Policy & Compliance
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November 21, 2025
DC Judge Axes Teva Challenge To Drug Price Program
A D.C. federal judge tossed a challenge by Teva Pharmaceuticals to the Medicare drug price negotiation program, marking the latest in a series of losses by drugmakers and trade groups seeking to upend the program.
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November 21, 2025
Fla. Wound Doc Agrees To Pay $45M For Overbilling Claims
A Florida doctor and his companies agreed to pay $45 million to settle a suit alleging he submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary wound care procedures, the U.S. government said Friday.
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November 21, 2025
Colo. Healthcare System Stiffing Workers, Court Told
A pair of former workers for a hospital and healthcare facility operator in Colorado have accused their past employer of routinely shortchanging their pay in violation of state and federal wage and hour laws, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court.
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November 21, 2025
PBMs Say Gov't Benefits From Drug Rebates FTC Condemns
Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx have been given permission to seek documents they say will show the government benefits from the same type of prescription drug rebating activity that's being targeted by the Federal Trade Commission's insulin pricing case.
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November 21, 2025
'No Evidence' New Info Backs J&J Unit's Libel Suit, Court Told
A doctor being sued by Johnson & Johnson's bankrupt talc subsidiary pushed back on the unit's bid to revive its trade libel claim over a scientific article she wrote linking asbestos in talc to mesothelioma, arguing it failed to cite any evidence that undermines the court's finding that the article was a nonactionable statement of scientific opinion.
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November 21, 2025
Rothman Orthopaedics Hit With Pa. Wiretapping Lawsuit
Rothman Orthopaedics has been hit with a proposed class action in Pennsylvania alleging the company violated state wiretapping laws by intercepting private healthcare information on its website using a third-party tracking pixel.
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November 21, 2025
Hyperbaric Chamber Death Suit Not Covered, Insurers Say
Two Nationwide insurers said they have no duty to defend or indemnify a hyperbaric oxygen therapy center or its employees in a suit over the death of a 5-year-old boy, telling a Michigan federal court that there was no bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence, or accident.
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November 21, 2025
1st Circ. Clears IT Co. In Suit Over Zoll Patient Data Breach
An information technology company cannot be held liable for a data breach exposing the health information of patients of a unit of medical device maker Zoll Medical Corp, the First Circuit ruled, because the two companies did not have a business relationship permitting them to hold one responsible for another's conduct.
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November 20, 2025
Pharma Cos. Seek Early Win In States' Price-Fixing Lawsuit
A collection of states failed to prove an overarching conspiracy among 25 separate pharmaceutical companies to fix the prices of generic drugs, most of them dermatology formulations, the drugmakers argued Wednesday in support of a bid for an early win on one element of dozens of antitrust claims.
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November 20, 2025
5th Circ. Seeks Interpretation Of Miss. Health Decisions Law
A Fifth Circuit panel asked the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday to clarify an "ambiguous" state law that sets out which family members can act as surrogates and make healthcare decisions for relatives without the capacity to decide for themselves.
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November 20, 2025
Ala. County Must Face Inmate Death Claim, 11th Circ. Rules
An Eleventh Circuit panel ruled Thursday that no Alabama state law prevents a county from facing liability for an incarcerated person's death after substandard healthcare from a third-party medical provider the county hired.
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November 20, 2025
Blue Shield Of California, Magellan Sued Over 'Ghost Network'
Blue Shield of California and Magellan Health maintain a "ghost network" directory of mental health providers who don't exist or don't accept new patients, leading customers to hit a dead end or desperately resort to expensive out-of-network providers, according to a proposed class action filed Wednesday in California federal court.
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November 20, 2025
10th Circ. Weighs Colo. Law On Healthcare Sharing Plans
A Tenth Circuit panel grappled Thursday with how the court should interpret a Colorado law requiring entities not authorized to offer insurance in the state to report certain information about their healthcare sharing plans, in an appeal by a religious trade group challenging the law's constitutionality.
