Policy & Compliance

  • February 18, 2026

    RFK Jr.-Founded Group Seeks Role In Vaccine Lawsuit

    An organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked a Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday to let it join the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary as a defendant in a lawsuit challenging recent changes to childhood vaccination schedules so the group can pursue counterclaims against the plaintiffs.

  • February 18, 2026

    J&J Unit Appeals $442M Catheter Antitrust Loss To 9th Circ.

    Johnson & Johnson's Biosense Webster health tech unit urged the Ninth Circuit to overturn a California federal jury's $147 million antitrust verdict — later upped to $442 million — over the company withholding cardiac mapping support to hospitals using third-party reprocessed catheters, saying Innovative Health LLC didn't prove its allegations of unlawful tying.

  • February 18, 2026

    Meta Pixel Tracking Suit Tossed Over Lack Of Standing

    A North Carolina federal judge has ruled that a prospective class of Nurse.com users lacked standing to sue the website's operator for Video Privacy Protection Act violations for allegedly sharing customers' information with Meta Platforms Inc. without permission.

  • February 18, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs Military Policy Banning HIV-Positive Enlistees

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday upheld a U.S. Department of Defense policy that bans HIV-positive Americans from enlisting, deferring to the military's judgment that it must have healthy and fit service members who do not require consistent treatment for chronic medical conditions. 

  • February 18, 2026

    Texas AG Says Hospital Violated Gender-Affirming Care Ban

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Children's Health System of Texas on Wednesday, alleging it performed gender-affirming care on children through puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones despite a state law banning the treatments.

  • February 18, 2026

    Conn. Doctor Accused Of Taking Patient Data Must Pay $509K

    An obstetrician-gynecologist must pay about $509,000 to her former practice, which is suing her for allegedly pilfering its patients and trade secrets, after a Connecticut state judge confirmed an arbitration award against her that arose from her own accusations of unpaid compensation.

  • February 18, 2026

    FDA Changes Mind, Will Review Moderna MRNA Flu Vaccine

    Moderna on Wednesday said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided to review its application for its influenza vaccine, a week after the agency refused to consider the application for the new experimental vaccine.

  • February 18, 2026

    Anti-Abortion Clinics Lose Free Speech Suit Over Mass. Ads

    A Massachusetts federal judge has tossed a lawsuit over a state-funded ad campaign warning consumers about potentially misleading or inaccurate information provided by a group of anti-abortion pregnancy resource centers, finding that the state hadn't prohibited the clinics from operating — and that the public officials have the same free speech rights as the clinics.

  • February 17, 2026

    Chancery Disallows Arbitration In No Surprises Act Cases

    In a "narrow" first impression ruling, a Delaware magistrate in Chancery has rejected claims that the federal No Surprises Act provides for a narrow private right to seek the enforcement of an arbitration award in litigation over medical bills involving the act.

  • February 17, 2026

    Judge Rips Drugmakers' Borderline 'Disingenuous' Appeal Bid

    A Connecticut federal judge has rejected generic-drug makers' request for a quick appeal of his ruling denying them summary judgment on states' claims they engaged in an "overarching conspiracy" to fix prices, slamming the request for being borderline "disingenuous," mischaracterizing his reasoning and ignoring direct evidence of alleged wrongdoing.

  • February 17, 2026

    Oregon Racing to Block Predatory Hospice Schemes

    As California's revamped laws trigger a massive crackdown on hospice fraud, Oregon lawmakers are moving to protect their residents against an influx of predatory operators. The state currently lacks robust hospice regulations, making it an attractive target for bad actors seeking a foothold as they are pushed out of neighboring markets, palliative care advocates say. 

  • February 17, 2026

    FDA Targets 'Emotional' Ads In New Enforcement Campaign

    Federal regulators' quick objection to a Novo Nordisk commercial touting its new weight loss pill as a chance to "live lighter" is designed to send a message to drugmakers and discourage them from making emotional appeals that promise patients a better life, experts say.

  • February 17, 2026

    Colo. Judge Allows Hospital To Pause Gender-Affirming Care

    A Colorado state judge declined to reinstate gender-affirming care for transgender youth patients of Children's Hospital Colorado, ruling that ordering the hospital to resume providing the care could risk the hospital's ability to provide pediatric care to other patients.

  • February 13, 2026

    RFK Jr. Taps Ex-Jones Day Atty For FDA Senior Counselor

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has named a former Jones Day partner as one of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's senior counselors, according to an announcement.

  • February 13, 2026

    States' Generic Drugs Antitrust Case Headed Toward Trial

    A Connecticut federal judge has mostly refused to side with pharmaceutical companies facing states' generic drug price-fixing litigation against them, ruling that there are genuine disputes of material fact as to drug distribution chains and the states' antitrust standing and teeing up the case for trial.

  • February 13, 2026

    Docs Urge Judge To Block CDC's Childhood Vaccine Changes

    Doctors organizations Friday urged a Massachusetts federal judge to stop the government from implementing its new, shorter list of recommended vaccines for children and prevent the next meeting of a committee they say has been tainted by anti-vaccine influence.

  • February 13, 2026

    Iowa AG Urges 8th Circ. To Unblock Parts Of State PBM Law

    The state of Iowa urged the Eighth Circuit on Friday to lift a preliminary block on parts of a law limiting pharmacy benefit managers' power to set drug prices in the Hawkeye State, arguing a lower court judge erred in holding that parts of the policy were federally preempted.

