Policy & Compliance

  • February 03, 2026

    Legal Risks Complicate Drugmakers' TrumpRx Participation

    Federal watchdog guidance on the soon-to-be-launched TrumpRx website has assuaged some, but not all, concerns about anti-kickback compliance and other legal risks facing drugmakers.

  • February 03, 2026

    Alston & Bird Adds Healthcare Regulatory Pro From Goodwin

    Alston & Bird LLP has added a healthcare regulatory attorney previously with Goodwin Procter LLP as a partner in Chicago, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • February 02, 2026

    Swedish Health Nears Deal In Hospital Workers Wage Row

    Seattle-area hospital system Swedish Health Services and the workers who were seeking about $126 million from it told a Washington state court that they agreed to settle a suit claiming meal break violations and rounding practices that led to unpaid wages.

  • February 02, 2026

    1st Circ. Judge Wary Of Boston Bid To Revive PBM Opioid Suit

    The city of Boston faced pushback from a First Circuit judge on Monday as it argued it didn't miss its window to sue pharmacy benefit managers for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic.

  • February 02, 2026

    Bausch, Lannett To Pay $17.9M In Drug Price-Fixing Deal

    Lannett Company Inc., Bausch Health US LLC and Bausch Health America Inc. will pay $17.85 million to settle allegations by 48 states and territories that they conspired to fix prices for generic drugs, according to a motion filed Monday seeking preliminary approval of the deal.

  • February 02, 2026

    Amazon Shoppers' Counsel Admit To AI Errors In Motion

    Lawyers representing Amazon customers in a proposed class action over supplement labeling have apologized to a Seattle federal judge for artificial intelligence hallucinations included in a recent filing, acknowledging "certain miscitations and misquotations" resulted from a Just Food Law PLLC attorney's use of the nascent technology and a failure by Boies Schiller Flexner LLP co-counsel to catch the errors.

  • January 30, 2026

    3rd Circ. Preview: Privacy Issues Top Feb. Argument Lineup

    Issues involving privacy feature prominently on the Third Circuit's February oral argument schedule, with panels set to hear a dispute regarding an optometry business's duty to protect private data belonging to third-party customers, and a case over whether the city of Philadelphia can be sued by a mother after a police officer shared images of her son's death from the scene where he committed suicide.

  • January 30, 2026

    Sentara Health Can't Escape Suit Over Stable Value Fund

    A Virginia federal judge said Friday that Sentara Health can't dodge a suit claiming it failed to kick an underperforming investment fund from its retirement plan, ruling the healthcare system hasn't shown it assessed the fund with the proper due diligence to beat the case.

  • January 30, 2026

    Planned Parenthood Drops Medicaid Fight After 1st Circ. Loss

    Planned Parenthood abandoned a legal challenge to a ban on Medicaid reimbursements for its clinics Friday, following a loss at the First Circuit, which upheld the ban in December.

  • January 30, 2026

    Drugmakers Ask To Appeal Overarching Conspiracy Claim

    A group of pharmaceutical companies that failed to secure a pretrial win on an overarching conspiracy claim in a sprawling generic-drug antitrust enforcement action is asking a Connecticut federal judge to let them seek Second Circuit review, saying the ruling raises a novel legal issue.

  • January 30, 2026

    FTC Requires Facility Sales For $835M Healthcare Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement Friday allowing Sevita Health to move ahead with an $835 million deal for BrightSpring Health Services Inc.'s community living business, conditioned on the sale of more than 100 facilities.

  • January 30, 2026

    1st Circ. Revives Ex-Hasbro Workers' Religious Vax Bias Suit

    Two former Hasbro employees who sought religious exemptions from the company's COVID-19 vaccination policy plausibly alleged they were disciplined because of their accommodation requests, the First Circuit ruled, reviving the workers' retaliation and discrimination suit.

  • January 30, 2026

    Amazon Says Shoppers' Labeling Suit Is Corrupted By AI Errors

    In customers' latest filing in their proposed class action accusing Amazon of failing to make required disclosures on dietary supplement product pages, the e-commerce giant alleges that the plaintiffs have submitted a document riddled with errors derived from the use of generative text.

