Policy & Compliance
-
July 08, 2025
Biosimilars Industry Group Backs Interchangeability Bill
The current law on how biosimilars are deemed interchangeable or not with their name-brand biologic equivalents has led to public confusion over how safe biosimilars are, a coalition of healthcare industry groups told lawmakers in a letter Monday.
-
July 08, 2025
Pa. Panel Grants Immunity To Nursing Board In Exam Dispute
A Pennsylvania appellate court on Tuesday narrowly rejected a lawsuit filed by an ex-nurse who contends a state board violated her rights by ordering her to undergo a mental health exam, finding instead that the board members are entitled to quasi-judicial immunity.
-
July 08, 2025
HHS Can't Dodge Suit Over Nixed LGBTQ Bias Protections
A New York federal judge declined Tuesday to toss a transgender woman's suit challenging President Donald Trump's decision to roll back anti-discrimination regulations for LGBTQ patients during his first term, rejecting arguments from the government that the case is moot given that a Biden-era rule restored the protections.
-
July 08, 2025
High Court Allows Trump's Gov't Cuts And Restructuring
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the Trump administration can move forward with its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal departments and agencies, lifting a California federal judge's order that had paused the efforts while a legal challenge continues.
-
July 08, 2025
Merits Not At Issue For Health Co. Wage Collective, Court Told
A healthcare facility operator is focusing too much on the merits of unpaid wages claims rather than whether it had common policies that detracted from employees' pay, a respiratory therapist told a North Carolina federal court, saying collective status is appropriate.
-
July 08, 2025
Ore. Weighs Tough New Requirements For Long-Term Care
Two years ago, an Oregon woman died in the cold after leaving, unseen, from a memory care facility. Today, state lawmakers are moving to strengthen oversight of long-term care facilities that serve older adults, including those with dementia.
-
July 07, 2025
Pregnant Doc, Medical Orgs. Sue To Block RFK's Vax Directive
A pregnant doctor who fears she will be denied a COVID-19 vaccination, along with a coalition of medical associations, sued Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Massachusetts federal court on Monday challenging his directive recommending against the shot for pregnant women and children.
-
July 07, 2025
Planned Parenthood Wins Block of 'Catastrophic' Defunding
A Massachusetts federal judge late Monday agreed to temporarily block the Trump administration's plans to prohibit Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, issuing a temporary restraining order just hours after Planned Parenthood sued, saying the consequences would be "catastrophic."
-
July 07, 2025
Mich. Top Court Won't Hear COVID-19 Immunity Appeal
A split Michigan Supreme Court has decided to leave in place an appellate panel's ruling that a state pandemic-response law shields a hospital from malpractice and negligence claims brought by a woman who was admitted for COVID-19-related stress, with dissenting justices saying they have concerns with the lower court's rationale.
-
July 07, 2025
Atty-Client Shield Null In HIV Drug Fraud Case Docs, Feds Say
Two alleged distributors of sham HIV drugs can't shield more than 1,000 documents related to legal advice from discovery, U.S. prosecutors told a Florida federal judge Monday, asserting that any attorney-client privilege is invalidated because the advice was used to facilitate a $90 million fraud.
-
July 07, 2025
Ex-Leerink Banker Can't Get Redo On Unpaid Bonuses Claim
A Massachusetts federal judge declined on Monday to rethink partially tossing a former Leerink Partners employee's suit alleging she was cheated out of millions of dollars in bonuses, rejecting the worker's argument that new evidence should change the court's mind.
-
July 07, 2025
J&J Unit Looks To Wipe Out $442M Catheter Antitrust Loss
Johnson & Johnson health tech unit Biosense Webster has asked a California federal court to throw out Innovative Health's $442 million trial win in a case accusing Biosense of conditioning product support for its cardiac mapping systems on the purchase of cardiac catheters.
-
July 03, 2025
States Still Oppose Florida's Generic Drug Deal With Sandoz
States accusing generic-drug makers of fixing prices are continuing to object to a $10 million settlement struck between Florida and Sandoz, arguing that it limits their ability to negotiate deals while letting the Sunshine State benefit without participating in the litigation.
-
July 03, 2025
Natera Inks $8.25M Deal To End Prenatal Tests Suit
A proposed class of buyers of Natera Inc.'s noninvasive prenatal tests has asked a California federal court to give preliminary approval to an $8.25 million settlement to resolve claims that the company knew the tests were unreliable but failed to tell buyers.
-
July 03, 2025
High Court Passes On Mont. Abortion, Parental Consent Case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Thursday to hear a case focused on parental consent and abortion in Montana, as two conservative justices said the decision shouldn't be seen as a rejection by the justices of the parental-rights question itself.
