Policy & Compliance
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June 05, 2025
Mich. AG Asks Judge To Block Abortion Coercion Screening
Michigan's attorney general has asked a judge to strike down a state-law requirement that abortion patients be evaluated for coercion, after the judge upheld the screening while permanently blocking other abortion regulations last month.
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June 05, 2025
Ex-Bush Admin Atty To Lead HHS Civil Rights Office
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has appointed an attorney to lead its civil rights office who brings more than 30 years of experience across the public sector and private practice, including as counsel for HHS during the George W. Bush administration.
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June 04, 2025
Calif. Won't Get Insulin Pricing Case Sent Back To State Court
The New Jersey federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation accusing Express Scripts, CVS Caremark and other pharmacy benefit managers of conspiring to fix the prices of insulin on Wednesday refused to ship a case brought by the state of California back to state court.
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June 04, 2025
States Take Aim At Healthcare REITs
State lawmakers seeking to curb healthcare investment models they see as harmful to patients have sharpened their focus on real estate investment trusts, putting forth bills to restrict their ownership of healthcare real estate or increase oversight of such transactions.
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June 04, 2025
DC Judge Weighs Harm In Teen Program Funding Fight
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday seemed unconvinced by Planned Parenthood's assertion that new federal grant requirements for a public health initiative aimed at preventing teen pregnancy are harmful enough to warrant a preliminary injunction.
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June 04, 2025
Apple Can Shield Info In NJ TikTok Addiction Suit
A New Jersey state court will allow Apple Inc. to inject itself into the state attorney general's high-profile lawsuit accusing TikTok of designing features that harm and cause addiction in children, allowing the manufacturer of the iPhone to argue, away from public view, that certain content in the lawsuit should be redacted.
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June 04, 2025
Ohio Nonprofit, Nursing Homes To Pay $3.6M To End FCA Suit
An Ohio-based nursing home operator has agreed to pay $3.61 million to settle False Claims Act allegations brought against it by the government over purportedly substandard and in some cases nonexistent care, according to a new announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
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June 03, 2025
Trump Admin. Nixes Guidance Protecting ER Abortion Care
The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is rescinding post-Dobbs guidance from 2022 that emphasized medical providers' abortion care obligations under federal law and that assured federal law protected providers' clinical judgment, regardless of conflicting state laws or mandates.
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June 03, 2025
MAHA Report's Fake Citations A Red Flag For Experts
Fake and misinterpreted citations in a recent federal report focused on chronic disease in the U.S. are raising alarm bells that federal health officials may be trading in scientific rigor for cherry-picked evidence.
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June 03, 2025
6th Circ. Denies PBMs' Privilege Claim In Opioid MDL
A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday denied a petition from Cigna's Express Scripts and UnitedHealth's Optum seeking to reverse discovery orders allowing certain personnel files and internal communications into the multidistrict opioid litigation, finding that the two pharmacy benefit managers failed to show extraordinary abuses justifying relief.
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June 03, 2025
Plan Providers Must Face DOJ Overpayment Suit, Judge Says
A Maine federal judge refused to let five military healthcare plan providers escape a False Claims Act suit alleging that they knowingly pocketed millions of dollars that were overpaid, holding that U.S. Department of Justice claims against them pass muster for now.
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June 03, 2025
DC Judge Blocks Trump's Ban On Transgender Prisoner Care
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday blocked the enforcement of a Trump administration executive order barring funding of gender-affirming care in federal prisons and granted class certification to a group of transgender inmates challenging the directive.
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June 03, 2025
HHS, DOGE Accused Of Using Flawed Data In Mass Layoffs
Former federal workers laid off by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services brought a putative class action Tuesday in D.C. federal court alleging their terminations were unlawful because they were based on "hopelessly error-ridden" personnel records, in violation of the Privacy Act.
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June 03, 2025
Health Policy Expert On The Changing Vaccine Landscape
KFF's Jen Kates talks about the changing vaccine landscape, the trickle-down effects of the Trump administration's policies and what she's watching for from federal health officials in the future.
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June 03, 2025
2nd Circ. Says Social Worker Can't Challenge NY Abortion Law
The Second Circuit on Tuesday rejected a social worker's constitutional challenge to a New York law decriminalizing abortion, finding that she lacked standing to sue because she couldn't identify any specific fetus facing harm.