  • January 30, 2026

    Drug Cos. Want Rethink Of DQ Bid Targeting Ex-Prosecutor  

    More than two dozen pharmaceutical companies accused of fixing generic-drug prices have again asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to disqualify a former Connecticut assistant attorney general now in private practice from representing insurers Humana Inc. and Molina Healthcare Inc. in a sprawling multidistrict litigation proceeding.

  • January 29, 2026

    DOL Proposes Pharmacy Benefit Manager Fee Disclosure Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits subagency Thursday proposed a rule to require new fee disclosures from pharmacy benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drugmakers, pharmacies and insurers, to help managers of employee health plans ensure PBM services are reasonably priced.

  • January 29, 2026

    Conn. Drug Price Cap Survives Distributor Challenge, For Now

    The Second Circuit has declined a bid to immediately block the state of Connecticut from enforcing a cap on generic and off-patent drug prices while the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a collection of wholesale distributors, challenges the new law.

  • January 29, 2026

    United Healthcare Beats Class Cert. Bid Over Breast Surgery

    A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday declined to certify a proposed class of United Healthcare Insurance plan participants who were denied coverage for post-mastectomy breast reconstruction surgery, finding that she can't determine which standard of review applies to each plan's varying language without conducting individualized, fact-specific inquiries. 

  • January 29, 2026

    Sandoz, Teva Beat Malicious Prosecution Claims, For Now

    Sandoz and Teva have won a reprieve from a former pharmaceutical marketing executive claiming the drugmakers and their officers offered him up to federal prosecutors with fabricated assertions of price-fixing, with a New York federal judge concluding the suit "does not come close" to the standard for malicious prosecution.

  • January 28, 2026

    Ambulance Billing Co. Settles Data Breach Claims

    An ambulance billing service will pay a total of $515,000 to the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut and take measures to improve its data security to settle allegations stemming from a 2022 breach, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday.

  • January 28, 2026

    ArentFox Schiff Launches Longevity Industry Group

    ArentFox Schiff LLP on Wednesday announced the launch of a group geared toward advising companies focused on advancing wellness, preventive health care and the longevity of life.

  • January 28, 2026

    Generics Makers Want Hospital Drug Data In Price-Fixing MDL

    A group of 150 hospitals suing generic-drug makers for alleged price fixing in multidistrict litigation should hand over data on their drug purchases, the drugmakers have told a Pennsylvania federal court, arguing they don't sell directly to the hospitals and therefore have no records themselves. 

  • January 27, 2026

    Ohio PBM Suit Belongs In Federal Court, 6th Circ. Rules

    The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday ruled that Ohio's lawsuit accusing pharmacy benefit managers of driving up prescription prices through rebate schemes belongs in federal court, saying in an opinion recommended for publication that the suit imposes liability on conduct undertaken at the direction of a federal officer.

  • January 27, 2026

    Texas AG's Vaccine Probe Draws Fire From Health Experts

    Public health experts are condemning a Texas Attorney General inquiry into Pfizer, UnitedHealth Group and others for allegedly tapping unlawful financial incentives behind childhood vaccines.

  • January 27, 2026

    Texas AG Says Nurse Practitioner Is Shipping Abortion Drugs

    The Texas attorney general told a state court that a Delaware-based nurse practitioner and the organization she operates have shipped abortion pills to Texas, saying Tuesday that the defendants have publicly acknowledged that they send abortion pills to the Lone Star State.

  • January 27, 2026

    CBP's Medical Care Oversight Needs Improvement, GAO Says

    A report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection sometimes failed to provide proper medical oversight for certain people in its custody, violating its own policies and guidance for medical care.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Navigating The Potential End Of GLP-1 Drug Shortages

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's determination of whether GLP-1 products are in shortage may affect how compounders provide these products and spur a range of litigation including patent disputes and unfair competition suits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Politicized OIGs Could Target Federal Employees, Contractors

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    After President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 inspectors general last week, it’s worth exploring how the administration could use Offices of Inspectors General to target federal employees and contractors, why it would be difficult to fight this effort, and one possible bulwark against the politicization of these watchdogs, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.