Policy & Compliance
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December 02, 2025
Defamation Litigation Roundup: FDA, Lively, Alexander Bros.
In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 highlights a pharmaceutical company's suit against a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official, as well as the latest decision siding against President Donald Trump in his fights with media companies.
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December 02, 2025
5th Circ. Wary Of FDA Process Behind Rule For New Vapes
A Fifth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration properly accounted for how a new rule for premarket authorization of new tobacco products would affect small businesses in the industry.
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December 02, 2025
Breast Pump Co. To Pay $1M For Alleged Tricare Overbilling
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania reached a $1 million settlement with a breast pump company and its owner, resolving allegations that they submitted false claims for reimbursement for service members and their families.
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December 02, 2025
Plan Members Assert Standing In Cigna Data Breach Fight
A group of Cigna health plan participants who claimed that the company failed to protect their data when it tracked their website activities asked a Pennsylvania federal judge not to throw out the suit, arguing that the proposed class had standing to sue over the alleged violations of state and federal privacy laws.
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December 02, 2025
Under New Chair, Fed. Vax Panel To Redo Hep B Vote
The new chair of an influential federal vaccine advisory panel is set to lead a vote this week on whether to roll back federal recommendations that newborns get vaccinated against hepatitis B.
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December 02, 2025
Justices Skeptical Of NJ Subpoena For Anti-Abortion Donors
Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic Tuesday to an anti-abortion pregnancy-center network's bid to challenge a subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general, pressing the state on whether its demand for donor identities and internal documents risked unconstitutionally chilling First Amendment associational rights.
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December 02, 2025
Safe-Injection Site Ignites New Religious Liberty Debate
Law360 Healthcare Authority talks to Benjamin A. Barsky of the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco about safe injection sites, religious liberty arguments in healthcare, and a Third Circuit ruling with possible ramifications for both.
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December 02, 2025
Conflict Looms Over State Medical Debt Credit-Report Bans
An about-face by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on medical debt and credit reports is animating a legal debate over preemption and state-level prohibitions meant to protect consumers.
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December 02, 2025
Hospital Says EEOC Neglected Presuit Conciliation Obligation
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission failed to satisfy its conciliation obligations before filing an age discrimination lawsuit against a Colorado hospital, the facility told a federal court, arguing that the case should be paused for the parties to try to work out a deal.
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December 02, 2025
$4.6M Garnet Health Deal Over Retirement Plan Gets Initial OK
A New York federal judge granted initial approval Tuesday to a $4.6 million class action settlement between Garnet Health Medical Center and workers who challenged their employee retirement plan's fees and investments, which comes after parties reported a deal to end the case in September.
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December 01, 2025
Hospitals Slam HHS' Move From Drug Discounts To Rebates
The American Hospital Association is leading litigation challenging the Trump administration's abrupt changes to a decades-old program governing the distribution of discounted prescriptions to low-income patients, telling a Maine federal court Monday that the government is unlawfully ignoring the costly impacts a rebate system will have on hospitals.
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December 01, 2025
1st Circ. Tosses Omni's Medicare Fraud Suit Over UTI Tests
A First Circuit panel declined to revive Omni Healthcare's False Claims Act suit accusing MD Labs of billing Medicare for unnecessary urinary tract infection tests, explaining in a published opinion Monday that Omni Healthcare's own staff ordered each test — sometimes even replacing doctors' orders for cheaper tests with the pricier ones.
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December 01, 2025
2nd Circ. Backs Anti-Abortion Groups' Free Speech Rights
New York Attorney General Letitia James can't sue faith-based groups promoting a so-called treatment to reverse medication-induced abortions, finding the groups are likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment challenge, the Second Circuit said Monday.
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December 01, 2025
J&J Narrows Ex-Employees' Prescription Benefits Suit
Johnson & Johnson narrowed a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully overcharged employees through a prescription drug benefits program, with a New Jersey federal judge ruling workers leading the suit failed to show how allegedly excessive fees the company paid to a benefits manager caused participants' costs to rise.
