Policy & Compliance

  • June 20, 2025

    Texas Panel Blocks San Antonio's Abortion Travel Funding

    A Texas appellate court blocked the city of San Antonio from going forward with a program that included funding for out-of-state travel for abortions, finding that the state has the right to challenge the program even though the funding has not yet been spent.

  • June 20, 2025

    PE Firm Demands FDA Docs For Defense In Deal Challenge

    Private equity firm GTCR BC Holdings LLC is seeking a court order for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to produce over a decade's worth of medical device approval applications, arguing the documents are necessary in its defense against a merger challenge by the federal government.

  • June 20, 2025

    Nose Spray Co. Sues FTC Over Substantiation Requirement

    Nasal spray maker Xlear Inc. is suing the Federal Trade Commission in Utah federal court, seeking a declaration that the agency is going beyond its statutory mandate by requiring scientific substantiation in marketing claims, even if the claims are not false and misleading.

  • June 20, 2025

    4 ERISA Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2025

    The U.S. Department of Labor's challenge to a pair of injunctions blocking Biden-era regulations that broaden who qualifies as an investment advice fiduciary under federal benefits law tops the list of cases benefits attorneys will be watching in the latter half of the year.

  • June 18, 2025

    Texas Judge Vacates Biden-Era HHS Abortion Privacy Rule

    A Texas federal judge on Thursday agreed to vacate a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule finalized during the Biden administration that aimed to protect the privacy of patients seeking abortions and gender-affirming care, ruling that the HHS didn't have the authority to "fashion special protections" in areas of "great political significance."

  • June 18, 2025

    NC Panel Rejects HCA Unit's Appeal Over Rival Project Award

    A North Carolina appeals court on Wednesday rejected an HCA Healthcare subsidiary's challenge to an award of a certificate of need allowing a rival to build a new acute care facility, backing a decision in favor of the state health department behind the award.

  • June 18, 2025

    Nurse Staffing Exec Can't Nix Conviction, Sanctions Floated

    A Nevada federal court has refused a nurse staffing executive's bid to undo his conviction on wage-fixing and wire fraud charges, and threatened his attorneys with sanctions for allegedly making repeated misrepresentations to the court.

  • June 18, 2025

    High Court Concurrences Signal Hard Battle For Trans Rights

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's two most conservative members Wednesday to suggest laws that differentiate based on transgender status should be subject to the lowest level of judicial review, providing guidance to lower courts that will likely make it harder for litigants to vindicate trans rights.

  • June 18, 2025

    NY High Court Lifts Block On NYC Shifting Retiree Healthcare

    New York's highest court lifted an injunction Wednesday that had blocked New York City from switching retired city employees' health insurance provider, ruling that the city never promised its retirees that it would keep them on a Medicare supplemental plan.

  • June 18, 2025

    Ex-Drug Exec Must Testify, But Keeps 5th Amendment Rights

    Sandoz, Teva, Actavis and Taro can again subpoena the deposition testimony of a former Actavis and Teva executive, but a Pennsylvania federal judge is still allowing the witness to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, even though the Justice Department dropped the criminal charges against him.

  • June 18, 2025

    Age Bias Taints Kansas Health Dept. Promotions, EEOC Says

    The Kansas Department of Health and Environment overlooked an older worker for promotions to more senior lab tech roles solely because of her age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court.

  • June 18, 2025

    DC Judge Throws Out Suits Over J&J Drug Discount Audits

    A D.C. federal judge nixed five lawsuits brought by hospitals that accused federal healthcare regulators of illegally authorizing Johnson & Johnson to audit their business records for compliance with the 340B drug discount program.

  • June 18, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Nix Of Ex-Hospital Workers' COVID Vax Suit

    The Fifth Circuit backed a Houston hospital's defeat of a lawsuit alleging that hundreds of employees were unlawfully fired when they refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the workers couldn't demonstrate that their right to reject the shot had been violated.

  • June 18, 2025

    Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Transgender Care Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, finding that the state law does not violate the equal protection clause.

  • June 17, 2025

    Chinese Co. Draws Fla. AG Probe Over Health Device Security

    Florida's attorney general is taking a closer look at a Chinese manufacturer of health monitoring devices that he claims has been concealing "serious security problems" that have enabled unauthorized parties to manipulate and gain access to patient data. 

  • June 17, 2025

    Novo Nordisk Settles TM Suit Against Clinic Over Compounds

    Novo Nordisk, the company behind drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, struck a deal with an Ohio clinic to end its federal trademark infringement case, one of a slew of suits the pharmaceutical giant has filed against health facilities offering custom-made compounded drugs purporting to yield similar results to its blockbuster products used for weight loss.

  • June 17, 2025

    5 Court Battles Hinging On High Court's Trans Care Ruling

    An imminent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding Tennessee's ban on gender transition care for minors is poised to have a sweeping impact as courts across the country weigh similar state and federal restrictions.

  • June 17, 2025

    NJ Court Says Unqualified Expert Dooms Med Mal Suit

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Tuesday tossed a medical malpractice suit alleging a physician failed to properly treat a man's internal bleeding that proved to be fatal, ruling that the plaintiff's expert affidavit was insufficient because the expert did not specialize in the same area as the defendant doctor.

