Policy & Compliance
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July 29, 2025
Organ Procurement's Dilemma: How Do You Diagnose Death?
A Kentucky man nearly had his organs removed for donation despite showing signs of life. Now a federal investigation is putting a spotlight on how doctors diagnose death prior to organ transplants.
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July 29, 2025
FDA Recommends Federal Restrictions On Kratom Extract
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it recommends placing federal restrictions on 7-Hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, an opioid-like alkaloid compound derived from the kratom leaf that the agency said had a strong potential for abuse.
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July 29, 2025
Attys Blast 'Chilling Message' Of Judge Shopping Sanctions
Three attorneys sanctioned for judge shopping while challenging an Alabama statute that criminalizes gender-affirming care have asked the Eleventh Circuit to clear their names, castigating the process that led to their censure as "so extraordinary as to approach unprecedented."
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July 29, 2025
22 States Sue To Block Defunding Of Planned Parenthood
California and more than 20 other states on Tuesday launched their own legal challenge to budget legislation that halts federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, alleging the measure illegally targets the organization and violates its First Amendment rights.
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July 29, 2025
Ark. Law Banning PBM-Owned Pharmacies Put On Ice
Arkansas can't enforce a law banning pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in the state, a federal judge ruled, saying that CVS, Express Scripts, Optum and a trade group are likely to succeed on their claims that the statute unlawfully restricts interstate commerce.
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July 29, 2025
9th Circ. Clarifies Kickback Boundaries For Referral Bonuses
A Ninth Circuit opinion affirming a California man's fraud conviction provides some clarity — and a warning — to the owners of medical testing laboratories wondering what sales tactics are allowed under a 2018 kickbacks law.
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July 29, 2025
Meet Josh Craddock, Fetal Personhood Advocate Joining DOJ
President Donald Trump has named a former BigLaw attorney and outspoken proponent of the fetal personhood legal doctrine to serve as deputy assistant attorney general at the legal arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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July 28, 2025
PBMs Can't Escape NY State Law Claims In Opioid MDL
Two UnitedHealth subsidiaries cannot escape claims that they exacerbated the opioid crisis by providing data analytics and consulting services to drugmakers, a federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation ruled on Monday, saying the New York state municipalities have adequately alleged RICO by claiming they were part of the same criminal conspiracy.
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July 28, 2025
Express Scripts, Prime Urge Court To Toss Mich. Price-Fix Suit
Two pharmacy benefit managers sought to shake allegations of price-fixing brought by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, arguing Friday that her antitrust suit suffers from several fatal legal flaws, including that the state does not have standing to sue on pharmacies' behalf.
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July 28, 2025
DOJ Probes NewYork-Presbyterian Over Antitrust Allegations
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System for allegedly violating antitrust laws by cutting deals with insurance companies that have led to rising healthcare costs, according to a subpoena viewed by Law360.
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July 28, 2025
Judge Again Cites Bias In NIH Fund Freeze As Gov't Appeals
A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday reiterated his conclusion that the Trump administration's freeze of $783 million worth of National Institutes of Health grants was based on "palpable" gender and racial discrimination, as he acknowledged a pending request by the government to the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his order that the money be released.
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July 28, 2025
Judge Says Trump Admin Can't Defund Planned Parenthood
A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from denying Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood clinics, expanding an earlier ruling that had applied only to those that do not provide abortions or that receive minimal federal support.
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July 25, 2025
Utah Docs Say Billing Expert's Report Rife With AI Falsehoods
Utah anesthesiologists facing a False Claims Act suit are moving to bar the testimony of a medical billing expert they say used artificial intelligence to draft a report riddled with errors and fake citations, calling it an extraordinary example of AI gone wrong.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Mitigating Tariff Risks For Healthcare In US And Canada
Healthcare stakeholders should take steps to evaluate the impact of cross-border tariffs, as the historically strong ties between Canada and the U.S. demonstrate the potential for real disruption and harm to the healthcare industry in both countries, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit
The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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6 Laws Transforming Calif.'s Health Regulatory Framework
Attorneys at Hooper Lundy discuss a number of new California laws that raise pressing issues for independent physicians and small practice groups, ranging from the use of artificial intelligence to wage standards for healthcare employees.
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Anticipating Calif. Oversight Of PE Participation In Healthcare
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.
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Considering The Future Of AI Regulation On Health Sector
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.
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What To Expect From 'Make America Healthy Again' Actions
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.
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How Citizen Petitions Have Affected Drug Competition
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.
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Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove
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.
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Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments
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.
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What Trump Actions Mean For Federal Research Funding
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.
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A Look At Healthcare Transaction Oversight In Oregon
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.
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Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises
“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.
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High Court Must Acknowledge US History Of Anti-Trans Laws
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.