Policy & Compliance

  • December 02, 2025

    Plan Members Assert Standing In Cigna Data Breach Fight

    A group of Cigna health plan participants who claimed that the company failed to protect their data when it tracked their website activities asked a Pennsylvania federal judge not to throw out the suit, arguing that the proposed class had standing to sue over the alleged violations of state and federal privacy laws.

  • December 02, 2025

    Under New Chair, Fed. Vax Panel To Redo Hep B Vote

    The new chair of an influential federal vaccine advisory panel is set to lead a vote this week on whether to roll back federal recommendations that newborns get vaccinated against hepatitis B.

  • December 02, 2025

    Justices Skeptical Of NJ Subpoena For Anti-Abortion Donors

    Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic Tuesday to an anti-abortion pregnancy-center network's bid to challenge a subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general, pressing the state on whether its demand for donor identities and internal documents risked unconstitutionally chilling First Amendment associational rights.

  • December 02, 2025

    Safe-Injection Site Ignites New Religious Liberty Debate

    Law360 Healthcare Authority talks to Benjamin A. Barsky of the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco about safe injection sites, religious liberty arguments in healthcare, and a Third Circuit ruling with possible ramifications for both.

  • December 02, 2025

    Conflict Looms Over State Medical Debt Credit-Report Bans

    An about-face by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on medical debt and credit reports is animating a legal debate over preemption and state-level prohibitions meant to protect consumers.

  • December 02, 2025

    Hospital Says EEOC Neglected Presuit Conciliation Obligation

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission failed to satisfy its conciliation obligations before filing an age discrimination lawsuit against a Colorado hospital, the facility told a federal court, arguing that the case should be paused for the parties to try to work out a deal.

  • December 02, 2025

    $4.6M Garnet Health Deal Over Retirement Plan Gets Initial OK

    A New York federal judge granted initial approval Tuesday to a $4.6 million class action settlement between Garnet Health Medical Center and workers who challenged their employee retirement plan's fees and investments, which comes after parties reported a deal to end the case in September.

  • December 01, 2025

    Hospitals Slam HHS' Move From Drug Discounts To Rebates

    The American Hospital Association is leading litigation challenging the Trump administration's abrupt changes to a decades-old program governing the distribution of discounted prescriptions to low-income patients, telling a Maine federal court Monday that the government is unlawfully ignoring the costly impacts a rebate system will have on hospitals.

  • December 01, 2025

    1st Circ. Tosses Omni's Medicare Fraud Suit Over UTI Tests

    A First Circuit panel declined to revive Omni Healthcare's False Claims Act suit accusing MD Labs of billing Medicare for unnecessary urinary tract infection tests, explaining in a published opinion Monday that Omni Healthcare's own staff ordered each test — sometimes even replacing doctors' orders for cheaper tests with the pricier ones.

  • December 01, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs Anti-Abortion Groups' Free Speech Rights

    New York Attorney General Letitia James can't sue faith-based groups promoting a so-called treatment to reverse medication-induced abortions, finding the groups are likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment challenge, the Second Circuit said Monday.

  • December 01, 2025

    J&J Narrows Ex-Employees' Prescription Benefits Suit

    Johnson & Johnson narrowed a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully overcharged employees through a prescription drug benefits program, with a New Jersey federal judge ruling workers leading the suit failed to show how allegedly excessive fees the company paid to a benefits manager caused participants' costs to rise.

  • December 01, 2025

    Judge Upholds Mich. MedMal Cap, Cuts $8.5M Verdict

    A Michigan federal judge has slashed the $8.5 million a jury awarded to the estate of a cancer patient suing over his doctor's treatment decisions to about $615,000, ruling that a state law limiting noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases is constitutional. 

  • November 26, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court. 

  • November 26, 2025

    Nurse For App-Based Health Co. Can't Revive Retaliation Suit

    A Washington appeals court refused to revive a nurse's suit claiming she was fired from an app-based medical provider for complaining that it underpaid and overworked independent contractors, ruling she failed to show her termination was because of her concerns rather than reports that she was unprofessional.

  • November 25, 2025

    UnitedHealth Gets OptumRx Antitrust Suit Sent To Arbitration

    A group of independent pharmacies must arbitrate their proposed class claims that UnitedHealth-owned OptumRx gatekeeps its network of Medicare prescription patients by imposing unfair fees, a Washington federal judge said Tuesday, concluding the pharmacies haven't shown the arbitration clauses in question are unenforceable.

