Policy & Compliance

  • January 13, 2026

    Ark. Official Urges 7th Circ. Not To Revive Pharma Rule Fight

    An Illinois federal judge correctly upheld an Arkansas insurance regulation designed to protect local pharmacies, the state's insurance commissioner told the Seventh Circuit on Monday, asking the court to toss a Teamsters healthcare plan's bid to renew its challenge to the regulation.

  • January 13, 2026

    EEOC Disability Bias Win Stands, But Damages Shrink

    A Florida federal judge declined a senior living facility's bid for a new trial in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disability bias suit claiming it wouldn't hire a veteran who has PTSD, but cut a $400,000 jury verdict to $50,000 in line with a damages cap.

  • January 13, 2026

    La. Moves To Extradite Calif. Doc Over Abortion Pill Trafficking

    Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Tuesday said he would authorize an extradition request for a California doctor accused of illegally mailing abortion pills to a Louisiana resident, further escalating a legal battle over the reach of state bans in the post-Roe era.

  • January 13, 2026

    Oak Street Exec's Ex-Partner Must Forfeit $617K In Assets

    Federal authorities can delve into the assets of a man who made illegal insider trades of CVS stock based on information from his domestic partner so that they can recover $617,000 he agreed to forfeit as part of a plea deal, a Pennsylvania federal judge said Tuesday.

  • January 13, 2026

    Healthcare Litigation Week In Review

    Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at the past week's top healthcare news.

  • January 13, 2026

    Workers Seek $126M In Seattle Hospital System Wage Row

    Seattle-area hospital system Swedish Health Services should shell out about $126 million to settle wage violations, after a state court found that the system failed to provide a second meal break on longer shifts and that its rounding practices led to unpaid wages, the workers said.

  • January 13, 2026

    Blue States Say HHS Conditions Funding On Anti-Trans Bias

    A dozen Democratic state attorneys general sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, claiming the agency's threat to withhold billions of dollars in funding from states that don't hew to an executive order declaring that gender is immutable conflicts with antidiscrimination law.

  • January 13, 2026

    Gov't Didn't Allege Formula Was Contaminated, Abbott Says

    Abbott Laboratories has urged a Michigan federal judge to throw out a suit brought by the federal government over the 2022 infant formula shortage, saying the government is trying to recoup a "belated windfall" and no tainted formula left its plant's doors.

  • January 13, 2026

    Federal Drug Pricing Policies Irk Biotech Insiders

    As the federal government targets drug and other healthcare costs, biotech insiders say they're getting exasperated.

  • January 13, 2026

    Justices Seem Poised To Greenlight Transgender Athlete Bans

    The conservative wing of the U.S. Supreme Court voiced skepticism of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's and girls' sports Tuesday, while also signaling a willingness to keep its ruling narrowly tailored.

  • January 13, 2026

    Blip Or Trend? FDA Guidance Fell Off Steeply In 2025

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued far less industry guidance last year after President Donald Trump returned to office. The change has pharmaceutical attorneys bracing for more unpredictability.

  • January 12, 2026

    The Curious, Very Long Delay In A Pioneering Drug Prices Suit

    When Merck & Co. launched a fiery challenge to Medicare's landmark drug price negotiations, it blazed a trail for many similar suits. But 31 months later, the challenge is stalled where it started as Merck begs for a ruling, other suits speed along the path it created and huge costs now seem unavoidable.

  • January 12, 2026

    Feds To Drop Appeal In 340B Rebate Pilot Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday suggested it will end its appeal of a First Circuit order temporarily blocking it from instituting a rebate program that would change how the agency distributes payments in the federal 340B drug discount program that provides medications at reduced costs to low-income Americans. 

  • January 12, 2026

    ERISA Recovery Suit Against UnitedHealth Proceeds With Trims

    A UnitedHealth plan participant who was injured in a car crash may pursue claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's civil enforcement provision, an Ohio federal court ruled Friday, while also allowing his wife, who was involved in a separate accident, to proceed with certain state-law claims.

  • January 12, 2026

    Yale Asks Judge To Rethink $32M Baby Formula Death Verdict

    Yale University and the affiliated Yale New Haven Hospital have asked a Connecticut state court judge to reconsider a verdict of nearly $32 million over the death of a premature baby, contending that she failed to grasp battery and informed consent law when issuing her decision after a bench trial.

  • January 12, 2026

    DC Circ. Told $100K H-1B Fee Threatens Congress' Tax Power

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the D.C. Circuit to bar the Trump administration from charging employers its new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, arguing it presents a "grave threat" to Congress' exclusive power to levy taxes.

  • January 12, 2026

    HHS' Pediatric Health Cuts Blocked As Likely 'Retaliatory'

    A D.C. federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from cutting nearly $12 million in pediatric health funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics, finding HHS could be retaliating for a lawsuit challenging the agency's changes to members on a federal vaccine committee. 

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Want SG Input On Arthritis Drug Competition Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the Trump administration to weigh in on whether state unfair competition claims should be used to block a competitor from selling compounded versions of drugs in certain states.

  • January 12, 2026

    No High Court Review For California Opioid 'Nuisance' Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it would not weigh in on a circuit court decision that a California public nuisance lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers over their opioid-dispensing practices belongs in state court.

