Policy & Compliance
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March 13, 2026
Sandoz Appealing Ruling Over Amgen's Enbrel Biosimilar
Sandoz Inc. is appealing after a Virginia federal court ruled it should have brought claims accusing Amgen of blocking competition for the Enbrel biosimilar in a previous patent dispute, according to a Friday notice.
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March 13, 2026
Texas Justices Clear Way For State's Trans Care Probe
An LGBTQ+ advocacy organization must produce documents as part of an investigation from the Texas attorney general's office into transgender treatments for minors, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday, saying that the state's ban on gender-affirming care for minors is the law and must be followed.
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March 13, 2026
EPA Aims To Lift Biden-Era Ethylene Oxide Limits
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed rolling back limits on emissions of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic chemical used in the sterilization of medical devices.
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March 12, 2026
Ariz. Docs Ink $4.75M FCA Deal Over Unnecessary Treatment
An Arizona-based physician group that offers cardiology and vascular services has inked a $4.75 million settlement to resolve False Claims Act allegations they performed unnecessary vein ablations and submitted claims for payment to government healthcare programs for reimbursement, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
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March 12, 2026
Top Texas Court Upholds Death Sentence For ICU Nurse
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday affirmed the death sentence of a former cardiovascular nurse convicted of intentionally murdering patients recovering from operations, finding that Texas prosecutors' accusation that defense counsel engaged in "misdirection and deception" was "mild."
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March 12, 2026
Wash. Justices OK Jury Instruction In TB Malpractice Case
The Washington State Supreme Court declined Thursday to flip a family's loss in a case blaming an Evergreen State doctor for failing to address signs of an intestinal tuberculosis infection that led to a patient's death, rejecting a challenge to a jury instruction on the physician's exercise of judgment.
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March 12, 2026
Colo. Panel Clarifies Workers Comp Law On Maintenance Care
In interpreting the Colorado Workers' Compensation Act, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled for the first time Thursday that employers and their insurers cannot limit maintenance medical benefits to any specific treatment in a final admission of liability.
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March 12, 2026
US Chamber Report Warns Of Risks To IP Protection
While the U.S. has ranked at the top of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's list measuring how countries worldwide are enforcing intellectual property laws, the group said problems with free trade agreements and efforts to reduce pharmaceutical prices could cause problems on the horizon domestically.
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March 12, 2026
Doc's Hands Aren't Property, Texas Panel Rules In Death Suit
A state-employed doctor's hands are not "tangible personal property," a Texas appeals court ruled Thursday, dismissing a wrongful death suit from the family of a patient who contracted a fatal infection during her hospital stay.
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March 11, 2026
New Wyoming Abortion Law Faces Familiar Legal Challenge
Just a day after it was signed into law, Wyoming's new anti-abortion law triggered a legal challenge from the same health clinic that successfully sued over the state's previous abortion limits.
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March 11, 2026
La. Fights Dismissal Bid In Abortion Regulation Dispute
The state of Louisiana urged a federal court to deny motions by GenBioPro Inc. and Danco Laboratories seeking dismissal of its suit challenging federal regulation on mail-order abortion drugs, arguing it has established harms stemming from the regulations.
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March 11, 2026
Ohio Hospital Defeats DaVita's Dialysis Discrimination Suit
An Ohio hospital and its health benefit plan did not discriminate against patients with end-stage renal disease by eliminating in-network coverage for dialysis, a federal court ruled, finding that dialysis provider DaVita Inc. failed to show the plan intended to harm participants.
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March 11, 2026
VA, DOJ Cut Deal To Make Attys Mental Health Guardians
Under a new initiative, attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice will serve as legal guardians for some homeless veterans, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday, though some veterans advocates expressed concern that the new program could involuntarily coerce veterans experiencing mental health issues into institutional care.
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March 11, 2026
Aetna Will Pay $117.7M To Resolve False Billing Suit
Aetna Inc. has agreed to pay $117.7 million to settle claims that the company violated the False Claims Act by submitting, and failing to correct, false diagnosis codes for its Medicare Advantage plan customers in order to boost cash flow from the federal insurance program, the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia said Wednesday.
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March 10, 2026
A Look At The Real Impact Of The FTC's PBM Settlements
It may all come down to the details in a landmark settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and one of the biggest pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S., as delayed timelines and a key carveout provision threaten to dampen sweeping changes to the larger system.
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March 10, 2026
5th Circ. Revives J&J Sales Rep's Wage Dispute
A Texas federal court did not take into consideration relevant factors to determine whether a former Johnson & Johnson sales representative's failure to retain local counsel in his wage and hour suit represented excusable neglect, the Fifth Circuit ruled on Tuesday.
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March 10, 2026
Sanofi Says Judge Botched Insulin Device Patent Listings
Sanofi-Aventis sparred with drug wholesalers over a Massachusetts federal magistrate judge's pronouncements that the parties should go to trial on claims the pharmaceutical giant used improper insulin device patent listings to anticompetitively protect the blockbuster Lantus insulin pen from competition.
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March 10, 2026
Lab's Aetna Payment Suit Survives, But With Deep Cuts
A Connecticut federal judge ruled Aetna and its parent company, CVS Health Corp., must face a pared down lawsuit from a medical laboratory alleging it is owed $20.6 million in unpaid invoices.
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March 10, 2026
Wash. To Set Its Own Vaccine Schedule Under New State Law
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed legislation that requires health plans to cover vaccines and other preventive care recommended by the state rather than the federal government, joining a movement toward states setting their own recommendations.
