the insolvent programs. Robert also has represented reinsurers in lawsuits and arbitrations regarding numerous actuarial, underwriting, and accounting issues.
Robert has extensive experience representing healthcare providers in various disputes, including complex litigation, arbitrations, and regulatory matters. He has successfully represented providers in litigation involving billing disputes and disputes between managed care plans and healthcare providers. In addition, Robert has represented healthcare providers in a variety of regulatory matters, including matters before the California Medical Board, the Department of Managed Health Care, and other regulatory agencies. His healthcare experience also includes providing compliance counseling to healthcare providers regarding Medicare Advantage programs and other regulatory issues. Robert has helped health plans respond to regulatory investigations, and has served as a representative for health plans in disputes between managed care plans and contracted managing general agent, and between managed care plan and plan members.
Representative Matters
- In 2021, successfully prosecuted an eight-figure contractual bonus claim against Medicare Advantage plan on behalf of a large Los Angeles County hospital and its affiliated medical group.
- Served as lead plaintiff attorney in lawsuit against broker for placing employer in a fraudulent Multi Employer Welfare Arrangement.
- Served as lead plaintiff attorney in a California state court class action representing a class of hospitals challenging Medi-Cal hospital outpatient rates. This case, along with a federal case, resulted in a $350 million payment to California hospitals and a 40 percent prospective rate increase.
- Served as lead plaintiff attorney in federal lawsuit brought by Federally Qualified Health Centers (“FQHCs”) challenging Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ underground regulation precluding hospitals from including the costs incurred by their hospital based FQHCs in the Disproportionate Share Hospital calculations. Alameda Health v. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, 287 F. Supp. 3D 896 (N.D.Cal. 2017).
- Served as lead plaintiff attorney in a lawsuit challenging Medi-Cal rates paid to home healthcare providers. California Association for Health Services at Home v. Department of Health Services, 148 Cal.App.4th 696 (2007).
- Served as lead plaintiff attorney in a lawsuit challenging Medi-Cal hospital rates. Hoag Memorial Hospital v. Tom Price, 866 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2017).
- Served as lead plaintiff attorney in a lawsuit against a hospital system’s broker for placing insurance with an insurance company that was on the brink of insolvency.
- Handled rate litigation against a health plan for inadequate out-of-network emergency services reimbursement.
- Represented the California Hospital Association in major litigation, including the successful defense of an antitrust class action and in lawsuits relating to the implementation of nurse staffing regulations.
- Represented a California managed care plan in Medi-Cal managed care rate appeals challenging the adequacy of managed care capitation rates set by the California Department of Health Care Services.
- Successfully defended Western Dental in a lawsuit brought by the California Department of Corporations seeking to put Western Dental into receivership because of alleged quality of care issues.
- Served as first chair in arbitrations of reinsurance disputes involving hundreds of millions of dollars.