Policy & Compliance

  • July 25, 2025

    Hospital Giant To Pay $3.5M Over Nurse Training Repayments

    HCA Healthcare Inc., a major U.S. hospital operator, has agreed to pay roughly $3.5 million to settle claims that it unlawfully trapped new nurses in agreements requiring them to repay training costs if they left their jobs within two years, according to a trio of state attorneys general.

  • July 25, 2025

    Health Data Co. Investor Fraud Suit Headed To Mediation

    The parties in a putative class action claiming a healthcare technology company misled investors about a data platform it claimed to operate, but which didn't actually exist, told a Connecticut federal court that they "agree this case is well suited for mediation."

  • July 24, 2025

    Trump Admin Asks Justices To Stay Block On NIH Grant Cuts

    The Trump administration on Thursday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a district court's preliminary injunction so that the National Institutes of Health can resume terminating $783 million in grants, saying the lower court, under a recent high court ruling, lacked jurisdiction to make the government pay the grants.

  • July 24, 2025

    Hospital Must Face Claims Of Mismanaging Retirement Funds

    A Colorado federal judge on Thursday said a proposed class action will continue against a hospital over allegations of mismanaging employees' retirement funds after an amended complaint added new allegations about the fund's mismanagement.

  • July 24, 2025

    UnitedHealth Discloses DOJ Medicare Civil, Criminal Probes

    UnitedHealth Group Inc. has disclosed that it is complying with formal criminal and civil requests from the U.S. Department of Justice, following media reports about investigations into aspects of the insurance giant's participation in Medicare.

  • July 24, 2025

    3rd Circ. Rules Philly Injection Site Equals Religious 'Person'

    A nonprofit battling government resistance to its planned safe drug injection site in Philadelphia can qualify for religious freedom protections, the Third Circuit said in a precedential opinion on Thursday, reasoning the organization meets the definition of a "person" practicing religion.

  • July 23, 2025

    FTC Wants PE Firm's Medical Device Coating Deal Put On Ice

    Private equity firm GTCR BC Holdings' $627 million merger with Surmodics will bring the previously fierce competition for medical device coatings to a grinding halt, the FTC says, which is all the more reason a federal court should block the deal while an agency challenge plays out.

  • July 23, 2025

    Symbria Workers' $5.9M ESOP Deal Gets Ill. Judge's Final OK

    An Illinois federal judge gave his final blessing Tuesday to a $5.9 million settlement between Argent Trust Co. and a group of Symbria Inc. employees who accused the company of mismanaging their employee stock ownership plan.

  • July 23, 2025

    Bird Marella And Bioscience Client Accused Of $87M Fraud

    An investment group that includes a "Toy Story" screenwriter is suing a Culver City, California-headquartered bioscience company and its Bird Marella attorneys in California state court, accusing them of manipulating the valuation of a company whose acquisition they funded, in order to defraud investors of $87 million.

  • July 23, 2025

    Co., Lenders Hit With Suit Over Medical Spa Financing Scam

    A medical device manufacturer and several financing companies worked together to manipulate boutique clinics and medical spas into purchasing expensive cosmetic devices based on inflated revenue projections and false promises of marketing support, according to a proposed class action filed Monday in California federal court.

  • July 22, 2025

    FCA Draws Heavy Constitutional Fire After $1.6B J&J Verdict

    Reeling from a record fraud verdict tied to drug promotion practices, Johnson & Johnson is pursuing a sweeping constitutional challenge to the False Claims Act, and in filings this week at the Third Circuit, major industry allies rallied behind its views of whistleblower litigants usurping executive branch power.

  • July 22, 2025

    Healthcare In Court: NIH Grant Cuts, Flo Health Trial And More

    A First Circuit panel refused to hit pause on a Massachusetts federal judge's order voiding cuts by the National Institutes of Health to hundreds of grant programs. Meanwhile, in California, a jury trial kicked off over allegations of unlawful information sharing between menstrual app developer Flo Health Inc. and Meta Platforms. 

  • July 22, 2025

    Sandoz Loses 'Nonsense' Bid To Avoid DOJ Deal In AGs' Case

    A Connecticut federal judge has given dozens of state attorneys general a small but important win in a sprawling price-fixing litigation against generic-drug makers, applying previous admissions of criminal wrongdoing and flatly rejecting "ridiculous" efforts by Sandoz, Taro Pharmaceuticals and a former Sandoz official to avoid that application.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ohio Justices Accept AG's Bid To Limit Care For Trans Youths

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review an appeals court's finding that portions of a state law restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youths are unconstitutional. 

