Policy & Compliance
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October 29, 2025
3 Pharmaceutical Firms Will Pay $4M To Tribes In Opioid MDL
Indivior, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Zydus Pharmaceuticals have inked deals to compensate tribes for their role in the opioid crisis, according to stipulated dismissals entered on Wednesday in Ohio federal court.
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October 28, 2025
Off-Label Prescribing Was Common, Novo Nordisk Tells Jury
A whistleblower suing drugmaker Novo Nordisk for allegedly defrauding Washington state's Medicaid system acknowledged from the witness stand Tuesday that she previously prescribed hemophilia drugs for off-label use in her own practice — despite concerns she raised in her lawsuit about other doctors' off-label prescription of Novo Nordisk's drug NovoSeven.
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October 28, 2025
4 Emergency Medical Care Rulings You Don't Want To Miss
Following a Michigan appellate court's recent finding that evidence brought in a wrongful death suit against paramedics was enough to get around immunity protections, Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at significant rulings affecting emergency medical care in 2025.
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October 28, 2025
Home Health Aide Says Cos. Shaved Time Off Pay
Home health care companies failed to pay aides for the hours they worked by failing to properly calculate their overtime, while also having a "problematic clocking system" that led to time-shaving issues, a suit filed in New York federal court on Tuesday claims.
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October 28, 2025
High Court Medicaid Ruling Adds To Safety-Net Hospital Pain
Earlier this year, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raised a warning about the future of the nation's safety-net hospitals in a case focused on "disproportionate share" Medicaid payments. Funding cuts at issue in the case are now hitting hospitals.
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October 28, 2025
Akin Beats Malpractice Claim Over Alleged IP Theft Plot
A Third Circuit panel on Tuesday refused to revive a malpractice claim against Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP lodged in a lawsuit that accused attorneys of manipulating patent litigation to steal a former Cornell University graduate student's DNA sequencing intellectual property.
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October 28, 2025
HHS Can't Yet Yank Sex Ed Grants Over 'Gender Ideology' Info
An Oregon federal judge has halted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' plans to revoke federal funding for teen sexual health education programs that included "gender ideology," agreeing with states that this is likely a case of executive overreach.
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October 28, 2025
4th Circ. Overturns Landmark W.Va. Opioid Verdict
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday overturned a key ruling by a West Virginia judge in the first federal bellwether in multidistrict opioid litigation that went in favor of the country's three biggest drug distributors, finding that the oversupply of opioids can create a public nuisance.
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October 28, 2025
Wash. Hospital System Can't Undo $230M Wage Suit Loss
A hospital system can't undo a $230 million judgment against it because it didn't sufficiently counter evidence that its default rounding system was unlawful and assumed caregivers wouldn't take a second meal break, a Washington state appeals panel ruled.
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October 28, 2025
Tylenol Autism Warning May Face Legal, Free Speech Hurdles
The Trump administration’s plan to add an autism warning to Tylenol's labeling could generate procedural and First Amendment challenges. Legal experts expect federal officials’ own words will be used against them.
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October 28, 2025
Minn. Hospital Noncompetes Face Test In State AG Probe
A Minnesota investigation could help answer key questions for doctors and employers about a 2023 state ban on noncompete provisions: When do changes to employment contracts amount to a new contract?
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October 28, 2025
Texas Accuses Tylenol Makers Of Hiding Autism Danger
The Texas Attorney General's Office on Tuesday sued the makers of Tylenol, alleging they hid the risk that the drug could lead to autism while marketing acetaminophen as the safest pain relief option for pregnant women and young children.
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October 27, 2025
Teva To Pay $35M In Suit Over Delayed Generic Inhalers
Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay $35 million to resolve claims from a coalition of union healthcare funds that say the company schemed to delay generic competition for its QVAR asthma inhalers, according to a motion for preliminary injunction filed in Massachusetts federal court.
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October 27, 2025
CVS Let 401(k) Get Bogged Down With High Fees, Suit Says
CVS costs workers millions in retirement savings and violated federal benefits law by failing to rein in excessive administrative fees in its $27 billion 401(k) plan, a former pharmacist said in a proposed class action filed in New York federal court.
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October 27, 2025
AbbVie Defends Challenge Of Colorado's Discount Drug Law
AbbVie defended its lawsuit challenging a Colorado law it says conflicts with federal law by forcing manufacturers to sell drugs at steep discounts to Walgreens, CVS and other pharmacy chains, telling a federal judge that the state compels the biotech company to sell more discounted drugs than federal law requires.
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October 27, 2025
Temp Agency Placed Unqualified Nursing Aides, Charges Say
A Massachusetts temporary staffing agency sent unqualified nursing aides into at least four healthcare facilities by misrepresenting their credentials, and it allowed one of them to use the identity of a former employee, the state's attorney general alleged in an indictment announced Monday.
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October 27, 2025
Judge Tosses Eli Lilly Suit Over Telehealth Weight Loss Drugs
A California federal court has dismissed a lawsuit from Eli Lilly against a telehealth company and related entities over the compounding of its popular weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, saying the pharmaceutical giant's complaint failed to plausibly allege claims under the Lanham Act and the state's false advertising and consumer protection laws.
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October 27, 2025
Ex-Magellan CEO Avoids Prison Over Faulty Lead Tests
The former CEO of Magellan Diagnostics was sentenced in Massachusetts federal court Monday to a year of home confinement for failing to alert regulators to a problem in the company's lead-testing devices that resulted in inaccurately low lead levels being detected in blood samples.