-
July 03, 2025
HHS Ordered To Restore Data Axed Under 'Gender Ideology' EO
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services must restore a swath of webpages and datasets it took down following a Trump administration executive order seeking to root out references to so-called gender ideology, a D.C. federal judge ruled.
-
July 03, 2025
Mich. Justices Turn Down Challenge To Med Mal Damage Cap
Michigan's highest court won't weigh in on the constitutionality of the state's caps on medical malpractice awards, rejecting a federal district court's certified question Thursday.
-
July 03, 2025
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.
-
July 03, 2025
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.
-
July 03, 2025
Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear challenges to West Virginia and Idaho laws barring transgender athletes from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, putting yet more anti-trans legislation to the test after upholding Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors this term.
-
July 02, 2025
9th Circ. Upholds Sutter Health's Win In Doc's Kickback Suit
The Ninth Circuit refused to revive a gastroenterologist's constitutional challenge against Sutter Health alleging the nonprofit paid kickbacks to its physicians to refer low-income patients to other hospitals, ruling Wednesday the appellant lacks evidence of purported kickbacks and doesn't address how the alleged injury to those patients harmed him.
-
July 02, 2025
ACA Changes Will Result In Mass Coverage Loss, Suit Claims
Doctors for America, the Main Street Alliance and a trio of cities urged a Maryland federal court to vacate recently finalized changes to Affordable Care Act regulations, arguing they will cause at least 1.8 million people to lose their healthcare coverage.
-
July 02, 2025
Veterans Sue Air Force For Disability Review Failures
Three former service members hit the U.S. Air Force with a proposed class action challenging the lawfulness of a screening process used to determine if people should be retained or referred to a formal disability evaluation process.
-
July 02, 2025
DOJ, HHS Form New False Claims Act Enforcement Group
Lead attorneys at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department will head a working group focused on enforcement of the False Claims Act, government officials announced Wednesday.
-
July 02, 2025
Pa. Hospital Co. To Pay $2.75M Over Drug Theft Suit
Pennsylvania healthcare company Lehigh Valley Hospital Network Inc. has agreed to pay the federal government $2.75 million to settle claims that it ran afoul of controlled substance laws when one of its pharmacy technicians allegedly stole medication on multiple occasions.
Expert Analysis
-
A Look At Drug Price Negotiation Program's Ongoing Impact
More than two years after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid implementation of the drug price negotiation program, attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the IRA has influenced licensing strategies, and how maximum fair prices under the law have economically affected certain drugs.
-
Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage
The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.
-
Drug Pricing Policy Trends To Expect In 2025 And Beyond
Though 2025 may bring more of the same in the realm of drug pricing policy, business as usual entails a sustained, high level of legal and policy developments across at least six major areas, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
-
Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025
Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment
For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
-
How Views On Healthcare Price Transparency Are Changing
Regulators' attitudes toward price transparency regulation have shifted over the past several years in ways that may seem contradictory, and research into detailed rate information published by hospitals and health plans has yielded mixed results, says Matthew List at Charles River Associates.
-
EEOC Wearable Tech Guidance Highlights Monitoring Scrutiny
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent fact sheet on wearable technologies cautions against potential issues with federal anti-discrimination laws and demonstrates growing concern from regulators and legislators about intrusive technologies in the workplace, say attorneys at Littler.
-
Navigating The Potential End Of GLP-1 Drug Shortages
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's determination of whether GLP-1 products are in shortage may affect how compounders provide these products and spur a range of litigation including patent disputes and unfair competition suits, say attorneys at Goodwin.
-
Politicized OIGs Could Target Federal Employees, Contractors
After President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 inspectors general last week, it’s worth exploring how the administration could use Offices of Inspectors General to target federal employees and contractors, why it would be difficult to fight this effort, and one possible bulwark against the politicization of these watchdogs, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
-
Takeaways From DOJ Fraud Section's 2024 Year In Review
Attorneys at Paul Weiss highlight notable developments in the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section’s recently released annual report, and discuss what the second Trump administration could mean for enforcement in the year to come.
-
IVF Suits Highlight Need For Better Legal Frameworks
The high number of in vitro fertilization embryo losses underscores the need for more cohesive legal and regulatory guidance related to human errors, property versus personhood, and liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.
-
Takeaways From FDA's Updated Confirmatory Trial Guidance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest draft guidance about accelerated drug approval indicates the FDA's intent to address the significant lag time between accelerated approval and full approval of drugs and may help motivate the industry to complete confirmatory trials, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
-
A Look At FDA's Plans To Establish New OTC Drug Category
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule, creating a new over-the-counter pathway for drugs when patients satisfy certain conditions, may be useful for off-patent drugs with established safety records, though switching to OTC comes with additional costs and considerations, say attorneys at Skadden.