Policy & Compliance
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June 13, 2025
CVS Wants To Halt Ark. Law Banning PBM-Owned Pharmacies
CVS urged an Arkansas federal judge to block a new state law from taking effect that would ban pharmacy benefits managers from owning pharmacies in the state, arguing the law shirks the U.S. Constitution by tamping down competition and discriminating against out-of-state businesses.
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June 12, 2025
Florida, Sandoz Say They've Fixed Generic Drug Price-Fix Deal
The Florida Attorney General's Office and Sandoz Inc. have told a Connecticut federal court they've fixed the problems the court identified with a generic drug price-fixing settlement after other states with claims in the case objected to a clause in the deal.
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June 12, 2025
'Forum Shopping' Center Stage At 6th Circ. Drug Pricing Args
As part of an expansive effort to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review, pharmaceutical industry-backed opponents of Medicare's drug price negotiations entered less-than-hospitable territory at the Sixth Circuit, where judges pointedly questioned a local business group's basis for challenging a national healthcare program.
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June 12, 2025
Humana, Aetna Underpaid For 340B Drugs, New Suits Say
Humana and Aetna are facing new claims in a trio of suits filed in North Carolina federal court alleging they underpaid health systems for drugs purchased through the federal 340B drug discount program.
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June 12, 2025
11th Circ. Won't Revive Nurses' African Bias, Retaliation Suit
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday backed an Atlanta hospital's defeat of a lawsuit claiming it disciplined and fired two nurses who complained that a supervisor made derogatory comments about African employees, saying neither woman could overcome evidence of their misconduct.
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June 12, 2025
Fla. Death Damages Row Signals Insurers' Tort Reform Focus
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' veto of a bill that would have repealed limits on noneconomic damages in fatal medical malpractice cases — despite state lawmakers' overwhelming support of the measure — signals broad concerns over how tort reform legislation could impact the insurance industry.
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June 11, 2025
Seattle Hospital Hit With Class Suit Over 'Diverted' Pain Meds
A Seattle-based hospital system has been slapped with a proposed class action in Washington state court over claims that hundreds of patients suffered unwarranted pain and risk of infection because a staff member may have been pocketing painkillers.
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June 11, 2025
RFK Jr. Picks Vaccine Critics As Part Of CDC Panel Overhaul
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced Wednesday he appointed eight new members to a vaccine advisory panel, just two days after he removed 17 existing members of the panel, which provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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June 11, 2025
UNC Hospital System Must Face Ex-Resident's Bias Suit
The University of North Carolina's hospital system must face a discrimination lawsuit filed by a fired surgical resident, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Wednesday, tossing the system's motion to dismiss claims that the discharge decision was motivated by bias against the resident's mental health conditions.
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June 11, 2025
Children's Healthcare Nonprofit Settles Retirement Fee Suit
A Florida-based nonprofit children's healthcare network and ex-workers who alleged their employee retirement savings were dragged down by excessive fees told a Florida federal court Wednesday they'd worked out a class action settlement of the dispute after mediation.
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June 11, 2025
Ga. Hospice Provider Pays $9.2M To End Kickback Case
A Georgia hospice care provider and its CEO forked over $9.2 million to settle claims that they violated federal fraud laws by participating in a kickback scheme with medical directors who referred hospice patients to the group, prosecutors announced Wedesnday.
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June 11, 2025
Aetna Resolves Lipedema Patients' Coverage Class Action
Aetna has agreed to end a class action alleging it unlawfully refused to cover liposuction as a treatment for over two dozen patients afflicted with a rare chronic condition called lipedema, according to a Wednesday filing in California federal court.
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June 11, 2025
Cigna Accused Of Misusing $17M In 401(k) Forfeitures
Retirement plan participants and beneficiaries at Cigna say the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using up to $17 million given up by participants who quit early to reduce the company's matching contributions, rather than using it to pay for the plan's administrative costs.
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June 11, 2025
Conn. Orthopedic Practice Faces Data Breach Class Claims
A March 2 data breach at a Connecticut orthopedic practice exposed the personal information and health data of an unknown number of patients to online hackers, a patient alleged in a proposed class action.
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June 11, 2025
Health Network Strikes Deal In Retirement Plan Forfeiture Suit
A Pennsylvania health system has settled a suit claiming it failed to tamp down on unnecessary expenses in its $1.1 billion retirement plan and used forfeited funds to cover its own contributions to the plan instead of using the abandoned cash to reduce fees.
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June 10, 2025
Ga. Justices Consider Tolling In Tongue Amputation Case
The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday considered whether the state's two-year statute of limitations applies to a lawsuit against Regency Hospital Co. and one of its nurses over claims that they neglected an allegedly incapacitated patient to the point that her tongue had to be amputated.
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June 10, 2025
IT Co. Urges 1st Circ. To Affirm It's Blameless For Data Breach
An information security technology company urged the First Circuit on Tuesday to affirm that it isn't liable for a 2018 data breach that exposed confidential information of more than 277,000 of the medical device maker's patients, arguing that the insurer assignee of the device maker had no valid points.