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October 24, 2025
USAA Defends Medical Reimbursement Cuts In Coverage Row
Two USAA units sought to toss two insureds' proposed class action accusing the companies of under-reimbursing their medical providers via claim handling software, telling a Washington federal court "there is no admissible evidence that plaintiffs' treatments were medically necessary and related to their auto accidents."
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October 24, 2025
Generic-Drug Makers Want Conn. Price Cap Blocked During Suit
A trade group for generic and biosimilar drugmakers is asking a Connecticut federal judge to block the state's new drug price cap during the pendency of its challenge, saying it illegally controls prices on sales made outside the state.
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October 24, 2025
Paramedics Can't Use Mich. Law To Escape Negligence Suit
Evidence suggesting paramedics may have forged a patient's signature declining hospital transport for COVID-19 care and purported statements that responders didn't bring him in because hospitals were full are enough to overcome a state law that gives immunity to emergency responders, a Michigan appellate panel has determined.
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October 23, 2025
Wash. Justices Skeptical Of Debtor's Collection Notice Stance
Washington Supreme Court justices appeared wary Thursday of second-guessing a Seattle federal judge who asked them to decide whether a hospital billing disclosure law applies to debt collectors, as the plaintiff in the underlying proposed class action pressed the court to "reformulate" the certified question.
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October 23, 2025
6th Circ. Panel Torn On Mich. 'Conversion Therapy' Ban
A Sixth Circuit panel appeared divided Thursday about whether to block enforcement of Michigan's ban on conversion therapy for minors as the U.S. Supreme Court grapples with a nearly identical Colorado law.
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October 23, 2025
Ex-Exec Accused Of Stealing IVF Co.'s Trade Secrets
The co-founder of a Garden State genetic testing company abruptly quit, deleted all the data on his company laptop — including the only copy of some materials — then took the trade secrets to help a competitor, according to a lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.
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October 23, 2025
Telehealth Ketamine Provider Hit With Wrongful Death Suit
Online ketamine therapy provider Mindbloom was hit with a wrongful death suit in North Carolina state court by the father of a 27-year-old man who says his medical history should have disqualified him from receiving the allegedly dangerous anesthetic.
Expert Analysis
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How New Fraud Enforcement Tool Affects Gov't Contractors
Government contractors will likely face greater scrutiny under the recently enacted Administrative False Claims Act, which broadens federal agencies' authority to pursue low-dollar fraud claims, but contractors may also find the act makes settlement of such claims easier to negotiate, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Consultants Should Be Aware Of DOJ's Potential New Reach
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent first-of-its-kind settlement with McKinsey & Co. indicates not only the DOJ's more aggressive stance toward businesses' potential criminal wrongdoings, but also the benefits of self-disclosure and cooperation when wrongdoing becomes apparent, says Dom Caamano at Kibler Fowler.
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Health Tech Regulatory Trends To Watch In 2025
With an upcoming change in administration and the release of some long-awaited rules, the healthcare industry should prepare for shifting trends, including a growing focus on health data and interest in technology-enabled delivery of healthcare, say attorneys at Orrick.
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10 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2024
In a banner year for consumer finance regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made significant strides in its efforts to rein in Big Tech and nonbank financial firms, including via rules regarding open banking, credit card late fees, and buy now, pay later products, say attorneys at Wiley.
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The Future Of GLP-1 Policy After Drug Shortage Ends
If and when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determines that GLP-1 RA drugs are no longer in short supply, regulators will face questions of how to balance access to GLP-1 RAs with statutory and policy considerations applicable to compounded drugs, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2024
From a Florida federal court’s ruling that the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision is unconstitutional to a record-breaking number of whistleblower tips filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, employers saw significant developments in the federal and state whistleblower landscapes this year, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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How White Collar Defense Attys Can Use Summary Witnesses
Few criminal defense attorneys have successfully utilized summary witnesses in the past, but several recent success stories show that it can be a worthwhile trial tactic to help juries understand the complex decision-making at issue, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Nutraceutical Patent Insights As Market Heats Up
Companies entering the expanding nutraceutical market and seeking patents to protect their innovations should evaluate successful nutraceutical claim language and common patent challenges in this field, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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How White Collar Attys Can Use Mythic Archetypes At Trial
A careful reading of a classic screenwriting guide shows that fairy tales and white collar trials actually have a lot in common, and defense attorneys would do well to tell a hero’s journey at trial, relying on universal character archetypes to connect with the jury, says Jack Sharman at Lightfoot Franklin.
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What 2024 Election Means For Drugs, Medicare And Medicaid
With Republicans running the White House, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, the incoming administration is likely to provide pathways — through new initiatives and others returning from Trump's previous presidency — for a range of potential changes to drug pricing, Medicare and Medicaid, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case
After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.
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Key Takeaways From FDA's Latest Social Media Warnings
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest untitled letter concerning a drug company's social media promotion provides lessons for how companies should navigate risk presentation, FDA labeling requirements and superiority claims, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Rank-And-File DOJ Attorneys Will Keep Calm And Carry On
Career prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice often pride themselves on their ability to remain apolitical in order to ensure consistency and keep the department’s mission afloat, and the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to upend this tradition, says Michael Landman at Bird Marella.