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December 01, 2025
Judge Upholds Mich. MedMal Cap, Cuts $8.5M Verdict
A Michigan federal judge has slashed the $8.5 million a jury awarded to the estate of a cancer patient suing over his doctor's treatment decisions to about $615,000, ruling that a state law limiting noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases is constitutional.
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November 26, 2025
Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits
The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court.
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November 26, 2025
Nurse For App-Based Health Co. Can't Revive Retaliation Suit
A Washington appeals court refused to revive a nurse's suit claiming she was fired from an app-based medical provider for complaining that it underpaid and overworked independent contractors, ruling she failed to show her termination was because of her concerns rather than reports that she was unprofessional.
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November 25, 2025
UnitedHealth Gets OptumRx Antitrust Suit Sent To Arbitration
A group of independent pharmacies must arbitrate their proposed class claims that UnitedHealth-owned OptumRx gatekeeps its network of Medicare prescription patients by imposing unfair fees, a Washington federal judge said Tuesday, concluding the pharmacies haven't shown the arbitration clauses in question are unenforceable.
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November 25, 2025
Mich. Pharmacist Gets 46 Months For $4M Fraud Scheme
A former Michigan pharmacist who pled guilty to orchestrating a $4 million Medicare scam was sentenced by a federal judge to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution and forfeit property as part of a plea deal, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
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November 24, 2025
9th Circ. Clarifies FTC's Sanction Power In Backing $7M Win
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Monday a $7.3 million compensatory sanction and asset-freeze injunction against executives behind the "Success By Health" pyramid scheme, rejecting their argument, among others, that the justices' AMG v. FTC ruling requires the Federal Trade Commission to hold administrative proceedings before suing over rule violations.
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November 24, 2025
Teamsters Health Plan Wants Data Breach Suit Tossed
A Massachusetts federal judge should toss a proposed class action accusing a Teamsters healthcare plan of failing to protect plan participants' personal information, the plan argued, seeking dismissal of a suit that seeks to hold the plan liable for an August data breach.
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November 24, 2025
Mass. Judge Says States Can Fight Planned Parenthood Cuts
A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday chided a Trump administration lawyer for continuing to argue that a coalition of states lacks standing to seek to block what it says is the effective defunding of Planned Parenthood, even as it only just received a lengthy list of new requirements for Medicaid reimbursement.
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November 24, 2025
Mich. Christian Health Group Claims Right To Deny Trans Care
A Christian health system urged a federal court to permanently prohibit Michigan from enforcing a state civil rights law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing the statute unconstitutionally hampers its ability to make faith-based hiring and policy decisions.
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November 24, 2025
Wash. Hits Regence BlueShield With Transparency Fine
Washington's insurance commissioner slapped Regence BlueShield with a $550,000 fine, the state announced Monday, for purportedly violating reporting requirements under a federal law that says health insurers must provide the same level of coverage for mental health care as general medical care.
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November 24, 2025
ND Justices Reverse Ruling That Struck Down Abortion Ban
North Dakota's near-total ban on abortion is back in effect after the state's top court narrowly reversed a lower court decision by failing to reach the supermajority required to declare the law unconstitutional.
Expert Analysis
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10 Practical Takeaways From FDA's Biopharma AI Guidance
Recent guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides much-needed insight on the usage of artificial intelligence in producing information to support regulatory decision-making regarding drug safety, with implications ranging from life cycle maintenance to AI tool acquisition, say attorneys at Covington.
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Lawmakers Shouldn't Overlook Rare Disease Therapies' Value
As the ORPHAN Cures Act is pending in Congress, policymakers assessing the value of certain drugs for price regulation should consider data beyond what is collected in clinical trials, say Alice Chen at the University of Southern California, and Molly Frean and Yao Lu at Analysis Group.
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What Trump's Order Means For The Legal Status Of IVF
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month signals the administration's potential intention to increase protections for in vitro fertilization services, though more concrete actions would be needed to resolve the current uncertainty around IVF access or bring about a binding legal change, says Jeanne Vance at Weintraub Tobin.
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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.