Policy & Compliance

  • August 21, 2026

    Radiology Co. Board Members Can't Dodge ESOP Trial

    A Colorado federal judge declined Friday to let board members of radiology company Envision escape a suit headed to a bench trial over claims they orchestrated an inflated $163.7 million stock sale to an employee stock ownership plan, ruling it's too contested whether they had control of the deal.

  • August 20, 2026

    Colo. Panel Says Pretrial Meeting Didn't Affect Med Mal Trial

    A Colorado state appeals court on Thursday rejected a man's bid for a new trial in his medical malpractice lawsuit in which jurors sided with his physicians, finding the man did not show that an ex parte meeting between defense counsel and his own surgeon affected the trial's outcome.

  • August 20, 2026

    Judge Denies Bid To Move AT&T ERISA Case To State Court

    A California federal judge has denied a former AT&T employee's bid to move his class action suit alleging violations of state labor law over a tobacco surcharge on employee health plans from federal to state court.

  • August 20, 2026

    Amgen Reaches Deal To End Ex-Worker's Tobacco Fee Fight

    Biotech giant Amgen Inc. struck a deal to end a proposed class action alleging a $150-a-month fee on the health plans of employees who used tobacco violated federal benefits law, according to a filing in California federal court Thursday.

  • August 20, 2026

    NY Hospital To Pay $3M In Suit Over Retirement Plan Roster

    A Long Island hospital will pay $3 million to close a suit claiming it failed to trim pricey and underperforming investment funds from its retirement plan, costing workers millions of dollars in savings, according to a filing in New York federal court.

  • August 19, 2026

    Albertsons Says Wash. Failed To Prove Opioid Claims At Trial

    Albertsons Cos. Inc. urged a Seattle judge on Tuesday to throw out Washington state's lawsuit accusing the chain and its subsidiary Safeway Inc. of fueling Washington's opioid crisis, arguing that the state failed to prove wrongdoing by the companies after nearly five weeks of an ongoing bench trial.

  • August 19, 2026

    Pro-Business Foundation Backs J&J's Stelara Antitrust Win

    Insurer CareFirst's bid to revive an antitrust lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over its acquisition of patents affecting competitors would throw cold water over drug company mergers, burden government regulators and strip the issue of intent out of antitrust enforcement, according to an amicus brief filed by the Washington Legal Foundation.

  • August 19, 2026

    6th Circ. Backs Blue Cross Over Reimbursement Rate Dispute

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday upheld Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's defeat of a lawsuit alleging it shortchanged several medical providers despite promising higher reimbursement rates before a La-Z-Boy employee received care, ruling the providers' claims were superseded by federal benefits law.

  • August 19, 2026

    Pa. Judge Rejects $360M Offset In Generics Antitrust Case

    The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing antitrust multidistrict litigation against generic-drug makers over alleged price-fixing has rejected a request by the pharmaceutical company defendants to set off any potential award to insurance company plaintiff Humana Inc. by $360 million given its success in separate litigation.

  • August 18, 2026

    At DC Circ., Pharma's Latest Pricing Loss Has Silver Linings

    The pharmaceutical industry's far-flung crusade against Medicare's new negotiation powers suffered a fresh setback Tuesday as the D.C. Circuit joined sister circuits in upholding the landmark pricing program, but the defeat contained consolation prizes that will fuel further litigation.

  • August 18, 2026

    Ex-NFL Player Sues Disability Benefits Plan Over Denial

    A former National Football League player who reportedly suffered brain injuries from nearly two decades of playing the sport hit the league's disability benefit plan with a lawsuit Tuesday, telling a Maryland federal judge that the plan wrongfully denied his application for total and permanent disability benefits despite his own doctor's diagnosis.

  • August 18, 2026

    Courts Rule On DOJ Trans Care Subpoena, Abortion And More

    Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at a split Ninth Circuit decision backing the U.S. Department of Justice's administrative subpoena of a gender-affirming care provider, a Seventh Circuit ruling preserving Planned Parenthood's ability to providing referrals to out-of-state abortion care and other rulings impacting the healthcare industry this week.

