Policy & Compliance
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October 08, 2025
$20M Deal Over Wash. Hospital Wage Claims Gets Final OK
A Washington state judge has given the final sign-off on a $20 million deal resolving a class action alleging that the state of Washington, doing business as the University of Washington Medical Center, shortchanged healthcare workers by rounding their hours worked and denying them second meal breaks on longer shifts.
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October 08, 2025
Arnall Golden Sanctioned For Giving Feds ERISA Suit Docs
A California federal judge has ordered Arnall Golden Gregory LLP to pay a $50,000 penalty for giving the U.S. Department of Labor confidential documents United Behavioral Health turned over in a class action accusing the insurer of overcharging workers for out-of-network substance use disorder treatments.
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October 08, 2025
Trump Admin Challenges Denial Of Trans Care Subpoena
The Trump administration told a Massachusetts federal judge that he got it wrong in quashing a subpoena for records of gender-affirming care at Boston Children's Hospital last month, urging the court to reconsider.
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October 07, 2025
Aetna COVID-19 Test Provider Sues Insurer For 'Unpaid' $53M
A Nebraska company that provided COVID-19 testing for Aetna has filed suit in California federal court, alleging that the insurer owes it more than $53 million for testing services but has refused to pay up.
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October 07, 2025
Bausch And Teva Blocked Cheaper IBS Drug, Retailers Say
A slew of retailers on Tuesday accused Bausch Health Cos. Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals of working together to keep the generic version of an irritable bowel syndrome drug off the market until 2028, forcing the retailers and other purchasers of the drug to pay monopoly prices.
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October 07, 2025
As Shutdown Continues, Hospital Attys Face Tired Clients
As the government shutdown passes the one-week mark, hospital administrators facing potential financial hits and other heartache from the battle on Capitol Hill are getting tired.
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October 07, 2025
4th Circ. Urged To Reverse $10M Medicare Fraud Conviction
A former physician's assistant on Tuesday requested that the Fourth Circuit reverse a six-year prison sentence for his involvement in a $10 million Medicaid fraud scheme, claiming evidence that could exonerate him was suppressed by a federal district court.
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October 07, 2025
DOJ Deal In Medicare Fraud Case A 'Slap On The Wrist'
Healthcare startup Troy Medicare had big ambitions to revolutionize senior care in the Medicare Advantage market before justice officials learned that thousands of people were being fraudulently enrolled. A former Troy board member calls the company’s nonprosecution agreement a “slap on the wrist.”
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October 07, 2025
Drug Tax Outdoes Biblical Punishment, 5th Circ. Judge Says
A Fifth Circuit panel pressed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to justify the basis for the Medicare drug pricing program's steep excise tax, asking Tuesday whether the government had ever levied a higher tax in the nation's history.
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October 07, 2025
9th Circ. Rejects 'Kitchen Sink' Challenge To Vaccine Mandate
A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld a lower court's rejection of a lawsuit brought by dozens of former employees of a nonprofit healthcare system who claimed Washington state's requirement that healthcare workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 violated their statutory and constitutional rights.
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October 07, 2025
Northwestern Wants ERISA Health Offering Suit Tossed
Northwestern University asked an Illinois federal judge on Monday to throw out a proposed class action alleging it breached fiduciary duties in offering a higher-cost health plan alongside a cheaper option, arguing the plaintiffs have failed to allege injury because they admit that they received all the benefits to which they were entitled under the more-expensive plan's terms.
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October 07, 2025
Arizona Ruling Delivers Trans Victory Amid Federal Scrutiny
A recent court order that bars Arizona from requiring proof of surgery before transgender people can change a birth certificate continues a trend of courts making it easier to amend vital records to match a person's gender identity.
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October 07, 2025
AGs Rip DOJ Bid To Pause Planned Parenthood Funding Suit
The U.S. Department of Justice wants to use the ongoing government shutdown as a "shield" to stop a group of states from seeking an injunction against a halt to Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, the states told a Massachusetts federal judge in opposing a possible pause on their lawsuit.
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October 07, 2025
Colo. Drug Board First To Cap Drug Price, Likely Not The Last
Colorado's drug price regulation board put a first-of-its-kind cap on a pricey autoimmune disease drug. Law360 Healthcare Authority breaks down the Colorado announcement and other moves by state regulators.
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October 07, 2025
Justices Probe Standard Of Care In 'Conversion Therapy' Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday wrestled with whether gay "conversion" therapy banned by a Colorado law is a medical treatment that falls outside the accepted standard of care, or whether it's protected First Amendment speech.
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October 07, 2025
2nd Circ. Rules Inmates Not Entitled To Specific Gender Care
A Second Circuit panel has overturned a transgender inmate's partial win in a lawsuit against prison officials in Connecticut over allegedly inadequate gender dysphoria treatment, holding that the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity and that "inmates have no clearly established right to be treated by gender-dysphoria specialists" or receive specific treatments for the condition.
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October 07, 2025
3rd Circ. Won't Rehear J&J Investor Cert. Appeal
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit declined Tuesday to reconsider backing a New Jersey federal judge's class certification order in a Johnson & Johnson investor action alleging the company artificially inflated its stock price by failing to disclose cancer risks.