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November 20, 2025
Claims Firms Barred From Misleading Plaintiffs In Pharma MDL
On the same day that a Philadelphia federal judge approved $58 million in settlements as part of an ongoing generic-drug price-fixing multidistrict litigation, she also ordered several claims recovery firms to correct allegedly false and misleading ads used to attract potential clients seeking to make claims on the settlements.
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November 19, 2025
Senior Living Co. Inks $7.2M Deal To End Wash. AG's Probe
Oregon-based senior living provider Bonaventure will invest $7 million in staffing and upgrades and shell out $200,000 in resident credits to resolve allegations of substandard care at 10 Washington state facilities, under a settlement filed Wednesday.
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November 19, 2025
Is 'Red Book' Best For Drug Pricing? Pa. Justices Ask
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court seemed skeptical Wednesday that the state workers' compensation authorities were using the best guide to calculate pharmacy reimbursements for injured workers' prescription drugs, with the justices questioning the fairness of the industry's long-used "red book" method.
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November 19, 2025
11th Circ. Backs Kaiser In Air Ambulance Arbitration Dispute
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday declined an air ambulance company's bid to scrap an arbitrator's ruling that Kaiser only owes $24,000 for an emergency helicopter flight, rejecting the emergency medical provider's arguments that the insurer committed fraud by strategically lowballing the arbitrator.
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November 19, 2025
Aetna Gets OK For $3.4M Deal In Cancer Treatment Denial Suit
A Florida federal judge has signed off on Aetna's $3.4 million settlement agreement resolving a class action that alleged the insurer unlawfully mischaracterized a proton beam cancer radiation treatment as experimental to deny dozens of claims.
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November 19, 2025
Senate GOP Resists Extending Expanded ACA Tax Premiums
Senate Finance Committee Democrats on Wednesday urged their Republican counterparts to extend the enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, which is set to expire at the end of the year, but Republicans said they were looking for other options to address rising healthcare costs.
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November 19, 2025
Conn. Dentists Pay $714K To Settle Patient Kickback Claims
Two Connecticut dentists will pay more than $714,000 to the state and federal governments to settle joint allegations that their practices submitted false government benefits claims that contained kickbacks for patient recruiters.
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November 19, 2025
Pa. Health Network's $1.15M 401(k) Suit Deal Gets Initial OK
A healthcare system Wednesday secured initial approval from a Pennsylvania federal court for a $1.15 million settlement agreement that would resolve a proposed class action alleging the company misused forfeited retirement plan funds and allowed the plan's administrative costs to soar.
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November 19, 2025
Whoop Blood Pressure Tracker Hit With False Ad Suit
A consumer on Tuesday hit health and wellness wearable tech company Whoop Inc. with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging that its boasting of the blood pressure features of its fitness tracker duped consumers and prompted a warning from health regulators.
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November 19, 2025
Hospice Co. Should Face Tobacco Fee Suit, Judge Says
A hospice and home healthcare provider shouldn't escape a proposed class action challenging a tobacco surcharge in its employee health plan, a Pennsylvania federal judge recommended, finding that allegations sufficiently backed up that a wellness program implementing the fee didn't meet all regulatory requirements.
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November 19, 2025
Doctor, Husband Admit $16M Healthcare Fraud, Tax Evasion
A physician and her husband admitted to committing more than $16 million in healthcare fraud and tax evasion as part of a scheme that injected sick patients with the wrong medications or dosages, according to their plea agreements in Alaska federal court.
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November 19, 2025
COVID-19 Testing Co. Settles Wage Suit With Testers, Drivers
A COVID-19 mobile testing company told a New York federal court that it has reached a settlement with a group of testers and drivers who claimed they were not paid full wages and overtime.
Feds Look To 'False Certification' FCA Strategy
Prosecutors shifted strategy in a kickback case against a biotech giant. FCA attorneys are closely watching the Regeneron case for clues on how the DOJ will establish causation in a growing number of states implicated by recent circuit court rulings.
A New Mental Health Rx? FDA Braces For AI Chatbots
Patients suffering from depression may someday soon get an unusual kind of prescription that doesn’t involve a pill or an injection: Download a chatbot. Law360 Healthcare Authority has the key takeaways from an FDA meeting focused on regulating AI-powered mental health chatbots.