  • August 18, 2026

    Iowa Board Opens Door For Doctor Self-Defense Arguments

    An Iowa medical board's decision to dismiss disciplinary charges against a doctor who claimed the state's "stand your ground" law enabled him to defend himself against a violent patient could open the door to other providers protecting themselves from lawsuits on similar grounds, experts say.

  • August 18, 2026

    DOJ Targets Small Pharmacies With Novel FCA Claims

    The Justice Department in recent weeks has indicated that it's willing to use the False Claims Act to bring stronger charges and levy stiffer fines against smaller pharmacies accused of violating controlled substances laws by contributing to the opioid crisis, legal experts say.

  • August 18, 2026

    Aetna Says It Doesn't Use Repricing Tools In Antitrust Case

    Aetna Inc. urged a Massachusetts federal court to toss it from an antitrust case accusing insurance companies of using repricing tools to reduce reimbursements paid to healthcare providers, arguing that a subsidiary, not Aetna, used the tools at issue.

  • August 18, 2026

    NC Doc Gets Prison For Opioid Recovery Prescription Scheme

    A federal judge has sentenced a North Carolina doctor to half a year in prison for letting administrative staff at a nonprofit where he worked as medical director use his credentials to prescribe the opioid use disorder medication buprenorphine to thousands of patients.

  • August 18, 2026

    CMS Aims To Sidestep Past Setbacks In New Trans Care Rule

    A new Medicaid rule that bars federal funding for minors’ gender-affirming care is likely to ignite a swift legal fight over discrimination law, procedural requirements and the reach of last year’s landmark Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, experts say.

  • August 18, 2026

    Marriott Gets Trim Of Worker's Tobacco Health Fee Suit

    A Maryland federal judge on Tuesday refused to completely toss a Marriott worker's proposed class action alleging the hotel giant's $15 weekly health fee on employees who use tobacco violated federal benefits law, but trimmed the dispute of some claims as insufficiently backed up. 

  • August 18, 2026

    What To Know: AMA Faces Medical Coding Copyright Suit

    A healthcare transparency group is asking a judge for permission to publish the medical codes that help determine the billing for medical procedures, setting up a confrontation with the American Medical Association, which developed the coding system. Here, Law360 takes a closer look at the case and the broader transparency debate.

  • August 17, 2026

    Albertsons Judge Hears $44B Opioid Abatement Plan In Wash.

    Addressing harm caused by prescription opioid abuse in Washington would cost nearly $44.4 billion, an expert testified Monday during a bench trial in the state's case accusing Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary of exacerbating Washington's overdose crisis by failing to curb the flow of controlled substances.

  • August 17, 2026

    Blue States Say FTC Can't Regulate Trans Youth Health

    A group of left-leaning states, including Massachusetts and California, asked a Texas federal court to toss a Federal Trade Commission suit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, saying Monday that the FTC's suit constitutes a "federal attack on state-regulated transgender healthcare."

  • August 17, 2026

    AIG Exclusion Doesn't Bar Multiplied Damages, Judge Says

    A California federal judge in a narrow ruling declared that a portion of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan's insurance policy does not automatically bar coverage for a portion of a $581 million False Claims Act settlement attributable to multiplied damages, but will decide later whether the agreement actually included such damages. 

  • August 17, 2026

    Hospital Employees Seek Class Cert. In Retirement Funds Suit

    Employees of a faith-based nonprofit Colorado hospital urged a federal judge to grant class certification in their lawsuit alleging the hospital mismanaged employees' retirement funds and ultimately cost participants tens of millions of dollars.

  • August 17, 2026

    Mass. Judge Vacates ACA Gender-Affirming Care Restriction

    A Massachusetts federal judge handed a coalition of 21 states a win on their claim that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unlawfully issued Affordable Care Act reforms barring marketplace plans from requiring coverage for medical procedures used in gender-affirming care.

  • August 17, 2026

    7th Circ. Reverses Alcoa Union Retirees' Lifetime Benefits Win

    The Seventh Circuit reversed an Indiana federal court's decision holding that certain union retirees of aluminum giant Alcoa and their beneficiaries had a vested right to health benefits for life, finding error with the lower court's judicial estoppel analysis that formed the basis for its judgment on liability.

