Policy & Compliance

  • October 06, 2025

    High Court Won't Take Up Md. Retirees' Drug Benefits Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a Fourth Circuit decision concluding that Maryland wasn't contractually bound to provide benefits to employees upon retirement, turning away a case that challenged the state's transition of retirees' prescription drug benefits from a state subsidy to Medicare.

  • October 06, 2025

    3rd Circ. Rejects Novo Nordisk's Medicare Pricing Challenge

    The Third Circuit on Monday shot down another challenge to the Medicare drug price negotiation program, denying claims by pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk that Congress illegally delegated too much authority to the executive branch.

  • October 06, 2025

    Cooley Adds Life Sciences Trio From WilmerHale, Sidley

    Cooley LLP announced Monday that it is boosting its life sciences bench with a bicoastal trio of partners from WilmerHale and Sidley Austin LLP.

  • October 06, 2025

    Justices Won't Review 5th Circ. Ending ACA Trans Policy Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the Fifth Circuit's decision to shut down a challenge to a Biden-era interpretation of the Affordable Care Act's nondiscrimination-in-healthcare policy as also protecting against gender identity bias, which an appellate panel told a Texas court to dismiss in December.

  • October 06, 2025

    Mass. Justices Say Harvard Must Face Cadaver Theft Claims

    Massachusetts' highest court on Monday reinstated claims against Harvard University over what one justice called a "ghoulish" and "macabre scheme" by its former medical school morgue manager to dissect, steal and sell body parts from donated medical research cadavers.

  • October 06, 2025

    Justices Skip Fight Over NJ Healthcare Worker Vax Mandate

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't review the challenge by four New Jersey nurses to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's executive orders in the first three months of 2022 mandating a COVID-19 vaccine booster for healthcare workers.

  • October 03, 2025

    Up First At High Court: Election Laws & Conversion Therapy

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in six cases during the first week of its October 2025 term, including in disputes over federal candidates' ability to challenge state election laws, Colorado's ban on conversion therapy, and the ability of a landlord to sue the U.S. Postal Service for allegedly refusing to deliver mail. 

  • October 03, 2025

    6th Circ. Will Hear Ohio PBM Fight Arguments In December

    The Sixth Circuit will hear arguments from the state of Ohio and the pharmacy benefit managers it's accusing of colluding to raise the price of prescription medications in December to decide whether the matter belongs in state or federal court.

  • October 03, 2025

    11th Circ. Pushes Forward Fla.'s ACA Trans Health Appeal

    The Eleventh Circuit resolved a jurisdictional question that will allow Florida to continue pursuing its challenge against Biden-era policies impacting Affordable Care Act coverage for gender-affirming care.

  • October 03, 2025

    Nurse Staffing Exec Says Jury Misled In Wage-Fixing Case

    A nurse staffing executive convicted of wage fixing and wire fraud is asking a Nevada federal court for a new trial, arguing that prosecutors misled the jury about a cooperating witness's leniency deal.

  • October 03, 2025

    Cigna Inks $5.7M Ghost Network Suit Settlement

    Cigna has struck a $5.7 million deal to settle a proposed class action alleging the insurer violated federal benefits law by advertising out-of-network providers as in-network to participants in benefit plans it administered, counsel for plaintiffs announced Friday.

  • October 02, 2025

    FDA OKs New Generic Abortion Pill, Drawing Conservative Ire

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a second generic version of the abortion medication mifepristone, prompting outrage from anti-abortion groups and conservative politicians.

  • October 02, 2025

    NC Court Rejects McGuireWoods' Immunity In Defamation Suit

    A North Carolina appellate court dismissed an interlocutory appeal by McGuireWoods and a former partner in a defamation case over statements about an investigation into the onetime CEO of a managed care organization during a press conference, reiterating its opinion that the statements were "too far afield" to be considered part of a judicial proceeding.

  • October 02, 2025

    Feds Eye Partial Pretrial Ruling In Regeneron FCA Case

    The government has urged a Massachusetts federal judge to rule that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals "naturally or foreseeably" caused providers to present false claims for its macular degeneration drug Eylea, arguing that it does not need to prove the tougher "but-for causation" standard for its theory of false certification.

  • October 02, 2025

    Colo. Healthcare Nonprofit Sues Gov. Over Medicaid Cuts

    A Colorado healthcare nonprofit seeks a court order to reverse a recent executive order from Gov. Jared Polis which cut state Medicaid spending to pediatric behavioral therapy and autism therapy services.

  • October 02, 2025

    AstraZeneca Asks Judge To Block Colorado's 340B Drug Law

    AstraZeneca urged a Colorado federal judge on Wednesday to block the enforcement of a recently enacted state law that aims to extend a federal drug discount program to certain pharmacies, saying the Colorado law is costly for manufacturers and preempted by federal law.

