Policy & Compliance
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July 14, 2025
Judge Says Med Device 401(k) Fee Suit Should Get A Trim
A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge recommended narrowing a proposed class action claiming a medical technology company saddled its retirement plan with excessive fees and abused forfeited funds, ruling the workers failed to show the business violated the plan's terms.
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July 14, 2025
UnitedHealth Settling Fraud Case Over Fake Invoice Scheme
UnitedHealth Group Inc. and a subsidiary are not going to trial in Colorado state court this week after the company reached a settlement with a defunct Colorado investment company that claimed UnitedHealth should have been liable for the "multi-million dollar fraudulent scheme" executed by a former employee, counsel for the plaintiff told Law360.
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July 14, 2025
Ga. County Wants 11th Circ. To Nix Trans Deputy's Health Win
A Georgia county urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a transgender sheriff's deputy's trial court win on claims that denying coverage for a vaginoplasty constituted discrimination in violation of Title VII, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision upholding a Tennessee state ban on gender-affirming care for minors supported its appeal.
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July 14, 2025
Fla. Says High Court Rulings Back Trans Care Medicaid Ban
Florida told the Eleventh Circuit that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings affirm the legality of a state law banning Medicaid payments for gender-affirming medical care, arguing its restrictions mirror a similar Tennessee law upheld by the justices because it centers on gender dysphoria diagnoses, not one's sex.
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July 14, 2025
Mich. Jury Sides With Red Cross In COVID Vax Refusal Suit
A Michigan federal jury on Monday found that a former American Red Cross nurse's request for an exemption from the organization's COVID-19 vaccine mandate wasn't based on a sincere religious belief that barred her from getting the injection, rejecting the worker's request for more than $6 million in damages for her firing.
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July 14, 2025
Masimo Corp. Settles Investor Suit Over Revenue Disclosures
Masimo Corp. has settled proposed class claims alleging the health technology firm misrepresented the company's finances and plans to investors, according to a filing in Southern California federal court.
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July 11, 2025
DOJ Sends Warning In Gender Care Provider Subpoenas
The announcement of federal subpoenas targeting doctors who offer gender-affirming care signals an escalation in the Trump administration's campaign against such treatment, experts say, delivering a warning to healthcare providers.
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July 11, 2025
AbbVie Defeats Investor Class Suit Alleging Humira Kickbacks
AbbVie on Thursday defeated a certified securities class action that accused it of giving healthcare providers unlawful kickbacks in exchange for prescribing its flagship arthritis drug Humira when an Illinois federal judge ruled that AbbVie provided legitimate services that were "integrally tied" to the drug itself.
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July 11, 2025
Hospital Says Wash. Withholding Docs In Billing Fraud Suit
A hospital system accused of overbilling Medicaid in connection to a neurosurgeon's fraud scheme contends the Washington state attorney general's office has wrongly refused to provide records from agencies involved in the misconduct investigation, according to new filings in federal court.
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July 11, 2025
Success Tricking FDA Shouldn't Protect Merck, Justices Told
Physicians asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision immunizing Merck & Co. from antitrust claims over submissions it made to federal regulators over its mumps vaccine, arguing the Third Circuit went far beyond its peers in holding that deceiving the government isn't illegal if the deception worked.
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July 11, 2025
Fed. Circ. Questions Patent Ownership After J&J's $20M Loss
The Federal Circuit appeared somewhat skeptical Friday that an orthopedic surgeon held onto the rights of knee replacement patents that he disputably assigned elsewhere, which would endanger the $20 million infringement verdict he won against a Johnson & Johnson unit.
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July 11, 2025
Fired Red Cross Vax Refuser Seeks $6M As Jury Trial Wraps
An attorney for a nurse fired from the American Red Cross after being denied religious accommodation from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate asked a Detroit federal jury Friday for more than $6 million in damages for what he said was the organization's disregard of the woman's beliefs.
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July 11, 2025
$16M Deal Gets OK In Wage Suit Against Wash. Hospitals
A $16 million deal ending three consolidated suits accusing Providence Health & Services and two related entities of not giving nearly 23,900 meal and rest breaks can proceed, a Washington state judge ruled, finding the deal fair.
