Cathy Deubel Salenko

Partner

Cathy Deubel Salenko leads the Health Care practice group of Best Best & Krieger LLP. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, she was a shareholder with McDonough Holland & Allen in Sacramento for nearly 20 years.

Ms. Salenko's practice is devoted to representation of private and public health care providers and payers in a wide variety of health care and business matters. Her practice includes general health care and business counseling, contract negotiation and preparation, managed care, health regulatory and compliance issues, acquisitions, mergers and affiliations of health care businesses, financing transactions, trouble shooting and problem solving. 

Ms. Salenko has provided legal services to nonprofit health care systems, health care districts, hospitals, medical groups, physicians and other public, nonprofit and for-profit entities. 

Ms. Salenko currently serves as General Counsel to the County Medical Services Program (CMSP) Governing Board. Representing the Governing Board since before its inception in 1995, Ms. Salenko oversees all legal matters concerning the Governing Board and the indigent health care programs it administers for 35 California counties, budgeted at approximately $400 million. Past legal work on behalf of the Governing Board includes contracting with a pharmacy benefits manager for prescription drug benefit administration (2003); contracting with a third party administrator for health, dental and vision benefits administration (2005); and contracting with the State of California for a Low Income Health Program (Path2Health) that operates under a federal Medicaid Waiver. 

For more than 20 years, Ms. Salenko served as lead borrower's counsel to a major nonprofit health care system and other health care providers and entities in financing transactions exceeding $4 billion.

Ms. Salenko is a graduate of the American Health Lawyers Association Mediator Training Program and offers mediation services concerning health care issues.

Ms. Salenko is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association, the California Society of Healthcare Attorneys and the State Bar of Hawaii. She has been recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer (2004) and received the American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Civil Procedure.

Ms. Salenko is a Martindale-Hubbell AV peer review rated attorney.

Education

• University of San Diego (USD), J.D. (1983)
• University of San Diego (USD), Lawyer's Assistant Program - Litigation Specialization, with Honors (1980)
• California State University, Sacramento, B.A., with Honors (1980)

Bar Admissions

• California (1985)
• Hawaii (1983)

Court Admissions

• United States District Court, Eastern District of California
• United States District Court, District of Hawaii

Awards

• Sacramento Magazine Top Lawyers, Nonprofit Organizations (2016)