  • June 17, 2025

    Ga. Panel Considers New Statute In $46M Med Mal Case

    Atlanta Women's Specialists LLC and one of its physicians urged the Georgia Court of Appeals to reconsider a $13.7 million attorney fee award in a $45.8 million case in which they were found liable for medical malpractice resulting in a woman suffering severe brain damage days after childbirth.

  • June 17, 2025

    Health Insurance Co. Owes Workers OT Wages, Suit Claims

    Humana Inc. and Humana Government Business Inc. were hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court on Tuesday over allegations they failed to pay registered nurse case managers proper overtime wages.

  • June 17, 2025

    HHS Says Trump Orders Merit Ending Trans Health Rule Case

    The federal government urged a Mississippi federal court to end a lawsuit challenging a Biden-era rule that protected gender-affirming care under the Affordable Care Act, arguing the Republican attorneys general leading the case can't show imminent harm given the Trump administration's position on the definition of "sex."

  • June 17, 2025

    FDA Unveils Voucher Program For Fast-Paced Drug Reviews

    Pharmaceutical companies that boost domestic drug manufacturing or address other national priorities will have a chance to secure speedier review and approval of new drugs under a pilot program the U.S. Food and Drug Administration unveiled Tuesday.

  • June 17, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Class Cert. In Suit Over Diabetes Drug Risk

    The Ninth Circuit refused to disband a class of third-party payors who claim Takeda Pharmaceutical and Eli Lilly & Co. hid their anti-diabetes drug's bladder cancer risks, finding no issue with a lower court's analysis of expert evidence showing prescriptions fell after the risks were disclosed.

  • June 17, 2025

    Healthcare Worker's Wage Collective 'Amorphous,' HCA Says

    A respiratory therapist's proposed collective is far too expansive and "amorphous" and is based on scant evidence that HCA Healthcare Inc. illegally manipulated workers' time sheets, the company told a North Carolina federal court, urging it to deny certification. 

  • June 17, 2025

    Trump's Abortion Guidance U-Turn Sparks Legal Risks

    Now that the Trump administration has pulled guidance telling doctors they must perform abortions in emergency situations, healthcare attorneys are warning their clients to diligently document their decisions, especially when they find themselves caught in the middle of conflicting federal and state law.

Expert Analysis

  • Defense Attys Must Prep For Imminent AI Crime Enforcement

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    Given recent statements by U.S. Department of Justice officials, white collar practitioners should expect to encounter artificial intelligence in federal criminal enforcement in the near term, even in pending cases, say Jarrod Schaeffer and Scott Glicksman at Abell Eskew.

  • Lessons For Nursing Facilities From DOJ Fraud Settlement

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement with the owner of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Florida provides a cautionary tale of potential fraud risks, and lessons on how facilities can mitigate government enforcement actions, say Callan Stein and Rebecca Younker at Troutman Pepper.

  • HHS' Updated Tracking Tech Guidance Offers Little Clarity

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' updated guidance on the use of online tracking technologies appears more focused on legal issues raised in ongoing litigation with the American Hospital Association and less on practical guidance for covered entities, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report

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    Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

  • NIST March-In Framework Is As Problematic As 2021 Proposal

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    While the National Institute of Standards and Technology's proposed march-in framework on when the government can seize patents has been regarded as a radical departure that will support lowering prescription drug costs, the language at the heart of it is identical to a failed 2021 notice of proposed rulemaking, says attorney Kelly Morron.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • The Road Ahead For Florida's Drug Importation Program

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Florida's drug importation program in January, a series of hurdles — including requisite buy-in from Canada — and potential legal challenges must be addressed before importation can begin, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Assessing CDC's Revised Guideline On Opioid Prescriptions

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    Kenneth Weinstein, Nicholas Van Niel and Kate Uthe at Analysis Group look at newly available data to evaluate the impact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's revised opioid monitoring guideline have had on prescription trends in recent years, highlighting both specific and overall decreases.

  • Valeant Ruling May Pave Way For Patent-Based FCA Suits

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in Silbersher v. Valeant marks a significant development in False Claims Act jurisprudence, opens new avenues for litigation and potentially raises the stakes for patent applicants who intend to do business with the government, say Joshua Robbins and Rick Taché at Buchalter.

  • Suits Against Insulin Pricing Are Driven By Rebate Addiction

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    A growing wave of lawsuits filed by states, cities and counties against insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers improperly allocate the blame for rising insulin costs, when in actuality the plaintiffs are partially responsible, says Dan Leonard at Granite Capitol Consulting.

  • When Physician Retirement Arrangements May Be Legal

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    A recent advisory opinion from the Office of Inspector General regarding physician retirement arrangements sheds light on key considerations and mitigating factors that may be useful when attempting to balance healthcare operational needs with statutory conformity, says Magda Rodriguez at Day Pitney.

  • ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

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    The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Navigating ACA Reporting Nuances As Deadlines Loom

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    Stephanie Lowe at Liebert Cassidy walks employers through need-to-know elements of Affordable Care Act reporting, including two quickly approaching deadlines, the updated affordability threshold, strategies for choosing an affordability safe harbor, and common coding pitfalls.