Policy & Compliance
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July 23, 2025
FTC Wants PE Firm's Medical Device Coating Deal Put On Ice
Private equity firm GTCR BC Holdings' $627 million merger with Surmodics will bring the previously fierce competition for medical device coatings to a grinding halt, the FTC says, which is all the more reason a federal court should block the deal while an agency challenge plays out.
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July 23, 2025
Symbria Workers' $5.9M ESOP Deal Gets Ill. Judge's Final OK
An Illinois federal judge gave his final blessing Tuesday to a $5.9 million settlement between Argent Trust Co. and a group of Symbria Inc. employees who accused the company of mismanaging their employee stock ownership plan.
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July 23, 2025
Bird Marella And Bioscience Client Accused Of $87M Fraud
An investment group that includes a "Toy Story" screenwriter is suing a Culver City, California-headquartered bioscience company and its Bird Marella attorneys in California state court, accusing them of manipulating the valuation of a company whose acquisition they funded, in order to defraud investors of $87 million.
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July 23, 2025
Co., Lenders Hit With Suit Over Medical Spa Financing Scam
A medical device manufacturer and several financing companies worked together to manipulate boutique clinics and medical spas into purchasing expensive cosmetic devices based on inflated revenue projections and false promises of marketing support, according to a proposed class action filed Monday in California federal court.
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July 22, 2025
FCA Draws Heavy Constitutional Fire After $1.6B J&J Verdict
Reeling from a record fraud verdict tied to drug promotion practices, Johnson & Johnson is pursuing a sweeping constitutional challenge to the False Claims Act, and in filings this week at the Third Circuit, major industry allies rallied behind its views of whistleblower litigants usurping executive branch power.
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July 22, 2025
Healthcare In Court: NIH Grant Cuts, Flo Health Trial And More
A First Circuit panel refused to hit pause on a Massachusetts federal judge's order voiding cuts by the National Institutes of Health to hundreds of grant programs. Meanwhile, in California, a jury trial kicked off over allegations of unlawful information sharing between menstrual app developer Flo Health Inc. and Meta Platforms.
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July 22, 2025
Sandoz Loses 'Nonsense' Bid To Avoid DOJ Deal In AGs' Case
A Connecticut federal judge has given dozens of state attorneys general a small but important win in a sprawling price-fixing litigation against generic-drug makers, applying previous admissions of criminal wrongdoing and flatly rejecting "ridiculous" efforts by Sandoz, Taro Pharmaceuticals and a former Sandoz official to avoid that application.
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July 22, 2025
Ohio Justices Accept AG's Bid To Limit Care For Trans Youths
The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review an appeals court's finding that portions of a state law restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youths are unconstitutional.
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July 22, 2025
Employers, Plans Force Freeze Of Iowa's PBM Law
A federal judge slapped a temporary hold on parts of an Iowa law that aims to limit pharmacy benefit managers' power to set drug prices, ruling that provisions barring discrimination against certain pharmacies and pushing cost-saving strategies are preempted by federal benefits law.
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July 22, 2025
4th Circ. Backs Medicaid Fraud Conviction, 17-Year Sentence
A North Carolina lab owner lost his bid Tuesday to overturn his healthcare fraud conviction after the Fourth Circuit found evidence against him to be sufficient and the terms of his sentence reasonable.
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July 22, 2025
NC Hospital Says Dropped Malpractice Claim Dooms 2004 Suit
A North Carolina hospital is asking state appellate judges to determine whether a hospital can face claims of negligently credentialing a doctor if the plaintiffs have dropped the underlying medical malpractice allegation against the physician.
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July 22, 2025
Medicaid Cuts To Raise Staffing Pressure On Nursing Homes
Massive changes coming to Medicaid are expected to push more seniors reliant on state-supported services into nursing homes, adding pressure to a system already struggling with staffing and quality of care issues.
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July 22, 2025
Lawmakers Consider Case Of Would-Be Donor's 'Signs Of Life'
The nation's organ transplant system is again under the microscope of federal lawmakers after a federal investigation found that a Kentucky organ procurement organization moved forward with the transplant process despite the patient showing "signs of life."
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July 22, 2025
FDA Talks Transparency. Drug Cos. Ask How Far It Will Go
The first batch of rejection letters published as part of the FDA’s new transparency effort didn’t shake up the pharmaceutical industry. But future releases could trigger litigation and influence drug-development strategies, depending on how far the agency is willing to go.
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July 22, 2025
Judge Blocks Some Planned Parenthood Cuts In Partial Ruling
A Massachusetts federal judge partially blocked a measure passed by Congress this month stripping Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood-affiliated facilities, but only as it applies to those that do not provide abortions or that receive minimal federal support.
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July 22, 2025
A Billing Code 'Ambiguity' Retrial: 3 Things To Know
A Maryland doctor found guilty by a federal jury two years ago in a COVID-19 testing scheme, only to see his conviction thrown out, is once again facing a criminal trial. Law360 Healthcare Authority examines the restarted prosecution and talks to experts about what makes the case so unusual.
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July 21, 2025
Wash. Plastic Surgeon Can't Get $13M Jury Verdict Overturned
A Washington appeals court panel refused on Monday to undo a $13 million jury verdict against a plastic surgeon in a medical malpractice case, rejecting the doctor's argument that the lower court wrongly allowed evidence of state regulators' unrelated disciplinary proceedings against her.
