Policy & Compliance

  • August 28, 2026

    Medical Marijuana Industry Grapples With DEA's New Role

    After years of allowing the state-sanctioned medical marijuana industry to operate without interference, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is stepping in to regulate a drug it once treated exclusively as contraband, but attorneys and regulators say the cannabis industry's interactions with the agency are off to a rocky start.

  • August 28, 2026

    Fla. Says PBMs Fixed Prices For Prescription Drugs

    Florida's attorney general on Thursday sued two competing pharmacy benefit managers for allegedly colluding to fix prescription drug reimbursement rates to pharmacies, which the state said threatens Floridians' access to affordable medications.

  • August 28, 2026

    4 Arguments For Benefits Attys To Watch In September

    The Fifth Circuit will weigh Louisiana's bid to block telehealth access to the abortion drug mifepristone, while the Fourth Circuit will hear Lockheed Martin's challenge to a trial court decision that kept a pension de-risking suit alive. Here's a look at these and other argument sessions that should be on benefits attorneys' radar next month.

  • August 27, 2026

    PBMs Hammer Opioid Judge In Last-Ditch Gambit At 6th Circ.

    An Ohio federal judge knowingly flouted a Sixth Circuit rebuke by forcing two of the largest remaining defendants in multidistrict opioid litigation to either "settle for enormous sums or litigate for years hundreds of cases," says a Thursday petition urging the appeals court to intervene.

  • August 27, 2026

    Albertsons Loses Bid For Midtrial Win In Wash. Opioid Case

    Albertsons can't escape the state of Washington's lawsuit accusing the pharmacy chain and its Safeway subsidiary of contributing to the state's opioid crisis, a state judge ruled Thursday in denying the company's bid to dismiss the case midtrial.

  • August 27, 2026

    CVS Must Face Investor Claims Over AI Use Omissions

    A New York federal judge trimmed a proposed investor class action Thursday that alleges CVS Health Corp. concealed that its profitability was largely driven by its use of artificial intelligence, allowing the case to proceed on "actionable half-truths" that the company misrepresented the effects of its AI use.

  • August 27, 2026

    States' Suit Says HHS Terms Threaten Family Planning Dollars

    Twenty-three states launched a lawsuit in Maryland federal court Thursday challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new conditions on federal funding for family planning services that they say would require recipients end support for "gender ideology," abandon diversity programming and drive patients toward parenthood and marriage.

  • August 27, 2026

    What Kaiser's D&O Win Means For 'Return Of Funds' Fights

    A California federal judge's ruling that the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan was not automatically prohibited from claiming coverage for multiplied damages that were part of a $581 million False Claims Act settlement provided policyholders with a guide to defeating a common dispute. Freya Bowen, counsel at Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP's insurance recovery practice, spoke to Law360 about the purpose of what is known as the return of funds exclusion and about how the court's focused inquiry was the product of a policyholder strategy that can prove useful in future D&O disputes.

  • August 27, 2026

    Website Arbitration Pact Can't Thwart Caremark ERISA Suit

    A New York federal judge narrowed a suit accusing CVS Caremark of improperly denying coverage for a specific GLP-1 drug but kept the bulk of the case in court, finding that an arbitration agreement featured on the company's website doesn't apply to benefit plans.

  • August 27, 2026

    Colo. Hospital Can't Split Discovery In Retirement Funds Suit

    A Colorado federal judge rejected a faith-based nonprofit hospital's bid for the court to bifurcate discovery in a lawsuit brought by former employees accusing the health system of mismanaging their retirement funds, finding the requested action "would hinder judicial economy."

  • August 26, 2026

    5th Circ. Upholds Drug Negotiations In Blow To Big Pharma

    Medicare's landmark program of drug price negotiations doesn't flout constitutional provisions involving the separation of powers, due process or excessive fines, the Fifth Circuit ruled late Wednesday, delivering a fresh blow to the pharmaceutical industry's campaign to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review.

  • August 26, 2026

    Healthcare Cos. Must Face Whistleblower's PPP Fraud Suit

    A New York federal judge has dismissed a bid to toss a compliance consultant's whistleblower suit against a trio of home healthcare companies for alleged fraud under the government's Paycheck Protection Program, rejecting the companies' arguments that her claims should be barred because she is not an original source of information.

  • August 26, 2026

    NJ Can't Force Access To ICE Detention Center, Feds Say

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has pressed a New Jersey federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from the Garden State's health commissioner seeking access to a Newark immigration detention center, saying whether state officials can inspect the facility is up to the federal government.

  • August 26, 2026

    Humana Keeps Conspiracy Claims Against Mylan, Lannett

    A federal judge refused to grant Mylan and Lannett summary judgment on claims in Humana's suit alleging a conspiracy to fix the prices of generic drugs ahead of its bellwether trial, calling it premature and noting that the other parties did not join the motion.

  • August 26, 2026

    Group Says HHS Can't Cut Certain Immigrants' Medicaid

    A Seattle-based community organization accused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of misinterpreting the 2025 federal budget bill, telling a Washington federal court it cannot strip Medicaid benefits away from noncitizens receiving Supplemental Security Income.

