Policy & Compliance

  • January 12, 2026

    The Curious, Very Long Delay In A Pioneering Drug Prices Suit

    When Merck & Co. launched a fiery challenge to Medicare's landmark drug price negotiations, it blazed a trail for many similar suits. But 31 months later, the challenge is stalled where it started as Merck begs for a ruling, other suits speed along the path it created and huge costs now seem unavoidable.

  • January 12, 2026

    Feds To Drop Appeal In 340B Rebate Pilot Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday suggested it will end its appeal of a First Circuit order temporarily blocking it from instituting a rebate program that would change how the agency distributes payments in the federal 340B drug discount program that provides medications at reduced costs to low-income Americans. 

  • January 12, 2026

    ERISA Recovery Suit Against UnitedHealth Proceeds With Trims

    A UnitedHealth plan participant who was injured in a car crash may pursue claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's civil enforcement provision, an Ohio federal court ruled Friday, while also allowing his wife, who was involved in a separate accident, to proceed with certain state-law claims.

  • January 12, 2026

    Yale Asks Judge To Rethink $32M Baby Formula Death Verdict

    Yale University and the affiliated Yale New Haven Hospital have asked a Connecticut state court judge to reconsider a verdict of nearly $32 million over the death of a premature baby, contending that she failed to grasp battery and informed consent law when issuing her decision after a bench trial.

  • January 12, 2026

    DC Circ. Told $100K H-1B Fee Threatens Congress' Tax Power

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the D.C. Circuit to bar the Trump administration from charging employers its new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, arguing it presents a "grave threat" to Congress' exclusive power to levy taxes.

  • January 12, 2026

    HHS' Pediatric Health Cuts Blocked As Likely 'Retaliatory'

    A D.C. federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from cutting nearly $12 million in pediatric health funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics, finding HHS could be retaliating for a lawsuit challenging the agency's changes to members on a federal vaccine committee. 

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Want SG Input On Arthritis Drug Competition Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the Trump administration to weigh in on whether state unfair competition claims should be used to block a competitor from selling compounded versions of drugs in certain states.

  • January 12, 2026

    No High Court Review For California Opioid 'Nuisance' Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it would not weigh in on a circuit court decision that a California public nuisance lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers over their opioid-dispensing practices belongs in state court.

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Pass On Houston Hospital Workers' COVID Vax Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to a Houston hospital's win in a lawsuit brought by a group of employees who said they were unlawfully terminated after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • January 09, 2026

    Mylan, Aurobindo Must Face Generic Drug Price-Fixing Claims

    A Connecticut federal judge on Friday refused to hand a quick win to Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Aurobindo Pharma USA in sprawling antitrust litigation against 26 total pharmaceutical companies, ruling that a coalition of states has enough evidence to raise a genuine dispute about whether the companies conspired to fix drug prices.

  • January 09, 2026

    Up Next At High Court: Pollution Lawsuits & Trans Athletes

    The U.S. Supreme Court will kick off the new year by hearing disputes over the constitutionality of state laws banning transgender female athletes from female-only sports and whether state or federal courts are the proper forum for lawsuits seeking to hold major oil companies accountable for harm caused by their oil production activities along Louisiana's coast. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Mich. Bid For Behavioral Managed Care Contracts Can't Stand

    A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled the state health department's bid for Medicaid managed care contract proposals would unlawfully interfere with the duties of local governmental bodies that provide and coordinate behavioral health care.

  • January 09, 2026

    Veterinary Group Says DOJ Accreditation Points Irrelevant

    The American Veterinary Medical Association has told a Tennessee federal court that the government's concerns about professional groups are irrelevant to a veterinary school's antitrust case challenging the association's accreditation requirements.

  • January 09, 2026

    Ex-Prosecutor OK For Drug Pricing MDL, Special Master Says

    Former Connecticut Assistant Attorney General Joseph Nielsen and his law firm, Lowey Dannenberg PC, should not be disqualified from representing insurers in multidistrict litigation over generic drug price-fixing because he did not have any special knowledge that the states suing drugmakers hadn't already shared with the private plaintiffs, according to a special master's report and recommendation.

  • January 08, 2026

    Walgreens Gets $392K Sanction Against Blue Cross Insurers

    A Chicago federal judge on Thursday ordered a host of Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers to pay Walgreens more than $392,000 in attorney fees and expenses for discovery misconduct in their suit that accuses the drugstore company of fraudulently overcharging for prescription drugs.

  • January 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Redo Raises New Issues On Abortion Coverage Law

    A Ninth Circuit panel that previously sided with Washington in a church's challenge to a state law mandating employer health coverage of abortion services voiced fresh concerns about both sides' positions when revisiting the case Thursday, roughly six months after rescinding the initial opinion without explanation.

  • January 08, 2026

    Ex-UnitedHealth GC Joins WilmerHale As Partner In London

    After more than 25 years as a general counsel handling some of the direst corporate crises imaginable, former UnitedHealth Group general counsel Rupert Bondy is returning to London to co-lead WilmerHale's crisis management and strategic response group.

  • January 07, 2026

    Potomac Law Adds Former DOJ, HHS Civil Rights Atty

    Potomac Law Group has hired a healthcare attorney with over 15 years working on LGBTQ+ protections and other civil rights issues at the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

  • January 07, 2026

    Covenant Health Sued Over Patient Data Security Breach

    Nonprofit healthcare system Covenant Health Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action over a data breach that reportedly compromised the information of nearly half a million people.

  • January 06, 2026

    8th Circ. Revives Jail Suicide Suit Against Mental Health Org.

