Policy & Compliance

  • June 11, 2025

    Ga. Hospice Provider Pays $9.2M To End Kickback Case

    A Georgia hospice care provider and its CEO forked over $9.2 million to settle claims that they violated federal fraud laws by participating in a kickback scheme with medical directors who referred hospice patients to the group, prosecutors announced Wedesnday.

  • June 11, 2025

    Aetna Resolves Lipedema Patients' Coverage Class Action

    Aetna has agreed to end a class action alleging it unlawfully refused to cover liposuction as a treatment for over two dozen patients afflicted with a rare chronic condition called lipedema, according to a Wednesday filing in California federal court.

  • June 11, 2025

    Cigna Accused Of Misusing $17M In 401(k) Forfeitures

    Retirement plan participants and beneficiaries at Cigna say the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using up to $17 million given up by participants who quit early to reduce the company's matching contributions, rather than using it to pay for the plan's administrative costs.

  • June 11, 2025

    Conn. Orthopedic Practice Faces Data Breach Class Claims

    A March 2 data breach at a Connecticut orthopedic practice exposed the personal information and health data of an unknown number of patients to online hackers, a patient alleged in a proposed class action.

  • June 11, 2025

    Health Network Strikes Deal In Retirement Plan Forfeiture Suit

    A Pennsylvania health system has settled a suit claiming it failed to tamp down on unnecessary expenses in its $1.1 billion retirement plan and used forfeited funds to cover its own contributions to the plan instead of using the abandoned cash to reduce fees.

  • June 10, 2025

    Ga. Justices Consider Tolling In Tongue Amputation Case

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday considered whether the state's two-year statute of limitations applies to a lawsuit against Regency Hospital Co. and one of its nurses over claims that they neglected an allegedly incapacitated patient to the point that her tongue had to be amputated. 

  • June 10, 2025

    IT Co. Urges 1st Circ. To Affirm It's Blameless For Data Breach

    An information security technology company urged the First Circuit on Tuesday to affirm that it isn't liable for a 2018 data breach that exposed confidential information of more than 277,000 of the medical device maker's patients, arguing that the insurer assignee of the device maker had no valid points.

  • June 10, 2025

    Amazon Can't Duck Suit Over Non-FDA Approved Supplements

    Amazon must face a proposed class action alleging it sells non-FDA approved supplements touting health-related claims without mandatory disclaimers, after a Washington federal judge rejected the company's argument the plaintiffs lack standing to pursue claims over supplements they never bought, finding the plaintiffs allege a uniform, systematic marketing practice.

  • June 10, 2025

    Ala. Judge Orders Trans Health Org. To Publish Training Vids

    In a case challenging Alabama's ban on gender-affirming care for youths, a federal judge this week ordered a trans health organization to publish video recordings of the group's conferences and a medical training course, after the group had sought to protect the content's confidentiality. 

  • June 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Skeptical Oregon Hospital Merger Law Is Too Vague

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday appeared skeptical of a hospital association's challenge to an Oregon law that grants a state agency broad power to block proposed healthcare consolidations to ensure equitable access to healthcare, with two of the three judges questioning whether federal law could limit the state's authority.

  • June 10, 2025

    Attys Field Provider Fears, Queries On CMS Trans Care Probe

    A new federal push to obtain a broad swath of clinical and financial data from hospitals providing gender-affirming care is triggering a wave of concerns that the Trump administration's enforcement approach will have a chilling effect on care delivery.

  • June 10, 2025

    Pandemic Law Doesn't Protect Mich. Hospital In Bedsore Case

    A Michigan appellate court has revived a lawsuit filed by the estate of an 88-year-old woman who died after developing a bedsore during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that a state law shielding hospitals from pandemic liability didn't apply because the woman wasn't treated for the virus.

  • June 10, 2025

    Drug Cos. Face Persistent Scrutiny Over Physician Kickbacks

    Drugmakers continue to become ensnared in — and settle — investigations into illegal payments to healthcare providers for participating in sham speaker programs. These payments raise ethical questions about patient harm and whether they are seen as a cost of doing business.

  • June 10, 2025

    A Federal Preemption Target On State Medical Debt Laws

    The Trump administration changes course on medical debt reporting, putting a new target on a slate of state laws that protect patients from some of the impacts of unpaid medical bills.

  • June 09, 2025

    RFK Jr. Fires CDC's Entire 17-Member Vaccine Advisory Panel

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed every member of the committee that provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pledging to replace them with his preferred picks.

