Policy & Compliance

  • May 12, 2026

    DOJ Playing 'Dirty Pool' With Hospital In Trans Care Subpoena

    A Rhode Island federal judge indicated Tuesday she's likely to quash a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to obtain gender-affirming care medical records from Rhode Island Hospital, saying the DOJ was playing "dirty pool" by filing a motion to enforce the subpoena in another jurisdiction.

  • May 12, 2026

    A Battle Bigger Than Abortion Pills On Deck At High Court

    The outcome of the latest abortion clash at the high court could reach well beyond mifepristone access and make other federal policy changes on hot-button or divisive issues more vulnerable to state challenges.

  • May 12, 2026

    Texas AG Targets CVS DEI Program, Threatens Fraud Probe

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday warned CVS Health its diversity, equity and inclusion program for suppliers may violate state and federal antidiscrimination laws and gave the company 14 days to respond or risk a Medicaid fraud investigation.

  • May 12, 2026

    A Look At 'Most Favored Nation' Drug Pricing One Year Later

    A year ago, President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging executive order to deliver on a longtime goal of his: making drugs cheaper for Americans. Here is where his "Most Favored Nation" drug-pricing program stands now.

  • May 12, 2026

    Makary Out As FDA Commissioner, Trump Says

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary is departing the agency, President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday, bringing to an end a tumultuous, one-year run as one of the nation's top health officials.

  • May 11, 2026

    Wash. Says Novartis Isn't Harmed By 340B Drug Pricing Law

    Washington is objecting to Novartis' attempt to block a state law that expands the discounts the drugmaker must provide under the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program, telling a federal court that worry about losing money doesn't constitute irreparable harm.

  • May 11, 2026

    Transgender Minor Patients Seek To Block DOJ Subpoenas

    A group of families asked a Maryland federal judge over the weekend to block the U.S. Department of Justice from obtaining private medical records of thousands of transgender minors across the country, saying subpoenas sent to medical providers violate their privacy.

  • May 11, 2026

    NYC Sanctioned For Sluggish Discovery In IVF Sex Bias Suit

    A federal judge sanctioned New York City on Monday for its lethargic discovery responses in a proposed class action claiming a municipal health plan unlawfully blocked gay men from receiving in vitro fertilization coverage, ordering the city to reimburse the couple leading the suit for their efforts to obtain documents.

  • May 11, 2026

    Justices Extend Stay On 5th Circ. Mifepristone Decision

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday extended a stay that preserved, for now, telehealth access to the abortion medication mifepristone.

  • May 11, 2026

    Plaintiffs' Attys Sanctioned In Tylenol MDL, Sparking Appeal

    A New York federal court sanctioned a plaintiffs' firm and its co-founder in federal multidistrict litigation by families alleging that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen can cause autism, saying they improperly shared confidential information from the case in related state court actions.

  • May 11, 2026

    Agencies Pitch Employers Offering Voluntary Fertility Benefits

    Federal agencies overseeing employer-provided health coverage proposed new rules aimed at expanding workers' access to coverage for infertility treatments and related health conditions by letting employers offer voluntary fertility health benefit policies for procedures such as in vitro fertilization.

  • May 08, 2026

    FTC's Gender-Care Probe Likely Retaliatory, Judge Says

    The Endocrine Society has convinced a D.C. federal judge that the Federal Trade Commission's motivation for targeting it with a subpoena was likely retaliation for the guidelines the nonprofit produced regarding gender-affirming care.

  • May 08, 2026

    Judge Probes Cert. For Diverse Worker Class In No-Poach Suit

    An Illinois federal judge considering whether to certify a class of former health care employees claiming their wages were suppressed by alleged no-poach agreements between DaVita, UnitedHealth Group's Surgical Care Affiliates and Tenet Healthcare Corp. unit United Surgical Partners International questioned Friday if the group of senior-level workers was too diverse for class treatment.

