Policy & Compliance

  • March 30, 2026

    FTC Says Anesthesia Group Cheered While Raising Prices

    The Federal Trade Commission pushed back against a bid from U.S. Anesthesia Partners to avoid facing trial on claims that it monopolized the market through a rollup strategy, saying the company celebrated its ability to dramatically increase prices.

  • March 27, 2026

    5th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Health IT Co. Worker's Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a healthcare information technology provider's win over a Black former manager's lawsuit claiming she was fired for complaining that a white male colleague was treated better, saying she couldn't overcome the company's rationale for letting her go.

  • March 27, 2026

    Pa. Health Network's $1.15M 401(k) Suit Deal Gets Final OK

    A Pennsylvania federal judge gave the green light to a $1.15 million deal resolving a proposed class action alleging a healthcare system misused workers' forfeited employee retirement plan funds and failed to rein in administrative fees.

  • March 27, 2026

    Insurer Rips Sanctions Bid In Opioid Coverage Dispute

    An insurer asked an Illinois federal court to reject a drug wholesaler's bid for sanctions in a dispute over coverage for underlying opioid litigation, saying the accusations that it intentionally destroyed pertinent evidence are, "at best, based on half-truths and misstatements of fact."

  • March 27, 2026

    Hospital Escapes Ex-Workers' 401(k) Forfeiture, Fund Suit

    A New York federal judge on Friday tossed a proposed class action against a healthcare company alleging mismanagement of an employee 401(k) plan, concluding that ex-workers who sued lacked standing to bring some claims while the remaining allegations weren't sufficiently backed up to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.

  • March 26, 2026

    Elanco Beats Investor Suit Over Dog Drug's Reg Challenges

    A Maryland federal judge Thursday dismissed a proposed securities class action against Elanco Animal Health Inc. that claimed the animal pharmaceuticals company misled investors about the safety of a canine dermatitis treatment it was developing and its timeline for the medication's commercial launch.

  • March 26, 2026

    DOJ Says NY-Presbyterian Blocked Lower-Cost Health Plans

    New York-Presbyterian Hospital is forcing major health insurers to contract with it on an "all-or-nothing" basis, which is driving up healthcare costs in New York City and violates federal antitrust law, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday. 

  • March 25, 2026

    AbbVie, Novartis Sue Wash. Over New 340B Drug-Pricing Law

    Pharmaceutical giants Novartis and AbbVie say a new Washington state law illegally expands drugmakers' obligations to provide deeply discounted medications under the federal government's 340B Drug Pricing Program, according to a pair of legal challenges launched in federal court on Wednesday.

  • March 25, 2026

    3rd Circ. Probes Free Speech Impact Of NJ Telemedicine Law

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday examined whether New Jersey can bar out-of-state doctors from consulting with Garden State patients via phone or video without a state license, pressing both sides on where to draw the line between protected speech and the regulated practice of medicine.

  • March 25, 2026

    Insurers, Brokers Can't Exit Medicare Advantage Steering Suit

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday largely rejected a bid by insurers and brokers to toss claims that they colluded in a kickback scheme to steer Medicare Advantage customers to certain companies and to push away disabled individuals.

  • March 25, 2026

    PBMs Say Mich. Price-Fixing Suit Lacks Specifics

    For the second time, pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts Inc. and Prime Therapeutics LLC asked a Michigan federal judge on Monday to toss a price-fixing suit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, arguing that the state has no standing to file the suit.

  • March 25, 2026

    Judge Trims SEC Fraud Case Over Cancer Drug Claims

    A Massachusetts federal judge greenlighted U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims against two of three former pharmaceutical executives accused of concealing from investors the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "harsh critiques" about a cancer drug.

  • March 25, 2026

    Foreign Aides' RICO Labor Suit Against PruittHealth Hits NC

    A Tennessee federal judge has agreed to transfer to North Carolina a year-old class action in which foreign workers say a healthcare system and recruiter trapped them in punitive contracts and buried them in grueling labor, after a judge said the action could have been filed in the Tar Heel State in the first place.