  • June 09, 2025

    Trump Orders Targeting DEI, LGBTQ+ Funding Partly Blocked

    A California federal judge Monday blocked portions of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting diversity and inclusion policies and programs serving the LGBTQ+ community, saying a group of nonprofits is likely to succeed in showing that stripping their federal funding violates their constitutional rights.

  • June 09, 2025

    Gov't Seeks $706M Penalty In FCA Case Against Omnicare, CVS

    The government asked a New York federal judge to impose a collective $706 million in civil penalties on Omnicare Inc. and its parent, CVS Health Corp., after a jury found that they submitted millions of false billing claims for healthcare programs.

  • June 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Nixes Doc's Power Of Atty Deal In Patient ERISA Suit

    The Second Circuit ruled Monday that a doctor couldn't use a power-of-attorney arrangement to sue on behalf of a patient who said their union's health plan illegally stuck them with a $150,000 medical bill, but directed a trial court to determine if the patient can pursue the case.

  • June 09, 2025

    5th Amendment Can't Shield Ex-Exec, Drugmakers Argue

    Generic-drug makers urged a Pennsylvania court to compel a former executive to sit for a deposition in ongoing price-fixing litigation despite his invocation of the Fifth Amendment, arguing his testimony is crucial to their defense.

  • June 09, 2025

    Sheppard Mullin Adds Perkins Coie IP Trio In DC, Chicago

    Three Perkins Coie LLP intellectual property partners with deep experience representing clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and related industries have jumped to Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

  • June 09, 2025

    HI Gov. Eyes Veto Of Medical Pot Bill Over Privacy Concerns

    Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has signaled that he intends to veto a bill modifying the state's medical marijuana program, saying that it would impinge the privacy rights of the Aloha State's medical cannabis patients.

  • June 09, 2025

    Worker Says NYC Hospital Network, Co. Skimped On Wages

    NYC Health and Hospitals and a staffing company failed to pay the entirety of wages to employees who worked at emergency response and relief centers where asylum seekers would stay, a former operational site lead said in a suit in New York federal court.

  • June 06, 2025

    J&J Unit's $147M Catheter Antitrust Loss Tripled To $442M

    Johnson & Johnson health tech unit Biosense Webster's bill in an antitrust trial was upped from $147 million to $442 million after a California federal jury found it stifled competition by conditioning the provision of cardiac mapping services on purchases of cardiac catheters.

  • June 06, 2025

    Texas AG Says Trans Care Investigation Is Lawful

    The Texas Attorney General's Office told the state's Supreme Court that a lower court went too far by blocking an investigation into an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization that allegedly had knowledge about outside parties performing gender-affirming care on minors, saying the court undermined the AG's investigative authority.

  • June 06, 2025

    Fla. Medical Billing Co. Accused Of Filing False Genetic Tests

    The U.S. government has filed a False Claims Act suit against a Florida medical billing and compliance services company for allegedly filing claims to Medicare for more than $15 million in medically unnecessary genetic laboratory tests.

Expert Analysis

  • How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying

    Author Photo

    Pharmaceutical patent holders should be reviewing Orange Book listing practices, as the Federal Trade Commission takes a more aggressive antitrust approach with actions such as the Teva listing probe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls attention to potentially improper listings, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.

  • FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny

    Author Photo

    Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.

  • Analyzing FDA Draft Guidance On Clinical Trial Diversity

    Author Photo

    In light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance on clinical trial diversity action plans, there are several important considerations for sponsors and clinical researchers to keep in mind to prevent delay in a drug or device application, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.

  • Critical Questions Remain After High Court's Abortion Rulings

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in two major abortion-related cases this term largely preserve the status quo for now, but leave federal preemption, the Comstock Act and in vitro fertilization in limbo, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Navigating FDA Supply Rule Leeway For Small Dispensers

    Author Photo

    As the November compliance deadline for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new pharmaceutical distribution supply chain rules draws closer, small dispensers should understand the narrow flexibilities that are available, and the questions to consider before taking advantage of them, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • 1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case

    Author Photo

    The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.

  • 6 Lessons From DOJ's 1st Controlled Drug Case In Telehealth

    Author Photo

    Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s first-ever criminal prosecution over telehealth-prescribed controlled substances in U.S. v. Ruthia He, healthcare providers should be mindful of the risks associated with restricting the physician-patient relationship when crafting new business models, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies

    Author Photo

    The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

  • Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.

    Author Photo

    In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.