  • July 22, 2025

    Employers, Plans Force Freeze Of Iowa's PBM Law

    A federal judge slapped a temporary hold on parts of an Iowa law that aims to limit pharmacy benefit managers' power to set drug prices, ruling that provisions barring discrimination against certain pharmacies and pushing cost-saving strategies are preempted by federal benefits law.

  • July 22, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Medicaid Fraud Conviction, 17-Year Sentence

    A North Carolina lab owner lost his bid Tuesday to overturn his healthcare fraud conviction after the Fourth Circuit found evidence against him to be sufficient and the terms of his sentence reasonable.

  • July 22, 2025

    NC Hospital Says Dropped Malpractice Claim Dooms 2004 Suit

    A North Carolina hospital is asking state appellate judges to determine whether a hospital can face claims of negligently credentialing a doctor if the plaintiffs have dropped the underlying medical malpractice allegation against the physician.

  • July 22, 2025

    Medicaid Cuts To Raise Staffing Pressure On Nursing Homes

    Massive changes coming to Medicaid are expected to push more seniors reliant on state-supported services into nursing homes, adding pressure to a system already struggling with staffing and quality of care issues.

  • July 22, 2025

    Lawmakers Consider Case Of Would-Be Donor's 'Signs Of Life'

    The nation's organ transplant system is again under the microscope of federal lawmakers after a federal investigation found that a Kentucky organ procurement organization moved forward with the transplant process despite the patient showing "signs of life."

  • July 22, 2025

    FDA Talks Transparency. Drug Cos. Ask How Far It Will Go

    The first batch of rejection letters published as part of the FDA’s new transparency effort didn’t shake up the pharmaceutical industry. But future releases could trigger litigation and influence drug-development strategies, depending on how far the agency is willing to go.

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge Blocks Some Planned Parenthood Cuts In Partial Ruling

    A Massachusetts federal judge partially blocked a measure passed by Congress this month stripping Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood-affiliated facilities, but only as it applies to those that do not provide abortions or that receive minimal federal support.

  • July 22, 2025

    A Billing Code 'Ambiguity' Retrial: 3 Things To Know

    A Maryland doctor found guilty by a federal jury two years ago in a COVID-19 testing scheme, only to see his conviction thrown out, is once again facing a criminal trial. Law360 Healthcare Authority examines the restarted prosecution and talks to experts about what makes the case so unusual.

  • July 21, 2025

    Wash. Plastic Surgeon Can't Get $13M Jury Verdict Overturned

    A Washington appeals court panel refused on Monday to undo a $13 million jury verdict against a plastic surgeon in a medical malpractice case, rejecting the doctor's argument that the lower court wrongly allowed evidence of state regulators' unrelated disciplinary proceedings against her.

  • July 21, 2025

    Pa. Hospital Can Shield Some Docs In Birth Injury Suit

    A Pennsylvania state appeals panel won't force a hospital to turn over all of its internal reports in a suit by parents alleging that the hospital's negligence led to their son's injuries at birth, finding that the hospital sufficiently showed that two of the three contested files are privileged.

  • July 21, 2025

    States Say Noncitizen Benefit Restrictions Are Creating Chaos

    A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday for "upending" noncitizens' access to publicly funded programs like Head Start and food banks.

Expert Analysis

  • Takeaways From High Court's Tribal Health Admin Cost Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent determination that the government must reimburse two Native American tribes for administrative healthcare costs will help tribes maintain equal footing with the Indian Health Service when administering programs, and continues a pattern of how the current court aligns on tribal concerns, say attorneys at Lewis Roca.

  • FTC Focus: Private Equity Investments In Healthcare

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    As the Federal Trade Commission is tightening its scrutiny of private equity investment in healthcare, the agency is finding novel grounds to challenge key focus areas, including rollup acquisitions, the flip-and-strip approach and minority investments in rival providers, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Diaz v. U.S. appears to give the government a powerful new tool in calling its own agents as expert witnesses, but it could also benefit defense counsel in criminal healthcare fraud and other white collar criminal cases that arise in complex legal or regulatory environments, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs

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    A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.

  • DOJ Innovasis Settlement Offers Lessons On Self-Disclosure

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    The recent $12 million settlement with Innovasis and two of its executives demonstrates the U.S. Department of Justice's continued prioritization of Anti-Kickback Statute enforcement amid the growing circuit split over causation, and illustrates important nuances surrounding self-disclosure, say Denise Barnes and Scott Gallisdorfer at Bass Berry.

  • How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.