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October 07, 2025
Approach The Bench: Judge Kaplan On Suit Against The Gov't
U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Elaine Kaplan's docket doesn't always garner attention in the same way trial court cases do, but that may change as the executive branch makes sweeping budget and policy changes that could lend more political significance to monetary claims against the government.
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October 07, 2025
EMTs Appeal Losses Ahead Of False Death Declaration Trial
First responders facing trial for declaring a woman dead, only for a funeral home to discover she was alive, are urging a Michigan state appeals court to review what they say are "contradictory legal frameworks" imposed by a judge ahead of trial.
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October 07, 2025
La. Challenges Mail-Order Access To Abortion Medication
The state of Louisiana on Monday sued federal regulators for expanding access to the abortion medication mifepristone under the Biden administration, alleging the removal of an in-person dispensing requirement allows the drug to be mailed illegally into anti-abortion states.
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October 07, 2025
Air Medic Ends EEOC Disability Bias Suit Over Nixed Job Offer
A helicopter ambulance company has agreed to pay an air mechanic $59,000 to resolve a disability bias suit in an Alabama federal court from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging the business yanked back a job transfer offer because the worker was prescribed opioids.
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October 06, 2025
Judge Certifies Class In United Behavioral Health Billing Suit
A California federal judge has agreed to certify a class of employee health plan participants claiming United Behavioral Health and a billing contractor shorted them on coverage for out-of-network substance use disorder treatments, finding the plaintiffs submitted new billing evidence that meets the court's requirements.
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October 06, 2025
Justices Hint At Barring Del. Med Mal Law In Federal Court
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared to side with a retired attorney's position that a Delaware medical malpractice statute clashes with federal rules of procedure and is therefore unenforceable in federal court, with several justices saying the law appears to be an improper procedural requirement.
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October 06, 2025
Supplement Co. Sold Soviet-Era Drug As Sleep Aid, Suit Says
An addict in recovery hit Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals Inc. with a proposed class action on Friday in Georgia federal court alleging that he bought a sleep aid sold as a dietary supplement that actually contains a dangerous, addictive sedative first developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s.
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October 06, 2025
Fed. Circ. Vacates J&J's $20M Loss Over Patent Ownership
The Federal Circuit freed Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Synthes from a $20 million infringement verdict on Monday, saying the orthopedic surgeon suing it didn't own the asserted knee replacement patents.
Expert Analysis
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Mitigating Tariff Risks For Healthcare In US And Canada
Healthcare stakeholders should take steps to evaluate the impact of cross-border tariffs, as the historically strong ties between Canada and the U.S. demonstrate the potential for real disruption and harm to the healthcare industry in both countries, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit
The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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6 Laws Transforming Calif.'s Health Regulatory Framework
Attorneys at Hooper Lundy discuss a number of new California laws that raise pressing issues for independent physicians and small practice groups, ranging from the use of artificial intelligence to wage standards for healthcare employees.
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Anticipating Calif. Oversight Of PE Participation In Healthcare
A new bill recently introduced in the California Senate revives last year's attempt to increase oversight of healthcare transactions involving private equity groups and hedge funds, meaning that attorneys may soon need to assess the compliance status of existing management relationships and consider modifying contract terms, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.
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Considering The Future Of AI Regulation On Health Sector
As Texas looks to become the next state to pass a comprehensive law regulating artificial intelligence, the healthcare industry should consider how AI regulation will continue to evolve in the U.S. and how industry members can keep up with compliance considerations, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis.
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What To Expect From 'Make America Healthy Again' Actions
The Make America Healthy Again Commission recently established by President Donald Trump and chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will potentially bring energy and attention to important public health topics, and stakeholders should be aware of pathways for sharing their input and proactively informing proceedings, says Nicholas Manetto at Faegre Drinker.
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How Citizen Petitions Have Affected Drug Competition
In light of recent citizen petitions and proposed legislation regulating such petitions, Omar Robles at Managing Health analyzes the statistics of the extent to which citizen petitions have been filed, and to what extent they have delayed competition in prescription pharmaceuticals.
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Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove
The First Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, requiring the government to prove but-for causation to establish False Claims Act liability based on violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, raises the bar for FCA enforcement and deepens a circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court may need to resolve, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
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Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments
A law recently passed in Massachusetts amends the commonwealth's False Claims Act by dramatically expanding potential liability for private equity firms and investors, underscoring the importance of robust diligence and risk assessments for private equity firms conducting transactions in the commonwealth, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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What Trump Actions Mean For Federal Research Funding
New guidance from the National Institutes of Health represents a massive policy shift regarding federal funding for researchers at institutions of higher education, contributing to a perfect storm of significant resource shortfalls in upcoming years, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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A Look At Healthcare Transaction Oversight In Oregon
Understanding Oregon's enforcement authority and its impact on proposed transactions last year provides a road map to the state's plans to strengthen its processes this year, though enforcement could be challenged by ongoing litigation, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises
“No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.
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High Court Must Acknowledge US History Of Anti-Trans Laws
Despite Justice Amy Coney Barrett's claim to the contrary during oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, U.S. governments at every level have systematically discriminated against transgender people, and the U.S. Supreme Court must consider this historical context in upcoming cases about transgender issues, says Paisley Currah at the City University of New York.