Policy & Compliance

  • June 11, 2025

    UNC Hospital System Must Face Ex-Resident's Bias Suit

    The University of North Carolina's hospital system must face a discrimination lawsuit filed by a fired surgical resident, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Wednesday, tossing the system's motion to dismiss claims that the discharge decision was motivated by bias against the resident's mental health conditions.

  • June 11, 2025

    Children's Healthcare Nonprofit Settles Retirement Fee Suit

    A Florida-based nonprofit children's healthcare network and ex-workers who alleged their employee retirement savings were dragged down by excessive fees told a Florida federal court Wednesday they'd worked out a class action settlement of the dispute after mediation.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Anticipating Calif. Oversight Of PE Participation In Healthcare

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    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.

  • Considering The Future Of AI Regulation On Health Sector

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    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.

  • What To Expect From 'Make America Healthy Again' Actions

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    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.

  • How Citizen Petitions Have Affected Drug Competition

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    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.

  • Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove

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    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.

  • Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments

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    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.

  • What Trump Actions Mean For Federal Research Funding

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    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.

  • A Look At Healthcare Transaction Oversight In Oregon

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    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.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “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.

  • High Court Must Acknowledge US History Of Anti-Trans Laws

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    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.

  • 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.