    An Eighth Circuit panel unanimously revived a lawsuit Tuesday by the family of an Iowa jail inmate who died by suicide, holding that a jury could find that a mental health provider's alleged incomplete report to jail staff put the inmate at greater risk.  

  • January 06, 2026

    Judge Hints Conn. Dentist's Press Release Claims Lack Teeth

    A Connecticut appellate judge seemed to doubt Tuesday that a dentist had asserted clear constitutional claims against state officials who issued a press release about his $300,000 False Claims Act settlement, suggesting the case might actually sound in defamation.

  • January 06, 2026

    Bankrupt Hospital Wants Out Of $3B BCBS Antitrust Deal

    A bankrupt Alabama hospital is asking a federal judge to allow it to drop out of a $2.8 billion antitrust class action settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield, saying it may be forced to shut down unless it can pursue separate relief in bankruptcy court.

  • January 06, 2026

    The Future of The 340B Rebate Pilot

    A federal judge halted a new 340B pilot program, handing a win for safety net healthcare providers. Healthcare attorneys say it's too early for providers to celebrate.

  • January 06, 2026

    Cigna Accused Of Rigging Market For Life-Saving Drugs

    Patients with chronic health conditions sued Cigna in an Illinois federal court alleging in a proposed class action Tuesday that the company and its pharmacy and pharmacy benefit manager subsidiaries use exclusive agreements to lock users into a network where Byzantine refill processes have been deliberately erected to limit payouts for life-saving drugs.

  • January 06, 2026

    FTC Signals Support Of Miss. Bill For Midwives' Solo Practice

    A Federal Trade Commission official on Monday encouraged a Mississippi lawmaker to keep in mind the possible motives of opponents of proposed legislation that would exempt midwives from having to contract with physicians to provide advanced-level nursing care.

Expert Analysis

  • Unique Aspects Of Texas' Approach To AI Regulation

    Author Photo

    The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act — which will soon be the sole comprehensive artificial intelligence law in the U.S. — pulls threads from EU and Colorado laws but introduces more targeted rules with fewer obligations on commercial entities, say attorneys at MVA Law.

  • Surveying The Healthcare Policy Landscape Post-Shutdown

    Author Photo

    With last week's agreement to reopen the federal government, at least through the end of January, key healthcare legislation that has been in limbo since a December 2024 spending bill fell apart may recapture the attention of Congress, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • FDA Biosimilar Guidance Should Ease Biologics Development

    Author Photo

    New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, indicating that the agency may no longer routinely require comparative efficacy studies when other evidence provides sufficient assurance of biosimilarity, underscores the FDA's trust in analytical technology as a driver of biologics access, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Prison Body Cams Raise Health Privacy Compliance Issues

    Author Photo

    The increasing use of prison staff body cameras to enhance transparency and safety presents correctional healthcare partners with new risk management questions where they must carefully reconcile the benefits of surveillance with the imperative to protect patient privacy, say attorneys at Gordon Rees.

  • Employer Considerations After 11th Circ. Gender Care Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Eleventh Circuit's en banc decision in Lange v. Houston County, Georgia, finding that a health plan did not violate Title VII by excluding coverage for gender-affirming care, shows that plans must be increasingly cognizant of federal and state liability as states pass varying mandates, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How Healthcare Practices Can Prepare For ICE Visits

    Author Photo

    Healthcare providers that may face encounters with immigration enforcement should familiarize themselves with compliance obligations beyond ensuring employment authorization, and mitigate risk by establishing clear policies and specific procedures that safeguard patient rights and manage staff interactions with agents, say attorneys at Roetzel & Andress.

  • Adapting To Calif.'s Enhanced Regulation Of PE In Healthcare

    Author Photo

    New California legislation enhances oversight on the role of private equity groups and hedge funds in healthcare transactions, featuring both a highly targeted nature and vague language that will require organizations to carefully evaluate existing practices, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • Lessons From 7th Circ. Decision Affirming $183M FCA Verdict

    Author Photo

    The Seventh Circuit's decision to uphold a $183 million False Claims Act award against Eli Lilly engages substantively with recurring materiality and scienter questions and provides insights into appellate review of complex trial court judgments, say Ellen London at London & Naor, Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz and Kimberly Friday at Osborn Maledon.

  • Calif. Justices Continued Anti-Arbitration Trend This Term

    Author Photo

    In the 2024-2025 term, the California Supreme Court justices continued to narrow arbitration's reach under state law, despite state courts' extreme caseload backlog and even as they embraced contractual autonomy in other contexts, says Josephine Petrick at The Norton Law Firm.

  • Steps For Healthcare Providers After Cigna ERISA Settlement

    Author Photo

    Following the Cigna class action's settlement, where Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations arose from Cigna's online provider directory advertising providers as in-network who were actually out-of-network, providers should routinely audit their contract status and directory listings, and proactively coordinate with plans and payor partners, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • What's New In FDA's Latest Cell And Gene Therapy Guidance

    Author Photo

    New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with other recent initiatives, come together to promote cell and gene therapy product development by streamlining development and review pathways, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Adapting To Enforcement Focus On Wound Care Fraud

    Author Photo

    As federal agencies target wound care industry fraud as a top enforcement priority, attorneys advising industry stakeholders should evaluate business relationships for Anti-Kickback Statute violations, emphasize appropriate product use and documentation, and use internal data analytics to monitor billing patterns, say David Tarras at Tarras Defense and Jay McCormack at Verrill Dana.

  • AG Watch: Illinois A Key Player In State-Level Enforcement

    Author Photo

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has systematically strengthened his office to fill federal enforcement gaps, oppose Trump administration mandates and advance state policy objectives, particularly by aggressively pursuing labor-related issues, say attorneys at Troutman.