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March 10, 2026
4th Circ. Backs W.Va.'s Trans Care Coverage Exclusion
The Fourth Circuit said Tuesday that West Virginia's Medicaid coverage exclusion for gender-affirming care passes constitutional muster and does not discriminate based on sex, basing its conclusion on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
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March 10, 2026
CVS Can't 'Relitigate' Price-Gouging Class Cert.
A Rhode Island federal judge refused to narrow the certified classes of health plans alleging CVS schemed with pharmacy benefit managers to overcharge insured health plans for generic drugs, finding that PBM Express Scripts' refusal to produce its contracts changes nothing about how the classes will be assessed.
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March 10, 2026
2nd Circ. Revives Geico's Suit Over Acupuncture Referrals
A lower court erred in granting summary judgment to Geico after the insurer sued over reimbursements to an acupuncturist involved in what Geico said was a kickback scheme, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday, finding the district court misinterpreted a state law detailing requirements for referrals and no-fault payments.
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March 10, 2026
Minn. Medicaid Funds Case A Test For CMS Tactic
Minnesota’s fight over $243 million in Medicaid funding frozen by the Trump administration sets up an unusual, politically tinged legal clash that may shape the government’s anti-fraud tactics in other states.
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March 10, 2026
Wyoming Abortion Ruling Sets Off Lawmaker Backlash
Lawmakers in Wyoming won't let judges have the final word on abortion and have considered slashing judicial security funding and shrinking the top court. This week, the governor signed a new "heartbeat" abortion ban likely to see new legal challenges.
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March 10, 2026
Former Conn. Prosecutor Can Stay On Generic-Drug Case
Connecticut's former assistant attorney general can continue to represent insurers Humana and Molina Healthcare Inc. in multidistrict litigation over alleged price-fixing of generic drugs, after the Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the case agreed Monday with a report that the attorney has no information that had not already been shared.
Expert Analysis
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Assessing Compliance Risks Around TrumpRx Participation
As there are novel compliance obligations and potential political opposition related to the new TrumpRx online drug platform, companies intending to participate on the site should consider the pressure points that are likely to draw enforcement scrutiny, say attorneys at Sheppard.
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Predicting Actual Impact From CDC's New Vaccine Guidance
Recent federal changes to the childhood immunization schedule, reducing the number of vaccine recommendations from 18 to 11, do not automatically create enforceable obligations for parents, schools or healthcare providers, but may spur litigation and other downstream effects on school policies and state guidelines, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.
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What Rescheduling Means For Cannabis Labels, Marketing
The proposed reclassification of cannabis is expected to bring heightened scrutiny of labeling, advertising and marketing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, but the brands that tighten evidence, standardize operations and professionalize marketing controls now will see fewer surprises and better outcomes, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
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What's At Stake In Possible Circuit Split On Medicaid Rule
A recent Eleventh Circuit decision, reviving Florida's lawsuit against a federal rule that reduces Medicaid funding based on agreements between hospitals, sets up a potential circuit split with the Fifth Circuit, with important ramifications for states looking to private administrators to run provider tax programs, say Liz Goodman, Karuna Seshasai and Rebecca Pitt at FTI Consulting.
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Courts' Rare Quash Of DOJ Subpoenas Has Lessons For Cos.
In a rare move, three federal courts recently quashed or partially quashed expansive U.S. Department of Justice administrative subpoenas issued to providers of gender-affirming care, demonstrating that courts will scrutinize purpose, cabin statutory authority and acknowledge the profound privacy burdens of overbroad government demands for sensitive records, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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Remote Patient Monitoring Is At Regulatory Inflection Point
With remote patient monitoring at the center of new federal pilot programs and a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General examining Medicare billing for those services, it is clear that balancing innovation and risk will be a central challenge ahead for digital health stakeholders, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Utah's AI Prescription Renewal Pilot Could Inform Policy
Utah recently became the first state to approve an artificial intelligence system for autonomously renewing certain prescription medicines, providing a test case for how regulators may be able to draw boundaries between administrative automation and medical judgment, say Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners and Bryant Godfrey at Foley Hoag.
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Ramped Up Psychedelic Production Carries Opportunity, Risk
Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell discusses the key legal implications of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's recent dramatic increases in the production quotas for a range of psychedelic substances, offering guidance on compliance, risk management and strategic opportunities for practitioners navigating this rapidly evolving landscape.
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New Biotech Nat'l Security Controls May Have Blunted Impact
While the newly enacted federal prohibition against contracting with certain biotechnology providers associated with countries of concern may have consequences on U.S. companies' ability to develop drugs, the restrictions may prove to be less problematic for the industry than the significant publicity around their passage would suggest, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Takeaways From The DOJ Fraud Section's 2025 Year In Review
Former acting Principal Deputy Chief Sean Tonolli of the U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section, now at Cahill Gordon, analyzes key findings from the section’s annual report — including the changes implemented to adapt to the new administration’s priorities — and lays out what to watch for this year.
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Traditional FCA Enforcement Surges Amid Shifting Priorities
The U.S. Department of Justice’s January report on False Claims Act enforcement in fiscal year 2025 reveals that while the administration signaled its intent to expand FCA enforcement into new areas such as tariffs, for now the greatest exposure remains in traditional areas like healthcare — in which the risk is growing, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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3 Key Ohio Financial Services Developments From 2025
Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw particularly notable developments in 2025, including a significant Ohio Supreme Court decision on creditor disclosure duties to guarantors in Huntington National Bank v. Schneider, and some major proposed changes to the state's Homebuyer Plus program, says Alex Durst at Durst Kerridge.
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Rescheduling Cannabis Marks New Tax Era For Operators
As the attorney general takes steps to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, operators and advisers should prepare by considering the significant changes this will bring from tax, state, industry and market perspectives, says Michael Harlow at CohnReznick.