
Healthcare Deals This Week: Oura, AstraZeneca, BMS
It was a week of major deals in the healthcare sector space, with startups like Oura and Kardigan securing significant funding, Bristol Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk announcing billion-dollar acquisitions and AstraZeneca striking a deal with the Trump administration.

CMS 'Upcoding' Audit Plan In Doubt After Texas Ruling
The nation's top Medicare official pledged to use a deluge of new audits to beat back "upcoding" overpayments for Medicare Advantage plans. A Texas federal judge blew a hole in the strategy recently by voiding a 2023 rule on data sample extrapolation.

H-1B Visa Fee Threatens To Deepen Doctor Shortages
A new $100,000 fee for healthcare worker visas is sowing confusion in the medical community and raising concerns that the price tag could block thousands of doctors from practicing in underserved and rural communities.
Deals & Corporate Governance More
A Tennessee federal judge has granted a proposed class of Acadia Healthcare Co. investors a partial early win in their suit claiming the company misled them about the strength of its United Kingdom operations,... (more story)
A Texas appeals court seemed skeptical of Cigna Healthcare of Texas Inc.'s claim that once a patient gets hospitalized, any subsequent treatment should be classified as emergency care, asking Wednesday why Cig... (more story)
The Third Circuit on Tuesday turned down medical testing company CareDx's request to have a full panel mull whether to reinstate a $45 million jury award in a false advertisement case over genetic testing tech... (more story)
A Colorado company accused the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of improperly greenlighting purchases of electrocardiogram leads from a large overseas business when American-made items are available from it... (more story)
The Georgia Court of Appeals has backed the dismissal of a lawsuit by Publix Supermarkets claiming a metro Atlanta county unconstitutionally hired outside counsel to pursue opioid litigation against the grocer... (more story)
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. will purchase Astria Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for allergic and immunologic diseases, in a cash and stock deal worth about $700 million, ... (more story)
Digital Health & Technology More
Sana Biotechnology Inc. has asked a Seattle federal court to dismiss an investor suit over claims that it offered misleading statements regarding early clinical trials of a gene therapy, asserting that the com... (more story)
President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled two initiatives he said were designed to enhance the accessibility and affordability of in vitro fertilization.
A Texas appellate court on Thursday directed a trial court to withdraw an order requiring two Dallas hospitals to turn over documents concerning alleged gender affirming care, saying the lower court abused its... (more story)
A Florida federal judge has given initial approval to a $10 million settlement to resolve a proposed class action accusing Watson Clinic LLP of failing to adequately protect current and former patients' medica... (more story)
Providers and investors attracted to a growing medical spa industry might be surprised to discover that aesthetic treatments like Botox and fillers that don't require a doctor still come with a robust set of h... (more story)
The federal government shutdown that commenced on Oct. 1 coincided with the expiration of certain telehealth flexibilities that had preserved expansive access to telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries ... (more story)
Policy & Compliance More
A Nevada federal judge has denied a new trial to a nursing executive convicted of wage-fixing conspiracy and wire fraud after he claimed the U.S. Department of Justice misled the jury about sweetheart terms of... (more story)
The statewide Texas appeals court revived Texas' claims that Yelp misled customers about crisis pregnancy centers' limited services, finding that a lower court got it wrong by tossing the suit for lack of pers... (more story)
CVS shouldn't be allowed to escape a proposed class action claiming it illegally charged higher fees to health plan participants and their spouses due to theirĀ use of tobacco, an employee argued Friday, urging... (more story)
Across the U.S., health departments draw small blood samples from newborns' heels to test for metabolic and genetic disorders. After a new mother discovered that New Jersey police had used DNA extracted from s... (more story)
The federal court system has run out of money and will scale back operations beginning Monday as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, possibly leading to case delays.
The California Hospital Association hit the state's Office of Health Care Affordability and others with a lawsuit Wednesday, claiming they violated state law with new rules that aim to limit increases in consu... (more story)