Expert Analysis

  • How 6th Circ. Tightened NLRB Injunction Standard

    Author Photo

    The Sixth Circuit's recent ruling in Kerwin v. Trinity Health Grand Haven Hospital, dissolving a Section 10(j) injunction obtained by the National Labor Relations Board against an employer that refused to bargain, will make it harder for the NLRB to obtain injunctions while prosecuting unfair labor practice proceedings, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • Md. Ruling Reflects Classic Administrative Law Principle

    Author Photo

    A Maryland federal court's recent decision in Columbus v. Kennedy significantly limits how far the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can go in reshaping the Affordable Care Act through regulation, highlighting a principle that will likely be applied in similar Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Michael King at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Healthcare Orgs Should Prep For Greater Grant Oversight

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new Audit Enforcement and Risk Oversight initiative, and a proposed overhaul of the governmentwide framework for grants management, signal an aggressive and data-driven approach to federal grant enforcement, and could significantly expand the pathways leading to enforcement actions and private litigation, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • 3rd Circ. Decision Sheds Light On BIPA Bank Exemption

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit's recent decision in McGoveran v. Amazon illuminates how courts are extending the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act's financial institution carveout beyond banks and insurers to technology vendors and other businesses handling biometric data, a defendant-friendly shift that still casts uncertainty around BIPA's enforcement, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • Data Reveals Pivot In Feds' Financial Fraud Priorities

    Author Photo

    Recent Justice Department data shows fraud prosecutions fell to their lowest rate in a decade in 2025, illustrating a move away from traditional financial cases and toward a targeted mix of healthcare, government program, consumer and sanctions matters, say Paul Hinton and Adrienna Huffman at The Brattle Group.

  • New Timeline For Benefits Cases May Increase FCA Litigation

    Author Photo

    Recent reforms designed to speed enforcers’ intervention decisions in False Claims Act suits involving state-administered benefits will likely encourage more qui tam relators to litigate cases without the government’s imprimatur, and increase defendants’ discovery burdens, defense costs and business disruptions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • FTC's Clinical Trial Requirement Threatens Food Claim Rules

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission's general requirement for randomized controlled trials for most health-benefit claims, recently embraced by the National Advertising Review Board, lacks legal basis and endangers the existing statutory framework Congress created for marketing food and dietary supplements versus drugs, say attorneys at Keller & Heckman.

  • HHS Enforcement Restructuring Signals Compliance Risks

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent restructuring of its Office for Civil Rights suggests that, while Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act enforcement remains central, its priorities have expanded to encompass civil rights, conscience and religious freedom, and data and cybersecurity issues, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • AG Watch: Oregon's Strategic Civil Enforcement Approach

    Author Photo

    Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s recent antitrust litigation activity and proposed staffing increase are the latest in a series of structural and policy changes that signal that the state Department of Justice is taking a more aggressive approach to civil enforcement, says Keturah Taylor at Cozen O'Connor.

  • A Decade Later, Escobar Is Still Shaping FCA Cases

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision 10 years ago in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar changed the way in which lower courts evaluate False Claims Act cases — and the ruling remains vital in nearly every FCA case filed today, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • How FCA, FCPA Risks Are Shifting As Feds Pull Back

    Author Photo

    As the federal government continues its retreat from white collar enforcement, companies should expect False Claims Act risk to grow through private whistleblower suits and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act scrutiny to shift toward foreign prosecutors, requiring more adaptability as accountability becomes less centralized, says Temidayo Aganga-Williams at Selendy Gay.

  • Trump Admin's Agency Records Purge Tests Judicial Notice

    Author Photo

    While courts commonly take judicial notice of data in government websites and reports, the Trump administration's recent modification or wholesale deletion of these sources means that litigants must look elsewhere to support trial admission of this information, says Jon Gryskiewicz at Lewis Baach.

  • West Coast Health Cos. Must Brace For Federal Enforcement

    Author Photo

    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's newly established West Coast strike force targeting healthcare fraud across Northern California, Arizona and Nevada, health organizations will need to prioritize knowledge, vigilance and operational discipline to reduce exposure from potentially parallel criminal and civil investigations, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.