Policy & Compliance

  • April 29, 2026

    AbbVie Seeks Early Win Over HHS In Botox Drug Price Suit

    When the federal government included Botox in Medicare's drug price negotiation program, which allows Medicare officials to negotiate for lower drug prices, it overstepped its authority, drugmaker AbbVie Inc. told a D.C. federal court, arguing the cosmetic drug and migraine treatment is a "plasma-derived" product ineligible for price controls.

  • April 29, 2026

    Medical Equipment Co. Settles Patient Overbilling Claims

    Patients who claim Pennsylvania-based AdaptHealth Corp. overcharged them for returned medical equipment have reached the final version of a class settlement and will soon submit it to a North Carolina federal court for approval, they told the court this week.

  • April 29, 2026

    Justices Rule NJ Info Demand Chilled Anti-Abortion Speech

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously revived an anti‑abortion pregnancy center network's constitutional challenge to a New Jersey subpoena seeking years of donor information, holding that the state's demand infringed free speech.

  • April 28, 2026

    Ohio Justices Nix 'Would Have Been Married' Obergefell Test

    The Ohio Supreme Court held Tuesday that a state law establishing parental rights for the spouse of a woman who conceives a child through artificial insemination doesn't retroactively apply to same-sex couples when a child was born before gay marriage was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015.

  • April 28, 2026

    Ex-Fauci Adviser Charged With Concealing COVID Records

    Federal prosecutors have charged a former adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci with deleting government emails and using his personal email account to dodge public records requests about the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

  • April 28, 2026

    Purdue Pharma's $5.5B Plea Deal Clinched As Survivors Protest

    OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP has to pay a $3.5 billion fine and forfeit an additional $2 billion, more than five years after it pled guilty to criminal charges related to its role in the opioid crisis, a New Jersey federal judge said Tuesday.

  • April 28, 2026

    As RFK Jr. Touts Peptides, Industry Eyes Regulatory Hurdles

    Compounding pharmacies eager to cash in on the peptide boom are watching closely as the nation’s top health official pushes to legalize the market. A regulatory minefield may mean a long wait.

  • April 28, 2026

    Attys Want To See Examples In New Mental Health Parity Rule

    The Trump administration's plans to promulgate new regulations governing mental health parity requirements for employee health plans are currently causing headaches for attorneys, but a rule that includes specific examples could ultimately ease compliance burdens for benefit plan sponsors.

  • April 28, 2026

    MedMal Case Volume Declines, But Doctor Risks Remain High

    While the volume of malpractice lawsuits against U.S. physicians has dropped in recent years, that doesn't mean the threat of legal liability is dissipating, according to a report released Monday by the American Medical Association. 

  • April 28, 2026

    Mich. Health System Inks $1.9M Deal To End ERISA Suit

    A Michigan health system agreed to pay $1.9 million to resolve a suit claiming it failed to kick an underperforming investment fund from its workers' retirement plan, causing employees to lose out on millions in savings.

  • April 28, 2026

    La. AG On 340B, Comstock And 'Political Act' Of Abortion Pills

    Louisiana's attorney general has sued over mifepristone, pursued charges against out-of-state doctors and sparred with drugmakers. Liz Murrill talks to Law360 Healthcare Authority about her approach to healthcare and the law.

  • April 28, 2026

    Union Urges Toss Of Tobacco Co.'s Retiree Health Fight

    A North Carolina federal judge should let a tobacco workers' union keep its win in a retiree healthcare fight with the company that makes Winston and Salem cigarettes, the union argued, saying the company's challenge to a November arbitration award can't proceed because it wasn't properly filed.

  • April 28, 2026

    Maryland Justices Allow IVF Cost Class Action To Proceed

    A Maryland couple can pursue a proposed class action against a health insurer that they say wrongfully denied coverage for embryo thawing in connection with an in vitro fertilization procedure, the Maryland Supreme Court has ruled, finding that the insurer's subsequent payment of the claim doesn't moot the suit.

  • April 28, 2026

    Meet The Attys Arguing The High Court 'Skinny Label' Case

    When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a patent case involving "skinny labels" on generic drugs, a longtime patent attorney as well as a government attorney who often handles intellectual property cases will face an appellate specialist who has argued many high court cases.

  • April 27, 2026

    North Dakota Drug-Pricing Law Blocked In Pharma Fight

    A North Dakota federal judge on Monday blocked the state's new drug-pricing law, agreeing with pharmaceutical companies that while the law purports to "protect the underdogs," it illegally interferes with the federal drug-pricing regime.

  • April 27, 2026

    DOJ Says Wash. 340B Drug Law Is Preempted In Novartis Suit

    The U.S. Department of Justice waded into a dispute between pharmaceutical giants and the state of Washington on Monday, arguing that federal law preempts a new state law that expands discounts that drugmakers must provide under the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program.

  • April 27, 2026

    Wyoming's Latest Near-Total Abortion Ban Blocked

    A Wyoming judge has blocked enforcement of the latest effort by state lawmakers to enact a rigid anti-abortion law, after the Wyoming Supreme Court in January struck down the state's previous near-total ban on abortion. 

  • April 27, 2026

    'General Hospital' Actor Can't Revive Vax Suit Against ABC

    California appellate justices refused to reinstate a "General Hospital" actor's suit alleging ABC fired him for his political views after he declined to comply with its COVID-19 vaccine policy, ruling the evidence shows that the ultimate decision-makers who ended his employment agreement didn't know about his political views.