  • May 08, 2026

    Ohio Health System Looks To Toss DOJ Antitrust Case

    OhioHealth told a federal court Friday the antitrust case from the U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers over the hospital system's contracts with insurers would limit competition, not restore it.

  • May 08, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs Toss Of Fired Worker's Whistleblower Suit

    The Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal Friday of a home health salesperson's suit claiming he was fired out of retaliation for complaining about sexual comments made at a company picnic, ruling the lower court used the correct legal standard to throw out his case.

  • May 08, 2026

    Using FCA To Go After DEI Poses Legal Hurdles For DOJ

    The Trump administration's use of the False Claims Act to go after DEI policies diverges from past administrations' use of the civil fraud statute to tackle policy initiatives in key ways that may pose legal challenges to enforcement.

  • May 07, 2026

    NC Panel Rules Prior Verdict Bars Hospital Negligence Case

    A divided North Carolina state appeals court panel pulled the plug on a couple's negligence case against a local hospital, finding their suit is bound by a verdict in a separate, near-identical lawsuit in which a jury cleared the same hospital of wrongdoing.

  • May 07, 2026

    La. Says Mailed Abortion Pills Harm State Budget, Sovereignty

    The state of Louisiana on Thursday defended its standing to challenge telehealth access to the abortion medication mifepristone, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that it has suffered financial and other injuries as mail-order pills flood the state.

  • May 07, 2026

    EEOC Suit Over Blind Worker's Firing Heads To Trial

    A Tennessee federal judge cleared for trial a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit claiming a hospital facilities management company unlawfully fired a blind worker, saying a jury should decide if the company properly evaluated the employee's ability to do his job.

  • May 07, 2026

    AstraZeneca Reps Fight To Keep Opt-Ins In Pay Bias Suit

    Female pharmaceutical sales representatives in an AstraZeneca equal pay suit have urged an Illinois federal court to reject the company's bid to dismiss two dozen opt-in plaintiffs for refusing discovery, saying the women feared retaliation and career consequences.

  • May 07, 2026

    Hospital Suspects DOJ Is Forum Shopping For Trans Records

    Children's Hospital of Philadelphia asked a federal judge this week to reassert control over the U.S. Department of Justice's demand for records of gender-affirming care, fearing the government's withdrawal of its local appeal and a case filed against another hospital in Texas portended "forum shopping" for a friendlier court.

  • May 07, 2026

    Harvard Pilgrim Sued Over 'Ghost' Mental Health Network

    Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and its parent company have lured subscribers with a "ghost network" of mental health providers who are frequently out of network, don't accept the insurance or are not taking new patients, according to a proposed class action filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • May 06, 2026

    Calif. Justices Seem Divided On Gilead HIV Negligence Claim

    The California Supreme Court appeared split Wednesday over whether Gilead should face a negligence claim for allegedly withholding a safer HIV drug from the market to maximize profits from an older drug with more harmful side effects. 

  • May 06, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Hospital Workers' Vaccine Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused Wednesday to reopen a religious bias lawsuit accusing a Washington hospital of unlawfully denying employees' requests to avoid a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, finding that the medical center demonstrated that exemptions would've been too burdensome under a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • May 06, 2026

    Nursing Home Co. Can't Stave Off EEOC Harassment Trial

    A nursing facility operator can't dodge a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it fired an employee for complaining that her boss sexually harassed her, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday, ruling a jury needs to assess whether the business acted out of retaliation.

Expert Analysis

  • A Shifting Trend In FDA Form 483 Disclosure Obligations

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    A New York federal court's Checkpoint Therapeutics decision extends a recent streak of dismissals of securities class actions alleging that pharmaceutical companies failed to disclose U.S. Food and Drug Administration Form 483 inspection reports, providing critical guidance for companies during the FDA approval process, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • The Future Of Lab-Test Regs After FDA Rescinds Rule

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently rescinded its laboratory-developed tests rule in response to a Texas federal court decision this spring, reinforcing a separation of authority between the FDA and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and calling into question the FDA's role in overseeing such tests without congressional action, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 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.