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June 10, 2025
Amazon Can't Duck Suit Over Non-FDA Approved Supplements
Amazon must face a proposed class action alleging it sells non-FDA approved supplements touting health-related claims without mandatory disclaimers, after a Washington federal judge rejected the company's argument the plaintiffs lack standing to pursue claims over supplements they never bought, finding the plaintiffs allege a uniform, systematic marketing practice.
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June 10, 2025
Ala. Judge Orders Trans Health Org. To Publish Training Vids
In a case challenging Alabama's ban on gender-affirming care for youths, a federal judge this week ordered a trans health organization to publish video recordings of the group's conferences and a medical training course, after the group had sought to protect the content's confidentiality.
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June 10, 2025
9th Circ. Skeptical Oregon Hospital Merger Law Is Too Vague
A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday appeared skeptical of a hospital association's challenge to an Oregon law that grants a state agency broad power to block proposed healthcare consolidations to ensure equitable access to healthcare, with two of the three judges questioning whether federal law could limit the state's authority.
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June 10, 2025
Attys Field Provider Fears, Queries On CMS Trans Care Probe
A new federal push to obtain a broad swath of clinical and financial data from hospitals providing gender-affirming care is triggering a wave of concerns that the Trump administration's enforcement approach will have a chilling effect on care delivery.
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June 10, 2025
Pandemic Law Doesn't Protect Mich. Hospital In Bedsore Case
A Michigan appellate court has revived a lawsuit filed by the estate of an 88-year-old woman who died after developing a bedsore during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that a state law shielding hospitals from pandemic liability didn't apply because the woman wasn't treated for the virus.
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June 10, 2025
Drug Cos. Face Persistent Scrutiny Over Physician Kickbacks
Drugmakers continue to become ensnared in — and settle — investigations into illegal payments to healthcare providers for participating in sham speaker programs. These payments raise ethical questions about patient harm and whether they are seen as a cost of doing business.
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June 10, 2025
A Federal Preemption Target On State Medical Debt Laws
The Trump administration changes course on medical debt reporting, putting a new target on a slate of state laws that protect patients from some of the impacts of unpaid medical bills.
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June 09, 2025
RFK Jr. Fires CDC's Entire 17-Member Vaccine Advisory Panel
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed every member of the committee that provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pledging to replace them with his preferred picks.
Expert Analysis
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6 Laws Transforming Calif.'s Health Regulatory Framework
Attorneys at Hooper Lundy discuss a number of new California laws that raise pressing issues for independent physicians and small practice groups, ranging from the use of artificial intelligence to wage standards for healthcare employees.
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Anticipating Calif. Oversight Of PE Participation In Healthcare
A new bill recently introduced in the California Senate revives last year's attempt to increase oversight of healthcare transactions involving private equity groups and hedge funds, meaning that attorneys may soon need to assess the compliance status of existing management relationships and consider modifying contract terms, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.
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Considering The Future Of AI Regulation On Health Sector
As Texas looks to become the next state to pass a comprehensive law regulating artificial intelligence, the healthcare industry should consider how AI regulation will continue to evolve in the U.S. and how industry members can keep up with compliance considerations, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis.
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What To Expect From 'Make America Healthy Again' Actions
The Make America Healthy Again Commission recently established by President Donald Trump and chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will potentially bring energy and attention to important public health topics, and stakeholders should be aware of pathways for sharing their input and proactively informing proceedings, says Nicholas Manetto at Faegre Drinker.
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How Citizen Petitions Have Affected Drug Competition
In light of recent citizen petitions and proposed legislation regulating such petitions, Omar Robles at Managing Health analyzes the statistics of the extent to which citizen petitions have been filed, and to what extent they have delayed competition in prescription pharmaceuticals.
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Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove
The First Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, requiring the government to prove but-for causation to establish False Claims Act liability based on violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, raises the bar for FCA enforcement and deepens a circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court may need to resolve, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
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Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments
A law recently passed in Massachusetts amends the commonwealth's False Claims Act by dramatically expanding potential liability for private equity firms and investors, underscoring the importance of robust diligence and risk assessments for private equity firms conducting transactions in the commonwealth, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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What Trump Actions Mean For Federal Research Funding
New guidance from the National Institutes of Health represents a massive policy shift regarding federal funding for researchers at institutions of higher education, contributing to a perfect storm of significant resource shortfalls in upcoming years, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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A Look At Healthcare Transaction Oversight In Oregon
Understanding Oregon's enforcement authority and its impact on proposed transactions last year provides a road map to the state's plans to strengthen its processes this year, though enforcement could be challenged by ongoing litigation, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises
“No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.
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High Court Must Acknowledge US History Of Anti-Trans Laws
Despite Justice Amy Coney Barrett's claim to the contrary during oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, U.S. governments at every level have systematically discriminated against transgender people, and the U.S. Supreme Court must consider this historical context in upcoming cases about transgender issues, says Paisley Currah at the City University of New York.
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The Fate Of Biden-Era Clinical Study Guidance Under Trump
Draft guidance about the study of sex and gender differences in medical product development issued by the outgoing Biden administration currently faces significant uncertainty and litigation potential due to the Trump administration's executive orders and other actions, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting
This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.