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June 03, 2025
Health System, Staffing Co. Accused Of Shaving Work Time
New York state's largest healthcare provider and a staffing firm unlawfully round down the amount of time employees spend working and deduct 30 minutes from their hours regardless of whether they took a break, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
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June 03, 2025
The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms
A rebound in client work sent the nation’s largest law firms into growth mode last year, driving a wave of hiring, mergers and strategic moves that reshaped the top tier of the Law360 400. Here's a preview of the 100 firms with the largest U.S. attorney headcounts.
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June 02, 2025
9th Circ. Sends Express Scripts Opioid Case To State Court
The Ninth Circuit sent California's public nuisance lawsuit against Express Scripts and OptumRx over opioid dispensing back to state court Monday and denied the pharmacy benefit managers' bid to stay the remand pending appeal, saying the U.S. Supreme Court's 2009 Nken decision controls, not its later Coinbase ruling.
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June 02, 2025
Ore. Psilocybin Access Suit Can Continue, Judge Says
An Oregon federal judge has ruled that the state's health regulator must face a suit brought under a federal antidiscrimination law that seeks to broaden access for homebound patients to the state's regulated psilocybin program.
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June 02, 2025
Nursing Exec Says DOJ Misapplied Justices' Fraud Ruling
A Nevada nursing home executive convicted of wage-fixing and wire fraud has told a Nevada federal judge that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a fraud case doesn't preclude his motion for a new trial, contrary to what the U.S. Department of Justice has argued.
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May 30, 2025
$5.2M Generic Drug Price-Fixing MDL Deal Gets Final OK
Apotex Corp. will be paying $5.2 million to settle claims from a class of indirect purchasers alleging the drugmaker was working with other pharmaceutical companies to hike up the price of certain generic medications.
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May 30, 2025
5th Circ. To Rehear No Surprises Act Ruling En Banc
The full Fifth Circuit agreed Friday to reconsider a dispute over provisions for calculating qualifying payments under the 2020 No Surprises Act.
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May 30, 2025
DLA Piper Adds Healthcare Regulatory Atty In DC Office
DLA Piper strengthened its healthcare regulatory resources in Washington, D.C., with the recent addition of an attorney who previously served as acting general counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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May 29, 2025
AstraZeneca Inks $51.4M Settlement In Pay-For-Delay Case
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and Handa Pharmaceuticals LLC have agreed to shell out a combined $51.4 million to put to rest allegations AstraZeneca paid off generic-drug makers, including Handa, to protect its brand antipsychotic drug Seroquel XR, according to a filing Thursday in Delaware federal court.
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May 29, 2025
CMS Seeks Hospital Responses On Gender Dysphoria Care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is asking hospitals to produce information on gender dysphoria care provided to children and adolescents, noting in an oversight letter that the U.S. government has "serious concerns" surrounding hormone therapy and other gender-affirming medical interventions.
Expert Analysis
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After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.
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FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny
Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.
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Analyzing FDA Draft Guidance On Clinical Trial Diversity
In light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance on clinical trial diversity action plans, there are several important considerations for sponsors and clinical researchers to keep in mind to prevent delay in a drug or device application, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.
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Critical Questions Remain After High Court's Abortion Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in two major abortion-related cases this term largely preserve the status quo for now, but leave federal preemption, the Comstock Act and in vitro fertilization in limbo, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Navigating FDA Supply Rule Leeway For Small Dispensers
As the November compliance deadline for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new pharmaceutical distribution supply chain rules draws closer, small dispensers should understand the narrow flexibilities that are available, and the questions to consider before taking advantage of them, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case
The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.
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6 Lessons From DOJ's 1st Controlled Drug Case In Telehealth
Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s first-ever criminal prosecution over telehealth-prescribed controlled substances in U.S. v. Ruthia He, healthcare providers should be mindful of the risks associated with restricting the physician-patient relationship when crafting new business models, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies
The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.
In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Takeaways From New HHS Substance Use Disorder Info Rules
A new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule continues the agency's efforts to harmonize complex rules surrounding confidentiality provisions for substance use disorder patient records, though healthcare providers will need to remain mindful of different potentially applicable requirements and changes that their compliance structures may require, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.