  • February 13, 2026

    Breast Surgery Patients Want ERISA Class Cert. Rethink

    A United Healthcare plan member asked a New Jersey federal judge to rethink her decision denying class certification in a suit alleging the insurer systematically refused to cover postmastectomy breast reconstruction claims, arguing the court overlooked evidence showing that common issues could be resolved on a classwide basis.

  • February 13, 2026

    FDA Removes Boxed Warnings From HRT Products

    Six menopause hormone therapies will no longer have warnings on their label about heart disease, breast cancer and dementia, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it removed them so that women can make decisions "free from exaggeration or fear."

  • February 12, 2026

    Trump Admin. Blocked From Cutting $600M In Health Funding

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating more than $600 million in public health funding to four Democratic-led states, saying the states will likely succeed in showing they are unconstitutionally being targeted due to political or policy objectives.

  • February 12, 2026

    Feds Charge 2 Foreign Nationals Over $10M Healthcare Fraud

    Federal officials in Chicago announced healthcare fraud charges Thursday against two natives of Pakistan who allegedly made $10 million by using fake medical companies to submit Medicare and other health benefit claims for items and services they never provided.

  • February 12, 2026

    DC Circ. Judge Rips Into Insurer In CMS Rating Case

    A Louisiana insurer found a tough critic in one D.C. Circuit judge Thursday as it argued that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services used an unfair method to assess its "star ratings" for insurance plans, with the jurist saying the company seemed like it "just wanted whatever interpretation will give you a higher score."

  • February 12, 2026

    Ex-Pharma Exec Fights AGs' Quick Win Bid In Antitrust Case

    A former pharmaceutical marketing executive urged a Connecticut federal court to reject summary judgment sought against him by state attorneys general pursuing wider price-fixing litigation against most of the generic drug industry, arguing key cooperating witnesses' questionable credibility makes a trial necessary.

  • February 12, 2026

    Goodwin Expands Healthcare Team With Ex-Reed Smith Atty

    A healthcare attorney specializing in guiding clients through regulatory and transactional matters has moved her practice to Goodwin Procter LLP's Philadelphia office after more than 11 years with Reed Smith LLP.

  • February 11, 2026

    AbbVie Sues Medicaid, HHS Over Botox Fair Price Controls

    AbbVie Inc. on Wednesday asked a D.C. federal court to block the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from controlling the price of Botox under the Inflation Reduction Act, arguing the cosmetic drug and migraine treatment should be excluded from the controls because it's a "plasma-derived" product.

Expert Analysis

  • How States Are Regulating Health Insurers' AI Usage

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    The absence of a federal artificial intelligence framework positions states as key regulators of health insurers’ AI use, making it important for payors and service providers to understand the range of state AI legislation being passed in California and elsewhere, and consider implementing an AI-focused compliance infrastructure, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • HHS Plan To Cut Immigrant Benefits Spurs Provider Questions

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    A recent notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identifying new federal public benefit programs for which nonqualified aliens are not eligible may have a major impact on entities that participate in these programs — but many questions remain unanswered, say attorneys at Foley.

  • Noncompete Forecast Shows Tough Weather For Employers

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    Several new state noncompete laws signal rough conditions for employers, particularly in the healthcare sector, so employers must account for employees' geographic circumstances as they cannot rely solely on choice-of-law clauses, say lawyers at McDermott.

  • Previewing State Efforts To Regulate Mental Health Chatbots

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    New York, Nevada and Utah have all recently enacted laws regulating the use of artificial intelligence to deliver mental health services, offering early insights into how other states may regulate this area, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • How DOJ's New Data Security Rules Leave HIPAA In The Dust

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently effective data security requirements carry profound implications for how healthcare providers collect, store, share and use data — and approach vendor oversight — that go far beyond the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Texas Med Spas Must Prepare For 2 New State Laws

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    Two new laws in Texas — regulating elective intravenous therapy and reforming healthcare noncompetes — mark a pivotal shift in the regulatory framework for medical spas in the state, which must proactively adapt their operations and contractual practices, says Brad Cook at Munsch Hardt.

  • DOJ-HHS Collab Crystallizes Focus On Health Enforcement

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    The recently announced partnership between the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to combat False Claims Act violations, following a multiyear trend of high-dollar DOJ recoveries, signals a long-term enforcement horizon with major implications for healthcare entities and whistleblowers, say attorneys at RJO.

  • How The Healthline Privacy Settlement Redefines Ad Tech Use

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    The Healthline settlement is the first time California has drawn a clear line in the sand around how website tracking must function in practice, so if your site uses tracking technologies, especially around sensitive content like health or finance, regulators are inspecting your website's back end, not just its banner, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • How Sweeping Budget Bill Shakes Up Health Industry

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    With the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act marking one of the most significant overhauls of federal health policy since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, providers, managed care organizations and life sciences companies must now shift focus from policy review to implementation planning, say advisers at Holland & Knight.

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • A Look At Key 5th Circ. White Collar Rulings So Far This Year

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    In the first half of 2025, the Fifth Circuit has decided numerous cases of particular import to white collar practitioners, which collectively underscore the critical importance of meticulous recordbuilding, procedural compliance and strategic litigation choices at every stage of a case, says Joe Magliolo at Jackson Walker.

  • What US Medicine Onshoring Means For Indian Life Sciences

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    Despite the Trump administration's latest moves to onshore essential medicine manufacturing, India will likely remain an indispensable component of the U.S. drug supply chain, but Indian manufacturers should prepare for stricter compliance checks, says Jashaswi Ghosh at Holon Law Partners.

  • FCA Working Group Reboot Signals EHR Compliance Risk

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    The revival of the False Claims Act working group is an aggressive expansion of enforcement efforts by the Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services targeted toward technology-enabled fraud involving electronic health records and other data, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.