  • April 27, 2026

    Bioscience Co. Allegedly Hid Volatility Risks From Investors

    A company purportedly focused on using traditional Chinese medicine to treat conditions including autism spectrum disorder faces a proposed investor class action alleging it downplayed the risk it would be probed in connection with unusual volatility affecting the market for its shares.

  • April 27, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Medicaid Fraud Convictions Lacked Evidence

    The government failed to prove the former owner of a mental health counseling company in Virginia willfully committed fraud by falsely billing Medicaid $200,000 for counseling services on two specific dates, a panel of the Fourth Circuit has found, overturning his convictions.

  • April 24, 2026

    Tenn. Abortion Ban Trial Taken Off Calendar Following Appeal

    A Tennessee state court has canceled a trial scheduled to begin Monday over a suit challenging the state's abortion ban and seeking clarification on when a physician can legally terminate a high-risk pregnancy.

  • April 24, 2026

    Cigna Plan Members Say HIPAA Notice Backs Privacy Claims

    A group of Cigna health plan participants who claimed the company failed to protect their private health information when it tracked their website activities told a Pennsylvania federal judge that the insurance giant should not be allowed to dodge new allegations that their HIPAA rights were violated.

  • April 24, 2026

    2nd Circ. Nixes Cigna Retirees' Bid For Added Discovery

    The Second Circuit refused to restart proceedings in a class action from Cigna retirees who challenged changes to their pensions, ruling Friday that a lower court was correct to hold that the ex-workers hadn't shown the insurer was disregarding orders to reform their retirement plan. 

  • April 23, 2026

    FTC Cuts Deal To End Anesthesia Group Rollup Case

    The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement Thursday to settle its case accusing U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. of monopolizing the Texas anesthesia services market by purchasing most of the competing anesthesia practices in the state.

  • April 23, 2026

    Pa. County Joins Insulin-Pricing Suit Blitz Against CVS, PBMs

    Chester County, Pennsylvania, filed its own suit in a sprawling multidistrict litigation against CVS and multiple pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies, claiming the entities worked together to inflate the price of insulin.

Expert Analysis

  • Peptide Policy Is Shifting Toward Sanctioned Compounding

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    The policy landscape for peptides is undergoing a significant shift under the Trump administration, moving toward a complex system of verified compounding and complementary enforcement that will likely bring peptides firmly back into the sphere of legitimate consumer products, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Trump Order Signals Tougher Benefits Fraud Probes

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    A recent order from President Donald Trump establishing a federal taskforce for addressing fraud in federally funded benefit programs emphasizes interagency information sharing, potentially affecting a broad range of areas including government contracts, administrative law considerations and False Claims Act cases, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • The Evolution Of States' Workplace Violence Prevention Laws

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    Utah's new law requiring hospitals to implement comprehensive workplace violence reporting systems continues a broader trend of state efforts to expand workplace protections in the absence of sufficient federal regulations, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • FDA Guidance May Move Goalposts For Form 483 Responses

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    New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides formal insight on how drug manufacturers are expected to respond to Form 483s, raising some concerns about the agency's timelines and expectations, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • 2 Strands Of Patent Law In High Court's 'Skinny Label' Case

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    Amarin v. Hikma, which is set for oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court this month, highlights the distinction between two different strands of intellectual property law — analogizing a patent to either a property deed or a home, says Jonas McDavit at Spencer West.

  • A Check-Up On HHS' Push To Implement AI Infrastructure

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made some headway in its efforts to implement artificial intelligence across its agencies, but will have to overcome a number of near-term tests in order to be successful, says Theodore Thompson at Stinson.

  • Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Michigan's financial services sector saw several significant developments in 2026's first quarter, including the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services' issuance of a bulletin on the use of artificial intelligence and the Michigan House's introduction of a bill based on the Model Money Transmission Modernization Act, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • The Road Ahead For Drug Development In The US

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    Against the backdrop of drug manufacturers potentially looking to move development efforts overseas, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest guidance on new approach methodologies signals the FDA is likely to be receptive to industry innovation that makes U.S.-based drug development faster or less expensive, creating opportunities and compliance risks for tech companies, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • FDA's Crackdown On Drug Ads Conflicts With Precedent

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    Recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning letters to drug manufacturers targeting direct-to-consumer advertising raise significant constitutional concerns, and directly clash with prior FDA stances, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Informal Announcements Are Reshaping FDA Regulations

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent shift toward using press releases, podcasts and other informal channels to announce major policy changes reflects a valid desire to modernize and accelerate regulatory efforts, but it could lead to diminished transparency, increased industry burden and reduced policy durability, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • A Shift In Fed. Circ.'s Approach To Patent Summary Judgment

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Range of Motion v. Armaid may come to be seen as a seminal opinion for potentially exposing and entrenching the Federal Circuit's movement away from its previous framework for identifying obvious noninfringement cases, says Nicholas Nowak at Nowak IP Group.

  • DOJ Actions Suggest Expansion Of Healthcare Enforcement

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    Recent actions by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggest that federal healthcare enforcement efforts are moving away from traditional program-based fraud and toward cases centered on product integrity, regulatory transparency and telehealth marketing, effectively widening the government's enforcement playbook, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • New Orphan Drug Law Provides A Key Fix For Pharma Cos.

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    The Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted last month restores the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's long-standing interpretation of "same disease or condition," related to orphan drug exclusivity, resolving years of regulatory uncertainty and litigation that have discouraged rare disease research, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.