  • August 26, 2026

    2nd Circ. Says Shield Law Covers Doctor In COVID Death Suit

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a Connecticut estate's malpractice suit alleging a doctor negligently prescribed high doses of prednisone to an elderly COVID-19 patient who subsequently died of organ failure, finding the suit is barred under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act.

  • August 26, 2026

    Idaho Abortion Ban Relief Narrowed To 1 Doctor

    An Idaho federal judge walked back his recent order barring the state from enforcing its near-total abortion ban in certain health-related circumstances, finding that precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court supported a narrower injunction.

  • August 26, 2026

    7th Circ. Holds High Court Ruling Supports Ark. PBM Rule

    The Seventh Circuit refused Wednesday to revive a union fund's challenge to an Arkansas rule making health plans disclose pharmacy compensation and pay fees, backing a lower court's holding that the rule was in line with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted state cost regulations on pharmacy benefit managers.

  • August 26, 2026

    Meta Makes $17B Deal With States Over Child Harms

    Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and enact reforms to Facebook and Instagram to resolve sprawling social media addiction claims, in the midst of a high-stakes bellwether trial over whether the company hid or downplayed its platforms' allegedly harmful impact on minors, state enforcers say.

  • August 25, 2026

    Albertsons Witness Says Co.'s Opioid Policies Beat Standards

    Albertsons' pharmacy policies for reviewing potentially suspicious opioid prescriptions "met or exceeded" the standard of care, an expert witness for the company testified Tuesday, on the 26th day of a bench trial in Washington's case accusing the pharmacy chain of fueling the state's opioid epidemic.

  • August 25, 2026

    Merck Drug Price Row Loss, $56M Biotech Verdict And More

    Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at a D.C. federal court's rejection of Merck's challenge to the Medicare drug price negotiation program, a Delaware federal jury's $56 million verdict in a patent row over cell analysis technology and other litigation outcomes impacting the healthcare industry.

  • August 25, 2026

    Ed Dept. Must Turn Over Records In Mental Health Grants Row

    A Washington federal judge Monday partly granted a group of states' bid for expedited discovery in their suit over the Trump administration's attempt to cut nearly $1 billion in funding for K-12 mental health grants, finding the information could assist the court before a hearing for a preliminary injunction.

  • August 25, 2026

    Meet The Atty In Colo. Hospital Gender Care Lawsuit

    Paula Greisen has represented clients in the LGBTQ+ community in major litigation over the past decade. In recent days, she helped secured class certification in a lawsuit against Children's Hospital Colorado.

  • August 25, 2026

    Trump Not Likely to Change Direction of School Vaccine Law

    States that don't allow religious exemptions to school vaccine mandates have often prevailed in legal challenges. Despite renewed pressure from the Trump administration, legal experts expect the winning streak to go on.

  • August 25, 2026

    HHS Info Request Signals Potential Shift In Vax Policy

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed skepticism about "top-down mandates" and broad vaccine recommendations. It sets the stage for overhauling how the government delivers its vaccine recommendations.

Expert Analysis

  • How Justices' TPS Ruling Affects Workforce Planning

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Mullin v. Doe that courts lack jurisdiction to review temporary protected status determinations greenlights the end of TPS for thousands of Syrian and Haitian nationals, and means employers must reevaluate TPS-designees' employability while avoiding discriminatory document practices, says attorney Richard Herman.

  • A New Regulatory Environment For PE In Calif. Healthcare

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    The California Office of Health Care Affordability's proposed revisions to its cost and market impact review regulations, amid broader state scrutiny of private equity-backed healthcare arrangements, represent a qualitative shift in California's regulatory posture toward institutional healthcare investment, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • FDA Moves Leave Peptides In A Legal Gray Zone

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    While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken a concrete step forward on reclassifying certain peptides, the practical consequence of their interim status cannot be overstated — these substances are no longer designated as posing a significant safety risk, but they have not been affirmatively authorized for compounding, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The year's second quarter brought several notable banking law developments to New York, including a proposal to align state stablecoin rules with the federal Genius Act, fresh fair lending and cybersecurity guidance from state regulators, and a significant Second Circuit holding on preemption, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins Coie.

  • A New Defense For Medicaid Fraud Cases In Texas

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    The Texas Supreme Court decision in LabCorp v. Texas last month, finding that the state's False Claims Act requires proof that an omission is material, is among the first to establish that the government's lack of reaction to the defendant's disclosures rendered alleged omissions immaterial, say attorneys at Sheppard.

  • Pregnancy Bias Suits Highlight EEOC's Expanding Reach

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    Recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suits show that enactment of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has drawn scrutiny to a wider range of employment decisions and an increasing focus on individual decisions as indicators of whether an employer's policies comply with evolving federal requirements, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

  • Legal Risks Of Using AI To Screen Psychedelic Trial Patients

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    Though using artificial intelligence to preemptively identify drug trial participants likely to experience placebo effects could produce clearer research results, sponsors will need to be ready for the new legal questions these methods raise about informed consent, accountability for algorithmically derived criteria, and potential bias in data training sets, says Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

  • How 6th Circ. Tightened NLRB Injunction Standard

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.