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July 21, 2025
Pa. Hospital Can Shield Some Docs In Birth Injury Suit
A Pennsylvania state appeals panel won't force a hospital to turn over all of its internal reports in a suit by parents alleging that the hospital's negligence led to their son's injuries at birth, finding that the hospital sufficiently showed that two of the three contested files are privileged.
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July 21, 2025
States Say Noncitizen Benefit Restrictions Are Creating Chaos
A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday for "upending" noncitizens' access to publicly funded programs like Head Start and food banks.
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July 21, 2025
Trump Admin's Harvard Cuts Vex Judge: 'Staggering To Me'
A Massachusetts federal judge said Monday that the Trump administration has not presented evidence that Harvard has failed to address antisemitism on its campus and expressed bewilderment at the government's legal justifications for cutting $2.2 billion in funding.
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July 21, 2025
Hartford Unit Must Cover Drug Test Co. In False Results Suit
A Hartford unit must cover a drug testing company in a suit over false positive tests, a Virginia federal court ruled, finding that the suit was not related to a prior proposed class action filed during another insurer's coverage period.
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July 18, 2025
Law360 Names 2025's Top Attorneys Under 40
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2025, our list of more than 150 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
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July 18, 2025
Kaiser's $11M Class Meal Break Deal Gets Final OK In Wash.
A Washington state judge gave the final green light on Friday to a nearly $11 million class deal to end claims that Kaiser Permanente shortchanged Evergreen State employees who worked through their meal breaks, while also awarding class counsel $3.6 million in legal fees from the settlement fund.
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July 18, 2025
Investor Sues Biotech Capricor After Product's FDA Denial
Biotechnology company Capricor Therapeutics Inc. faces a proposed investor class action alleging it misrepresented its lead product candidate's approval prospects before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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July 18, 2025
Judge Advised Against State AG Intervention In Sandoz Deal
A special master on Friday advised a Pennsylvania federal court to deny a bid by California and other state attorneys general to intervene in a $275 million settlement resolving generic-drug price-fixing claims against Sandoz, finding they lacked standing to represent the interests of consumers.
Expert Analysis
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PREVAIL Bill Is Another Misguided Attempt To Restrict PTAB
The decade-long campaign against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board — currently focused on the PREVAIL Act that's slated for markup in the Senate — is not really about procedural issues, and it is not aimed at securing more accurate patentability decisions, says Clear IP's Joseph Matal, former acting director at the USPTO.
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Justices Face Tough Question On HHS Hospital Pay Formula
In Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Becerra, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services properly applied certain Medicare reimbursement adjustments to hospitals — a decision that could significantly affect hospitals' ability to seek higher Medicare reimbursement for low-income patients, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Key Healthcare Issues That Hinge On The Election Outcome
The 2024 presidential race, while not heavily dominated by healthcare issues compared to past elections, holds significant implications for the direction of healthcare policy in a potential Harris or Trump administration, encompassing issues ranging from Medicare to artificial intelligence, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.
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The Key To Solving High Drug Costs Is Understanding Causes
One-sided views on who or what contributes to the high cost of pharmaceuticals render possible solutions much harder to discover and implement, and a better approach would be to examine history and learn why costs have increased and what legislation has and hasn't helped, says Nancy Linck at NJ Linck Consulting.
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Next Steps For FCA Defendants After Fla. Qui Tam Ruling
Because a Florida federal court's recent decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates could eventually prove to be a watershed event for False Claims Act suits, defendants should consider potential next steps to ensure that their litigation benefits from the court's reasoning and further developments, says Scott Gallisdorfer at Bass Berry.
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A Look At Calif.'s New AI Law For Health Insurers
A newly enacted California law prohibits artificial intelligence tools from making medical necessity determinations for healthcare service plans or disability insurers, addressing core questions that have arisen around AI's role in coverage decisions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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New HHS Research Misconduct Rules Bring Seismic Changes
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new rule regarding research misconduct investigations brings significant changes that focus on remediation, appeals and confidentiality, while other changes could result in institutions causing undue harm to scientists accused of such misconduct, say attorneys at Cohen Seglias.
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Fla. Ruling May Undermine FCA Whistleblowers' Authority
A Florida federal court's decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates last month will deprive relators of their ability to bring suits under the False Claims Act, limiting their capability to expose and rectify wrongdoings and potentially affecting billions in FCA recoveries, say Matthew Nielsen and Lily Johnson at Bracewell.
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11th Circ. Kickback Ruling May Widen Hearsay Exception
In a $400 million fraud case, U.S. v. Holland, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that a conspiracy need not have an unlawful object to introduce co-conspirator statements under federal evidence rules, potentially broadening the application of the so-called co-conspirator hearsay exception, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races
This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.
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Navigating HHS' New Reproductive Healthcare Privacy Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new final rule regarding protections for the privacy of reproductive health information will require regulated entities to grapple with difficult questions about whether to comply with state law requirements or federal privacy prohibitions, says Christine Chasse at Spencer Fane.
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Mental Health Parity Rules: Tips For Plans And Issuers
Following federal agencies' release of final mental health parity rules, plan sponsors and health insurance issuers should develop protocols for preparing compliant nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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FTC's Report Criticizing Drug Middlemen Is Flawed
The Federal Trade Commission's July report, which claims that pharmacy benefit managers are inflating drug costs, does not offer a credible analysis of PBMs, and its methodology lacks rigor, says Jay Ezrielev at Elevecon.