Policy & Compliance

  • August 13, 2026

    Blue Cross Affiliates Get Trim Of Aramark Health Benefits Row

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday trimmed but refused to toss a federal benefits lawsuit from food service giant Aramark against a Blue Cross affiliate that administered the company's employee health benefit plans, opening discovery on allegations that improper claims management cost tens of millions and breached fiduciary duties.

  • August 13, 2026

    J&J Says No To Reviving Stelara Case

    Johnson & Johnson has asked the Fourth Circuit not to revive CareFirst's antitrust suit alleging the company tried to monopolize the market for the immunosuppressive drug Stelara.

  • August 13, 2026

    Wash. Halts Conversion Therapy Ban For Therapist Amid Suit

    Washington state has agreed not to enforce its ban on a practice commonly known as conversion therapy against a therapist while his First Amendment challenge to the prohibition plays out in federal court, according to a stipulation entered Thursday.

  • August 13, 2026

    Vaccine Challengers Slam Connecticut's 'One-Party Rule'

    Challengers to Connecticut's mandatory school vaccination laws have accused political leaders of exercising "one-party rule" over state government, claiming the House speaker, governor and attorney general, who are all Democrats, tweaked or defended state laws specifically to stymie their religious freedom claims.

  • August 13, 2026

    Employers Expecting Bump In Health Plan Costs, Survey Says

    GLP-1 medications and catastrophic coverage claims are two leading factors employers anticipate will push health plan costs up 10% in 2027, according to new data released Thursday by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

  • August 13, 2026

    Glenmark Will Pay $15.3M To End Humana's Price-Fixing Claims

    The U.S. arm of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has agreed to settle generic-drug price-fixing claims brought by Humana Inc. in three lawsuits centralized in Pennsylvania-based multidistrict litigation, according to a filing with Indian stock exchanges.

  • August 13, 2026

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judges Retire, HCA Suit Heads To Trial

    The North Carolina Business Court dropped a host of heavy-hitting opinions in July ahead of two judicial retirements and a new chief judge rising in the ranks.

  • August 12, 2026

    Full 5th Circ. Rejects Planned Parenthood's Immunity Appeal

    The full Fifth Circuit Wednesday tossed an appeal over whether Planned Parenthood is entitled to attorney immunity in a whistleblower suit accusing the organization of improper Medicaid billing, reversing a panel's decision that went in favor of Planned Parenthood.

  • August 12, 2026

    Albertsons Judge Hears Testimony On Rx Opioid, Abuse Link

    An "undeniable" causal link exists between excess prescription opioids and problem use of drugs such as heroin and fentanyl, an expert witness testified during a bench trial Wednesday in Washington's lawsuit accusing Albertsons of fueling the state's overdose crisis by irresponsibly dispensing opioids.

  • August 12, 2026

    Feds Enter FCA Suit, Say 3 Health Cos. Overbilled Medicare

    The federal government has intervened in a False Claims Act suit accusing a trio of Colorado healthcare companies of conspiring to file inflated claims for services they never rendered in order to get more money from Medicare and Tricare.

  • August 12, 2026

    Full 5th Circ. Invalidates Part Of No Surprises Act Rules

    The full Fifth Circuit partially unraveled federal regulations that implemented an arbitration system between insurers and out-of-network providers that Congress established in a 2020 law called the No Surprises Act, holding aspects of how the rules calculated payment amounts for disputed claims were unlawful.

  • August 12, 2026

    DC Physician Group Settles ERISA Plan Mismanagement Suit

    A George Washington University-affiliated physician group has agreed to settle a suit claiming it allowed its $345 million retirement plan to be bogged down by underperforming and pricey investment funds, according to a filing Tuesday in D.C. federal court.

  • August 12, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Aetna Must Face Benefit Misrepresentation Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived allegations that Aetna misrepresented how much it would pay toward a patient's $150,000 surgery, finding that federal benefits law didn't preempt a claim brought under state law because the dispute centered on the payment commitments rather than the health plan itself.

  • August 12, 2026

    CMS Ends Medicaid Funds For Youth Transgender Care

    Medicaid will no longer cover the cost of some gender-affirming care for minors, including gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatments, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced after issuing a final rule set to take effect this year. 

  • August 11, 2026

    CMS Fraud Concerns Drive Call For Autism Therapy Audits

    Healthcare providers who work with autistic people are facing greater scrutiny from the federal government over fraud concerns. Experts say the drivers of ballooning costs are complex.

  • August 11, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Revives Man's Vax Injury Case, Citing Mail Delay

    The Federal Circuit reversed a U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision that rejected a man's case seeking vaccine injury compensation, concluding that the court wrongly faulted him for the late arrival of his petition.

  • August 11, 2026

    Judge Probes 7th Circ. Fallout Of Ending Gender Care Fight

    An Illinois federal judge questioned Tuesday what would become of a pending appeal before the full Seventh Circuit if he allows the American Academy of Pediatrics to voluntarily dismiss, without prejudice, its challenge to a Florida racketeering probe over the medical group's gender-affirming care guidelines, an issue one attorney predicted would be "hotly contested."

  • August 11, 2026

    What To Know About Hartford HealthCare Privilege Row

    Hartford HealthCare, a Teamsters health insurance plan and a transit district are heading to court to argue over whether Hartford must produce documents in an antitrust lawsuit accusing the hospital group of exercising monopoly power.

  • August 11, 2026

    DOJ Drops 3rd Circ. Bid For Pa. Hospital Trans Patient Info

    The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its request for the Third Circuit to review a district court's order quashing its demand for records on patients who received gender-affirming care at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center children's hospital, effectively ending its subpoena fight in the district.

