Policy & Compliance
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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
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.
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May 29, 2025
Ga. BCBS Says Providers Are Gaming Billing Dispute System
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia has accused a healthcare consulting firm and a handful of Peach State providers of systematic abuse of a federal dispute resolution process for surprise medical bills, accusing them of "flooding" the system with bogus dispute claims.
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May 29, 2025
Express Scripts Says Arkansas Can't Ban PBM Pharmacies
Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts sued the state of Arkansas in federal court Thursday, alleging that the state's recently enacted law banning PBMs from owning pharmacies in the state violated the U.S. Constitution and ran afoul of federal law governing military employee benefits.
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May 29, 2025
Split 9th Circ. Says Spa's Rule On Certain Trans Women Biased
A divided Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a Korean spa's constitutional challenge against the Washington State Human Rights Commission and ordered it to rescind its policy denying admission to trans women without gender-affirming surgery, noting Thursday the policy violated state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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.

The Surgical Pay Gap: How Bias May Hurt Women's Health
Medical and legal professionals warn that systemic sex discrimination in U.S. surgical valuations — in the form of lower pay for procedures on female anatomy — discourages specialization in women's health, leads to delayed care and increased suffering for female patients, and could expose insurers to legal liability.

As Trump Pushes Coal, Miners Fear Health Protection Erosion
A court order restoring a coal miner "black lung" screening program hasn't ended concerns among health and legal advocates that the Trump administration is neglecting miners as it pushes coal production.
Expert Analysis
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3 Takeaways From Recent Cyberattacks On Healthcare Cos.
For the healthcare industry, the upward trend in styles of cyberattacks, costs, and entities targeted highlights the critical importance of proactive planning to help withstand the operational, legal and reputational turmoil that can follow a data breach, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Most-Favored Nation Drug Pricing Could Shake Up US Pharma
Recent moves from the executive and legislative branches represent a serious attempt to revive and refine the first Trump administration's most-favored-nations model for drug pricing, though implementation could bring unintended consequences for pharmaceutical manufacturers and will likely draw significant legal opposition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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How Focus On Menopause Care Is Fueling Innovation, Access
Recent legislative developments concerning the growing field of menopause care are creating opportunities for increased investment and innovation in the space as they increase access to education and coverage, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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FDA Commissioner Speech Suggests New Vision For Agency
In his first public remarks as U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Marty Makary outlined an ambitious framework for change centered around cultural restoration, scientific integrity, regulatory flexibility and selective modernization, and substantial enforcement shifts for the food and tobacco sectors, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.
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Customs Fraud Enforcement In The Age Of Tariffs
In the wake of the Trump administration’s new approach toward tariffs, two recent Justice Department developments demonstrate aggressive customs fraud enforcement, with the DOJ emphasizing competitive harm to American businesses, and signaling that investigations will likely involve both civil and criminal enforcement tools, say attorneys at Bernstein Litowitz and London & Naor.
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Legal Risks For Providers Discussing Psychedelic Therapies
The emergence of psychedelic therapies as potential treatments for mental health conditions and other ailments continues to garner significant attention, but the legal landscape surrounding discussions and referrals remains fraught with complexity, creating potential risks for healthcare providers and institutions, says Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.
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How NY's FAIR Act Mirrors CFPB State Recommendations
New York's proposed FAIR Business Practices Act, which targets predatory lending and junk fees, reflects the Rohit Chopra-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recommendations to states in a number of ways, including by defining "abusive" conduct and adding a new right to file class actions, says Christian Hancock at Bradley Arant.
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A Breakdown Of Trump's Order On Drug Pricing
The Trump administration may attempt to effectuate through rulemaking a recently issued executive order on lowering drug prices, which would likely have an adverse effect on stakeholders and trigger litigation, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Takeaways From DOJ's 1st Wage-Fixing Jury Conviction
U.S. v. Lopez marked the U.S. Department of Justice's first labor market conviction at trial as a Nevada federal jury found a home healthcare staffing executive guilty of wage-fixing and wire fraud, signaling that improper agreements risk facing successful criminal prosecution, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
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Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.
A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption
If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.
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New Hospice Regulations Should Enforce Core Principles
As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General prepares to research and expand on oversight of Medicare hospice care, the OIG should keep in mind certain core principles, such as an emphasis on preventing the entry of hospices that raise red flags, says Bill Dombi at Arnall Golden.
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7 Considerations For Conducting Drug Clinical Trials Abroad
With continuing cuts to U.S. Food and Drug Administration staffing motivating some pharmaceutical companies to consider developing drugs abroad, it's important to understand the additional risks and compliance requirements associated with conducting clinical studies in other countries, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.