  • November 25, 2025

    Mich. Pharmacist Gets 46 Months For $4M Fraud Scheme

    A former Michigan pharmacist who pled guilty to orchestrating a $4 million Medicare scam was sentenced by a federal judge to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution and forfeit property as part of a plea deal, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

  • November 24, 2025

    9th Circ. Clarifies FTC's Sanction Power In Backing $7M Win

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed Monday a $7.3 million compensatory sanction and asset-freeze injunction against executives behind the "Success By Health" pyramid scheme, rejecting their argument, among others, that the justices' AMG v. FTC ruling requires the Federal Trade Commission to hold administrative proceedings before suing over rule violations.

  • November 24, 2025

    Teamsters Health Plan Wants Data Breach Suit Tossed

    A Massachusetts federal judge should toss a proposed class action accusing a Teamsters healthcare plan of failing to protect plan participants' personal information, the plan argued, seeking dismissal of a suit that seeks to hold the plan liable for an August data breach.

  • November 24, 2025

    Mass. Judge Says States Can Fight Planned Parenthood Cuts

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday chided a Trump administration lawyer for continuing to argue that a coalition of states lacks standing to seek to block what it says is the effective defunding of Planned Parenthood, even as it only just received a lengthy list of new requirements for Medicaid reimbursement.

  • November 24, 2025

    Mich. Christian Health Group Claims Right To Deny Trans Care

    A Christian health system urged a federal court to permanently prohibit Michigan from enforcing a state civil rights law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing the statute unconstitutionally hampers its ability to make faith-based hiring and policy decisions.

  • November 24, 2025

    Wash. Hits Regence BlueShield With Transparency Fine

    Washington's insurance commissioner slapped Regence BlueShield with a $550,000 fine, the state announced Monday, for purportedly violating reporting requirements under a federal law that says health insurers must provide the same level of coverage for mental health care as general medical care.

  • November 24, 2025

    ND Justices Reverse Ruling That Struck Down Abortion Ban

    North Dakota's near-total ban on abortion is back in effect after the state's top court narrowly reversed a lower court decision by failing to reach the supermajority required to declare the law unconstitutional.

  • November 24, 2025

    Hi-Tech Pharma CEO Beats Most Of Feds' Fraud Case

    A Georgia federal jury acquitted Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals' chief executive on the bulk of the conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges leveled against him, rejecting allegations that he cheated his customers by drawing up bogus quality certificates.

  • November 24, 2025

    Justices Won't Review Doctor's Conviction For Reusing Devices

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition from a North Carolina physician seeking to revisit the Fourth Circuit's decision to back her conviction for healthcare fraud.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Drug Price Negotiation Program's Ongoing Impact

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    More than two years after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid implementation of the drug price negotiation program, attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the IRA has influenced licensing strategies, and how maximum fair prices under the law have economically affected certain drugs.

  • Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Drug Pricing Policy Trends To Expect In 2025 And Beyond

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    Though 2025 may bring more of the same in the realm of drug pricing policy, business as usual entails a sustained, high level of legal and policy developments across at least six major areas, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment

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    For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • How Views On Healthcare Price Transparency Are Changing

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    Regulators' attitudes toward price transparency regulation have shifted over the past several years in ways that may seem contradictory, and research into detailed rate information published by hospitals and health plans has yielded mixed results, says Matthew List at Charles River Associates.

  • EEOC Wearable Tech Guidance Highlights Monitoring Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent fact sheet on wearable technologies cautions against potential issues with federal anti-discrimination laws and demonstrates growing concern from regulators and legislators about intrusive technologies in the workplace, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Navigating The Potential End Of GLP-1 Drug Shortages

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's determination of whether GLP-1 products are in shortage may affect how compounders provide these products and spur a range of litigation including patent disputes and unfair competition suits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Politicized OIGs Could Target Federal Employees, Contractors

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    After President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 inspectors general last week, it’s worth exploring how the administration could use Offices of Inspectors General to target federal employees and contractors, why it would be difficult to fight this effort, and one possible bulwark against the politicization of these watchdogs, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Takeaways From DOJ Fraud Section's 2024 Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Paul Weiss highlight notable developments in the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section’s recently released annual report, and discuss what the second Trump administration could mean for enforcement in the year to come.

  • IVF Suits Highlight Need For Better Legal Frameworks

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    The high number of in vitro fertilization embryo losses underscores the need for more cohesive legal and regulatory guidance related to human errors, property versus personhood, and liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • Takeaways From FDA's Updated Confirmatory Trial Guidance

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest draft guidance about accelerated drug approval indicates the FDA's intent to address the significant lag time between accelerated approval and full approval of drugs and may help motivate the industry to complete confirmatory trials, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • A Look At FDA's Plans To Establish New OTC Drug Category

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule, creating a new over-the-counter pathway for drugs when patients satisfy certain conditions, may be useful for off-patent drugs with established safety records, though switching to OTC comes with additional costs and considerations, say attorneys at Skadden.