Dorthula H. Powell-Woodson

Dot Powell-Woodson’s career and experience reflect exemplary service as a critical thought leader and strategic problem solver to those at the highest levels of Corporate America (Chief Legal Officers, CEOs, CFOs, and other C-Suite Executives), of Government (Governor, Attorney General, Cabinet Officials, and Agency Heads), and in law firm management (as a member of the firm's two governance committees – the Executive Committee and the Management Committee).

Dot currently serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Health Care Practice and in this role counsels clients on matters that sit at the intersection of health care, government contracting, and statutory/regulatory compliance.  

Dot’s practice focuses on all major government health care programs (including Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and TRICARE), and on federal statutory and regulatory requirements applicable both to government and commercial health care offerings (e.g., the Affordable Care Act, the HIPAA Administrative Simplification regulations, the HITECH Act, the federal health care Anti-Kickback Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, etc.).

A significant component of Dot’s current practice is concentrated on government health care procurements and contracting, contract administration, and state and federal regulatory compliance relating to complex prime, subcontract, and affiliate agreements. While her work in this area includes contracts for dental, vision, disease management, behavioral health, telehealth, and various consumer tools, the core of her practice is devoted to developing and negotiating complex contracts for pharmacy benefits. With regard to her PBM experience, Dot has developed and negotiated contracts with all major PBMs for retail, mail order, and specialty drug programs and also has assisted clients with direct rebate contracting and contracting for medical rebates. Read more about Dot’s PBM experience here.

The diversity, breadth, and depth of Dot’s practice reflect her many different roles connected to the health care industry and the unparalleled experience she is able to bring to each client and to each matter, despite their complexity or novelty.

Representative Matters

• Provides legal guidance on all aspects of health care and government contracting (including drafting and negotiating prime contracts, subcontracts, and affiliate agreements); counsels clients on contract administration and interpretation issues; reviews and assesses contractor compliance with contract terms and conditions; advises on the legal aspects of proposal preparation; provides legal analyses and preparation of requests for equitable adjustment to contracting officers and claims to boards of contract appeal and/or federal courts; and undertakes defense of audit issues.
• Analyzes and interprets the HIPAA Administrative Simplification provisions – Privacy Rule, Standards for Electronic Transactions and Security Standards – and compliance obligations for health plans as insurers and third-party administrators.
• Conducts due diligence for commercial transactions and handles procurement matters involving the commercial and public sector markets, including prosecuting protests at the agency level, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Court of Federal Claims, and the Federal District Court.

Professional Experience

• Vice President, Legal Services, Value Behavioral Health/Options Health Care
• Governor-appointed Director, Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Human Resources Management
• Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia

Affiliations

• National Bar Association
• American Health Law Association
  • Fellow (2020-Present)
  • Board of Directors (2012-2018)
  • Former Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law
  • Former Co-Chair, Diversity & Inclusion Council
• American Bar Association
  • Section of Public Contract Law
  • Section of Health Law

Recognitions

• The Best Lawyers in America, Health Care Law (2023)
• Editor-in-Chief, Health Care Contracts: A Clause-By-Clause Guide to Drafting and Negotiation, American Health Law Association, 2021
• YWCA "Woman of the Year" (2015)
• Lawdragon, One of "3000 Leading Lawyers in America" (2010-2011)