  • August 11, 2026

    Ga. Justices Call For Balancing Privacy Rights In Herpes Suit

    Georgia's top court ruled Tuesday that the privacy rights of a man accused of giving his ex-girlfriend genital herpes must be balanced against her interest in obtaining medical records to support her claims, resolving what the justices called a novel question.

  • August 10, 2026

    Spa Fights 9th Circ.'s 'Swinging Dicks' Order At High Court

    The Ninth Circuit's rejection of a spa's religious objections to serving transgender customers is incompatible with several major precedents, according to a U.S. Supreme Court petition filed Monday in litigation that soared in prominence when dozens of circuit judges decried a salacious dissent.

  • August 10, 2026

    Pharma Co. To Pay $46M Over Transplant Drug Kickbacks

    Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Inc. will enter a deferred prosecution agreement and pay more than $46 million to resolve criminal and civil allegations that the North Carolina-based drug manufacturer paid kickbacks to spur prescriptions and purchases of its kidney transplant immunosuppression drug Envarsus XR, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

  • August 10, 2026

    Drugmakers Lose 2nd Bid To Appeal Ex-Prosecutor DQ Rebuff

    A former Connecticut prosecutor and his current firm Lowey Dannenberg PC can keep representing insurers Humana Inc. and Molina Healthcare Inc. in an antitrust lawsuit against generic-drug makers, after the judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation rejected a second attempt to appeal her denial of disqualification.

  • August 10, 2026

    Trump Revives Push To Reduce Kids' Vaccine Schedule

    Responding to a legal setback, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday recommending fewer vaccines for most children and calling on parents and doctors to space out the vaccines they do give.

  • August 10, 2026

    Clinics' Suit Over Fund Use Ballot Measure Gets Tossed

    A California federal judge tossed a suit that federally designated community health clinics filed to block the placement of an expenditure transparency reporting initiative on the November ballot, saying the clinics' claims aren't ripe for court review.

Expert Analysis

  • NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The year's second quarter brought several notable banking law developments to New York, including a proposal to align state stablecoin rules with the federal Genius Act, fresh fair lending and cybersecurity guidance from state regulators, and a significant Second Circuit holding on preemption, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins Coie.

  • A New Defense For Medicaid Fraud Cases In Texas

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    The Texas Supreme Court decision in LabCorp v. Texas last month, finding that the state's False Claims Act requires proof that an omission is material, is among the first to establish that the government's lack of reaction to the defendant's disclosures rendered alleged omissions immaterial, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Pregnancy Bias Suits Highlight EEOC's Expanding Reach

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    Recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suits show that enactment of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has drawn scrutiny to a wider range of employment decisions and an increasing focus on individual decisions as indicators of whether an employer's policies comply with evolving federal requirements, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

  • Legal Risks Of Using AI To Screen Psychedelic Trial Patients

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    Though using artificial intelligence to preemptively identify drug trial participants likely to experience placebo effects could produce clearer research results, sponsors will need to be ready for the new legal questions these methods raise about informed consent, accountability for algorithmically derived criteria, and potential bias in data training sets, says Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

  • How 6th Circ. Tightened NLRB Injunction Standard

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent ruling in Kerwin v. Trinity Health Grand Haven Hospital, dissolving a Section 10(j) injunction obtained by the National Labor Relations Board against an employer that refused to bargain, will make it harder for the NLRB to obtain injunctions while prosecuting unfair labor practice proceedings, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • Md. Ruling Reflects Classic Administrative Law Principle

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    A Maryland federal court's recent decision in Columbus v. Kennedy significantly limits how far the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can go in reshaping the Affordable Care Act through regulation, highlighting a principle that will likely be applied in similar Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Michael King at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Healthcare Orgs Should Prep For Greater Grant Oversight

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new Audit Enforcement and Risk Oversight initiative, and a proposed overhaul of the governmentwide framework for grants management, signal an aggressive and data-driven approach to federal grant enforcement, and could significantly expand the pathways leading to enforcement actions and private litigation, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • 3rd Circ. Decision Sheds Light On BIPA Bank Exemption

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    The Third Circuit's recent decision in McGoveran v. Amazon illuminates how courts are extending the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act's financial institution carveout beyond banks and insurers to technology vendors and other businesses handling biometric data, a defendant-friendly shift that still casts uncertainty around BIPA's enforcement, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • Data Reveals Pivot In Feds' Financial Fraud Priorities

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    Recent Justice Department data shows fraud prosecutions fell to their lowest rate in a decade in 2025, illustrating a move away from traditional financial cases and toward a targeted mix of healthcare, government program, consumer and sanctions matters, say Paul Hinton and Adrienna Huffman at The Brattle Group.

  • New Timeline For Benefits Cases May Increase FCA Litigation

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    Recent reforms designed to speed enforcers’ intervention decisions in False Claims Act suits involving state-administered benefits will likely encourage more qui tam relators to litigate cases without the government’s imprimatur, and increase defendants’ discovery burdens, defense costs and business disruptions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • FTC's Clinical Trial Requirement Threatens Food Claim Rules

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    The Federal Trade Commission's general requirement for randomized controlled trials for most health-benefit claims, recently embraced by the National Advertising Review Board, lacks legal basis and endangers the existing statutory framework Congress created for marketing food and dietary supplements versus drugs, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • HHS Enforcement Restructuring Signals Compliance Risks

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent restructuring of its Office for Civil Rights suggests that, while Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act enforcement remains central, its priorities have expanded to encompass civil rights, conscience and religious freedom, and data and cybersecurity issues, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • AG Watch: Oregon's Strategic Civil Enforcement Approach

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    Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s recent antitrust litigation activity and proposed staffing increase are the latest in a series of structural and policy changes that signal that the state Department of Justice is taking a more aggressive approach to civil enforcement, says Keturah Taylor at Cozen O'Connor.