  • March 24, 2026

    Nicotine Pouch Maker To Refile FDA Suit In DC After Transfer

    The maker and seller of Zone nicotine pouches on Tuesday dismissed its own lawsuit accusing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of unfairly holding up a market application for its product, promising to refile in D.C. federal court after a Texas federal court transferred it to South Carolina federal court.

  • March 24, 2026

    Biz Services Co. Faces ERISA Suit Over 'Tobacco Surcharge'

    Business services company Conduent unlawfully imposes health insurance surcharges on employees who use tobacco products, forcing them to pay more for coverage the company provides, a former employee and plan participant said in a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court.

  • March 24, 2026

    $5.7M Cigna Ghost Network Deal Receives Final Go-Ahead

    An Illinois federal judge gave his final sign-off Tuesday to a $5.7 million settlement in what he called an "interesting" case accusing Cigna of improperly advertising out-of-network providers as though they're in-network for certain benefit plans it administered.

  • March 24, 2026

    Health Co. Escapes Workers' 401(k) Forfeiture Suit In La.

    A Louisiana federal judge agreed to toss a federal benefits lawsuit against a health company from workers who alleged the company misspent forfeitures from their employee 401(k) plan, rejecting the workers' argument that funds should have gone toward defraying expenses instead of lowering employer-side contribution obligations.

  • March 24, 2026

    Utah Hospitals To Track Violence As States Step Up Reporting

    Under a new law, Utah hospitals will join a national effort to better understand the risks facing healthcare workers.

  • March 24, 2026

    Ohio Justices Likely Split On Trans Care Restrictions

    The Ohio Supreme Court appeared split Tuesday as to whether a new state law banning gender-affirming care for minors trumps a decade-old healthcare freedom provision passed by voters that says state laws can't block a patient from obtaining healthcare. 

  • March 24, 2026

    Fraud Task Force May Boost White Collar Defense Work

    A new federal anti-fraud task force involving at least a dozen federal agencies could soon expose more state and local governments, contractors, companies and others to compliance risks, particularly in healthcare fraud and False Claims Act cases, experts say.

  • March 24, 2026

    Justices Won't Review Class Cert. In Diabetes Drug Risk Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review whether a federal court can certify a class of third-party payors who claim drugmakers hid the cancer risks of an anti-diabetes drug.

  • March 24, 2026

    Mass General Accused Of Shaving Time From Workers' Pay

    Boston-based healthcare system Mass General Brigham shaved as much as 14 minutes a day from employees' pay by rounding their clock-in and clock-out times, according to a proposed class and collective action filed in federal court.

  • March 23, 2026

    J&J Amici Seek Clarity On Goldman Precedent For Class Cert.

    Four groups of amici have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Johnson & Johnson's challenge to a Third Circuit decision allowing a securities class action over its talc products to proceed, warning the ruling could reshape how shareholder suits are litigated nationwide.

  • March 23, 2026

    FTC Stays Focused On Healthcare, Launches Task Force

    The Federal Trade Commission announced it is launching a new task force with staff from across the agency to coordinate healthcare policy approaches and initiate investigations meant to help protect patients, healthcare workers and American taxpayers.

  • March 23, 2026

    Progressive Escapes Workers' Tobacco, Vaccine Fee Suit

    Allegations that Progressive Corp. wrongly charged higher health premiums from workers who used tobacco or refused the COVID-19 vaccination failed to state a claim for violating federal benefits law, an Ohio federal judge ruled as he tossed a proposed class action against the insurance giant.

Expert Analysis

  • Unpacking Ore. Law's Limits On PE Healthcare Investment

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    A recent Oregon law imposes significant restrictions on nonphysicians owning or controlling medical practices, but newly enacted amendments provide some additional flexibility in certain ownership arrangements without scuttling the law's intent of addressing concerns about the rise of private equity investment in healthcare, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Criminal Healthcare Fraud Takeaways From 4th Circ. Reversal

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    After the Fourth Circuit reversed a doctor’s postconviction acquittal in U.S. v. Elfenbein last month, defense attorneys should consider three strategies when handling complex criminal healthcare matters, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • AG Watch: Texas Embraces The MAHA Movement

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    Attorneys at Kelley Drye examine Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's actions related to the federal Make America Healthy Again movement, and how these actions hinge on representations or omissions by the target companies as opposed to specific analyses of the potential health risks.

  • 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.