  • October 02, 2025

    Mass. Court Denies States' Bid To Block ACA Subsidy Cuts

    A Massachusetts federal court has rejected a bid by a coalition of 21 states to stay implementation of a rule that will cut Affordable Care Act subsidies and enforce enrollment restrictions, saying the states hadn't shown imminent or irreparable harm from the policy's costs or possible coverage losses.

  • October 02, 2025

    Justices To Hear Clash Over State Med Mal Laws In Fed. Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Monday on whether a Delaware medical malpractice statute can be applied in federal court, in a case that is expected to offer legal guidelines for similar laws in 28 other states.

  • October 02, 2025

    UChicago Medicine Ducks Class Claims In Patient Privacy Suit

    A UChicago Medicine patient can move forward with amended privacy violation claims over the medical center's allegedly illegal use of Meta pixel tracking tools but must leave her class allegations behind, given an agreement she entered between pleadings, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

  • October 01, 2025

    Eli Lilly's Drug Suit Slammed As 'Anti-Competitive' Move

    Eli Lilly and Co.'s lawsuit accusing a compounding pharmacy of unlawfully selling untested weight loss drugs should be tossed because the drugmaker didn't show its advertising was deceptive or harmful, the defendant told a Texas federal court this week.

  • October 01, 2025

    Texas Judge Sends Mifepristone Challenge To Missouri Court

    A closely watched challenge to federal approvals for the abortion medication mifepristone is moving from Texas to Missouri after a federal judge found the plaintiffs remaining in the litigation have no connection to the Lone Star State.

  • October 01, 2025

    Cozen O'Connor Adds Healthcare Litigator To Philly Office

    An attorney with more than three decades of experience representing healthcare providers in litigation matters has recently moved his practice to Cozen O'Connor's Philadelphia shop.

  • September 30, 2025

    Ill. Doctor Gets Two Years' Probation For $4M Medicare Fraud

    A former doctor who admitted to submitting more than $4 million in false Medicare claims was sentenced to two years of probation Tuesday by an Illinois federal judge who sought to honor the ex-physician's cooperation in prosecutors' efforts to pursue other allegedly culpable defendants in different jurisdictions.

  • September 30, 2025

    Blue Cross Insurers Sanctioned For 2-Year Discovery Drawout

    An Illinois federal judge has ordered a host of Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers to pay the fees and costs Walgreens incurred in an overbilling suit while helping to work through discovery production, which took two years to remediate with a special master.

  • September 30, 2025

    Nevada Hospital Nets $510M Verdict In Staff Poaching Suit

    A Nevada hospital won a jury award of more than $510 million in its lawsuit accusing Universal Health Services of raiding its staff and swiping its trade secrets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expert Analysis

  • The Fate Of Biden-Era Clinical Study Guidance Under Trump

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    Draft guidance about the study of sex and gender differences in medical product development issued by the outgoing Biden administration currently faces significant uncertainty and litigation potential due to the Trump administration's executive orders and other actions, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • 10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting

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    This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Dispelling 10 Myths About Health Provider-Based Compliance

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    Congress appears intent on requiring hospitals to submit provider-based attestations for all off-campus outpatient hospital locations, so now is the time for hospitals to prepare for this change by understanding common misconceptions about provider-based status and proactively correct noncompliance, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • A Look At HHS' New Opinion On Patient Assistance Programs

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    A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General follows a recent trend of blessing patient assistance program arrangements that implicate the Anti-Kickback Statute, as long as they are structured with appropriate safeguards to minimize the risk of fraud and abuse, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 2 Anti-Kickback Developments Hold Lessons For Biopharma

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's Anti-Kickback Statute settlement with QOL Medical and a favorable advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provide a study in contrasts, but there are tips for biopharma manufacturers trying to navigate the vast compliance space between them, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • Tips For Pharma-Biotech Overlap Reporting In New HSR Form

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    While there’s no secret recipe for reporting overlaps to the Federal Trade Commission in the new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act form, there are several layers of considerations for all pharma-biotech companies and counsel to reflect on internally before reporting on any deal, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • A Look At Drug Price Negotiation Program's Ongoing Impact

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    More than two years after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid implementation of the drug price negotiation program, attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the IRA has influenced licensing strategies, and how maximum fair prices under the law have economically affected certain drugs.

  • Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Drug Pricing Policy Trends To Expect In 2025 And Beyond

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    Though 2025 may bring more of the same in the realm of drug pricing policy, business as usual entails a sustained, high level of legal and policy developments across at least six major areas, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment

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    For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • How Views On Healthcare Price Transparency Are Changing

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    Regulators' attitudes toward price transparency regulation have shifted over the past several years in ways that may seem contradictory, and research into detailed rate information published by hospitals and health plans has yielded mixed results, says Matthew List at Charles River Associates.

  • EEOC Wearable Tech Guidance Highlights Monitoring Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent fact sheet on wearable technologies cautions against potential issues with federal anti-discrimination laws and demonstrates growing concern from regulators and legislators about intrusive technologies in the workplace, say attorneys at Littler.