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Pass On Houston Hospital Workers' COVID Vax Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to a Houston hospital's win in a lawsuit brought by a group of employees who said they were unlawfully terminated after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • January 09, 2026

    Mylan, Aurobindo Must Face Generic Drug Price-Fixing Claims

    A Connecticut federal judge on Friday refused to hand a quick win to Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Aurobindo Pharma USA in sprawling antitrust litigation against 26 total pharmaceutical companies, ruling that a coalition of states has enough evidence to raise a genuine dispute about whether the companies conspired to fix drug prices.

  • January 09, 2026

    Up Next At High Court: Pollution Lawsuits & Trans Athletes

    The U.S. Supreme Court will kick off the new year by hearing disputes over the constitutionality of state laws banning transgender female athletes from female-only sports and whether state or federal courts are the proper forum for lawsuits seeking to hold major oil companies accountable for harm caused by their oil production activities along Louisiana's coast. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Mich. Bid For Behavioral Managed Care Contracts Can't Stand

    A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled the state health department's bid for Medicaid managed care contract proposals would unlawfully interfere with the duties of local governmental bodies that provide and coordinate behavioral health care.

  • January 09, 2026

    Veterinary Group Says DOJ Accreditation Points Irrelevant

    The American Veterinary Medical Association has told a Tennessee federal court that the government's concerns about professional groups are irrelevant to a veterinary school's antitrust case challenging the association's accreditation requirements.

  • January 09, 2026

    Ex-Prosecutor OK For Drug Pricing MDL, Special Master Says

    Former Connecticut Assistant Attorney General Joseph Nielsen and his law firm, Lowey Dannenberg PC, should not be disqualified from representing insurers in multidistrict litigation over generic drug price-fixing because he did not have any special knowledge that the states suing drugmakers hadn't already shared with the private plaintiffs, according to a special master's report and recommendation.

Expert Analysis

  • 2025 Legal Milestones That Will Shape Psychedelics Sector

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    As 2025 draws to a close, psychedelic drug development stands at an inflection point, experiencing unprecedented momentum through recent sweeping regulatory changes and landmark clinical milestones, amid rapidly evolving regulatory expectations, say Odette Hauke at Odette Alina LLC and Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

  • 2025 State AI Laws Expand Liability, Raise Insurance Risks

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    As 2025 nears its end, claims professionals should be aware of trends in state legislation addressing artificial intelligence use, as insurance claims based on some of these liability-expanding statutes are a certainty, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Learning From 2025 FCA Trends Targeting PE In Healthcare

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    False Claims Act enforcement trends and legislative developments from this year signal intensifying state and federal scrutiny of private equity's growing footprint in healthcare, and the urgency of compliance, says Lisa Re at Arnold & Porter.

  • How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

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    On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

  • How MAHA Is Taking Shape At The State Level

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    The national spotlight on the federal government's Make America Healthy Again movement is bolstering state-level actions regarding potential health impacts of certain food ingredients, increasing the difficulty and importance of maintaining effective compliance programs, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • A Look At Middlemen Fees In 340B Drug Discount Program

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    A U.S. Senate committee's recent hearing on the Section 340B drug discount program, along with statistical analysis of payment amounts, contribute to a growing consensus that middlemen fees are too high, say William Sarraille at the University of Maryland, and Shanyue Zeng and Rory Martin at IQVIA.

  • Nursing Home Abuse Cases Face 3 Barriers That Need Reform

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    Recent headlines reveal persistent gaps in oversight and protection for vulnerable residents in long-term care, but prosecution of these cases is often stymied by numerous challenges that will require a comprehensive overhaul of regulatory, legal and financial structures to address, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

  • Mulling Differing Circuit Rulings On Gender-Affirming Care

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    Despite the Eleventh Circuit's recent holding in Lange v. Houston County that a health plan's exclusion for gender-affirming surgery did not violate Title VII, employers should be mindful of other court decisions suggesting that different legal challenges may still apply to blanket exclusions for such care, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

  • State AGs May Extend Their Reach To Nat'l Security Concerns

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    Companies with foreign supply-chain risk exposure need a comprehensive risk-management strategy to address a growing trend in which state attorneys general use broadly written state laws to target conduct that may not violate federal regulations, but arguably constitutes a national security threat, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Unique Aspects Of Texas' Approach To AI Regulation

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    The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act — which will soon be the sole comprehensive artificial intelligence law in the U.S. — pulls threads from EU and Colorado laws but introduces more targeted rules with fewer obligations on commercial entities, say attorneys at MVA Law.

  • Surveying The Healthcare Policy Landscape Post-Shutdown

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    With last week's agreement to reopen the federal government, at least through the end of January, key healthcare legislation that has been in limbo since a December 2024 spending bill fell apart may recapture the attention of Congress, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • FDA Biosimilar Guidance Should Ease Biologics Development

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    New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, indicating that the agency may no longer routinely require comparative efficacy studies when other evidence provides sufficient assurance of biosimilarity, underscores the FDA's trust in analytical technology as a driver of biologics access, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Prison Body Cams Raise Health Privacy Compliance Issues

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    The increasing use of prison staff body cameras to enhance transparency and safety presents correctional healthcare partners with new risk management questions where they must carefully reconcile the benefits of surveillance with the imperative to protect patient privacy, say attorneys at Gordon Rees.