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July 11, 2025
Suppressing Rival Views Can Break Antitrust Laws, DOJ Says
The anti-vaccine group once tied to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got a boost Friday in its D.C. federal court suit alleging that the Associated Press, The Washington Post, Reuters and the BBC colluded with social media platforms to censor rivals, drawing a Justice Department brief assailing news organization assertions that viewpoint competition can't be illegally suppressed.
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July 11, 2025
Powers Pyles Adds Ex-Feldesman Team In DC
Powers Pyles Sutter and Verville PC has strengthened its healthcare practice in Washington, D.C., with the creation of a sub-practice focused on health centers and staffed by five attorneys and a compliance expert who moved from Feldesman Leifer LLP.
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July 10, 2025
Penn Hospital Can't Escape Record $207M Med Mal Judgment
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Thursday affirmed a record $187 million verdict and subsequent $207 million judgment in a suit accusing the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of causing a newborn's catastrophic birth injuries, saying the award did not "shock the conscience" given the evidence presented at trial.
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July 10, 2025
HHS Narrows Health Benefits Available To Noncitizens
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced that immigrants living in the country without legal authorization and other noncitizens will no longer be eligible for benefits under Head Start and a host of other federal healthcare programs, based on the agency's reinterpretation of a 1996 social welfare law.
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July 10, 2025
Brookdale's $1.9M Deal Ends Investor Suit On Understaffing
An investor in retirement home operator Brookdale Senior Living Inc. has gotten a final nod for a deal settling her understaffing claims against the company's executives and directors in exchange for corporate reforms and fees and expenses totaling $1.9 million for her legal team.
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July 10, 2025
5 Employee Benefits Takeaways On The GOP Tax Bill
Congressional Republicans' sweeping tax and policy bill, which President Donald Trump sought and then signed, contains multiple provisions that caught the attention of employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys, including new changes to high-deductible health plans and an employer-side deduction limit affecting highly compensated employees. Here are five takeaways from employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys on what's in — and out of — the GOP megabill.
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July 09, 2025
Iowa Urges Judge Not To Block Law Regulating PBMs
The state of Iowa urged a federal judge Tuesday not to halt enforcement of state restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers that took effect earlier this month, arguing that most of the challenged law doesn't apply to the health plans and employers seeking to enjoin it.
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July 09, 2025
Mich. Justices Nix Ruling On ER Doctor-Hospital Agency
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed an appeals court's decision tossing a woman's vicarious liability claim against William Beaumont Hospital, finding she did not need to show she relied on a specific representation from the hospital to establish an ostensible agency relationship between the hospital and her treating doctor.
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July 09, 2025
Red Cross Vax Refuser Decries Firing Over Religious Beliefs
A former nurse for the American Red Cross suffered physically and economically after she was fired from the organization for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, counsel for the nurse told a Detroit federal jury Wednesday, arguing that, in the United States, the Red Cross should not be the arbiter of sincerely held religious beliefs.
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July 09, 2025
Sandoz, Buyers Defend $275M Deal Amid State Objections
Counsel for consumers, insurers and others urged a Pennsylvania federal court on Tuesday to approve Sandoz and its subsidiaries' $275 million deal settling claims it conspired with other companies to fix some generic drug prices, with Sandoz separately calling states' objections "a paternalistic desire to control private class action settlements."
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July 09, 2025
FDA Gets Early Win In Blue States' Abortion Pill Suit
A Washington federal judge has granted an early win to the federal government in a lawsuit from 17 Democratic attorneys general challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's restrictions on access to the abortion drug mifepristone, finding the agency has properly reviewed the drug when issuing regulations.
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July 09, 2025
Mich. Judge Tosses Challenge To State Medicaid Abortion Ban
A Michigan judge has dismissed a challenge to the state's ban on Medicaid coverage for abortions, finding a nonprofit organization that offers financial assistance to women seeking abortions lacked standing.
Expert Analysis
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What To Expect For Stem Cell Regulation Under Trump Admin
The new administration's push for deregulation, plus the post-Chevron legal landscape, and momentum from key political and industry players to facilitate stem cell innovation may create an opportune backdrop for a significant reduction in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulatory framework for stem cells, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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How Importers Can Minimize FCA Risks Of Tariff Mitigation
False Claims Act risks are inherent in many tariff mitigation strategies, making it important for importers to implement best practices to identify and report potential violations of import regulations before they escalate, says Samuel Finkelstein at LMD Trade Law.
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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.