Gov't Subpoena Powers Face Reckoning In Healthcare Battles
The judicial deference given to the government's power to issue investigative subpoenas is facing an unprecedented challenge in transgender care cases. Willingness by judges to question motives could lead to more subpoena challenges or impede worthy government investigations.
Expert Analysis
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Unique Aspects Of Texas' Approach To AI Regulation
The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act — which will soon be the sole comprehensive artificial intelligence law in the U.S. — pulls threads from EU and Colorado laws but introduces more targeted rules with fewer obligations on commercial entities, say attorneys at MVA Law.
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Surveying The Healthcare Policy Landscape Post-Shutdown
With last week's agreement to reopen the federal government, at least through the end of January, key healthcare legislation that has been in limbo since a December 2024 spending bill fell apart may recapture the attention of Congress, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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FDA Biosimilar Guidance Should Ease Biologics Development
New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, indicating that the agency may no longer routinely require comparative efficacy studies when other evidence provides sufficient assurance of biosimilarity, underscores the FDA's trust in analytical technology as a driver of biologics access, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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Prison Body Cams Raise Health Privacy Compliance Issues
The increasing use of prison staff body cameras to enhance transparency and safety presents correctional healthcare partners with new risk management questions where they must carefully reconcile the benefits of surveillance with the imperative to protect patient privacy, say attorneys at Gordon Rees.
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Employer Considerations After 11th Circ. Gender Care Ruling
The Eleventh Circuit's en banc decision in Lange v. Houston County, Georgia, finding that a health plan did not violate Title VII by excluding coverage for gender-affirming care, shows that plans must be increasingly cognizant of federal and state liability as states pass varying mandates, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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How Healthcare Practices Can Prepare For ICE Visits
Healthcare providers that may face encounters with immigration enforcement should familiarize themselves with compliance obligations beyond ensuring employment authorization, and mitigate risk by establishing clear policies and specific procedures that safeguard patient rights and manage staff interactions with agents, say attorneys at Roetzel & Andress.
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Adapting To Calif.'s Enhanced Regulation Of PE In Healthcare
New California legislation enhances oversight on the role of private equity groups and hedge funds in healthcare transactions, featuring both a highly targeted nature and vague language that will require organizations to carefully evaluate existing practices, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.
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Lessons From 7th Circ. Decision Affirming $183M FCA Verdict
The Seventh Circuit's decision to uphold a $183 million False Claims Act award against Eli Lilly engages substantively with recurring materiality and scienter questions and provides insights into appellate review of complex trial court judgments, say Ellen London at London & Naor, Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz and Kimberly Friday at Osborn Maledon.
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Calif. Justices Continued Anti-Arbitration Trend This Term
In the 2024-2025 term, the California Supreme Court justices continued to narrow arbitration's reach under state law, despite state courts' extreme caseload backlog and even as they embraced contractual autonomy in other contexts, says Josephine Petrick at The Norton Law Firm.
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Steps For Healthcare Providers After Cigna ERISA Settlement
Following the Cigna class action's settlement, where Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations arose from Cigna's online provider directory advertising providers as in-network who were actually out-of-network, providers should routinely audit their contract status and directory listings, and proactively coordinate with plans and payor partners, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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What's New In FDA's Latest Cell And Gene Therapy Guidance
New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with other recent initiatives, come together to promote cell and gene therapy product development by streamlining development and review pathways, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Adapting To Enforcement Focus On Wound Care Fraud
As federal agencies target wound care industry fraud as a top enforcement priority, attorneys advising industry stakeholders should evaluate business relationships for Anti-Kickback Statute violations, emphasize appropriate product use and documentation, and use internal data analytics to monitor billing patterns, say David Tarras at Tarras Defense and Jay McCormack at Verrill Dana.
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AG Watch: Illinois A Key Player In State-Level Enforcement
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has systematically strengthened his office to fill federal enforcement gaps, oppose Trump administration mandates and advance state policy objectives, particularly by aggressively pursuing labor-related issues, say attorneys at Troutman.