Policy & Compliance
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July 08, 2025
Insurer Fights ACA Loss, Citing Justices' Trans Care Ruling
Premera Blue Cross urged a Washington federal court to rethink an early win it granted against the insurer over its coverage policy for gender dysphoria surgery, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti is dispositive of a sex discrimination claim in the case.
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July 08, 2025
Omnicare, CVS Tab In FCA Case Increases To $949M
A New York federal judge on Monday raised a False Claims Act judgment against Omnicare and CVS to a combined $949 million following a jury's finding that they submitted millions of false prescription claims for long-term care patients.
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July 08, 2025
Calif.'s PE Healthcare Oversight Bill: 3 Things To Know
A California bill expanding the power of a state healthcare affordability board is moving through the Legislature amid opposition from key industry organizations. Here, Law360 Healthcare Authority examines three key aspects of the legislation.
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July 08, 2025
Utah Doc Heads To Trial Over Bogus Vax Card Claims
A Utah plastic surgeon accused in a fake COVID vaccine card conspiracy headed to trial in Salt Lake City this week. Dr. Michael Kirk Moore won't be able to argue his actions were necessary to protect patients who feared taking the vaccine after the court foreclosed a "necessity" defense.
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July 08, 2025
Sweeping Medicaid Cuts Leave Health Attys With Questions
Healthcare attorneys coming back to their offices after the long weekend have had a busy few days fielding phone calls from clients looking for help digesting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the sweeping legislation recently signed into law by President Donald Trump that would have far-reaching ramifications for the healthcare industry.
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July 08, 2025
HHS Conscience Probes Face Post-Chevron Hurdles
As the Trump administration promotes the rights of healthcare providers to deny gender-affirming care on religious or moral grounds, legal experts say the effort may be frustrated by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that undercuts judicial deference to agencies' statutory interpretations.
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July 08, 2025
Biosimilars Industry Group Backs Interchangeability Bill
The current law on how biosimilars are deemed interchangeable or not with their name-brand biologic equivalents has led to public confusion over how safe biosimilars are, a coalition of healthcare industry groups told lawmakers in a letter Monday.
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July 08, 2025
Pa. Panel Grants Immunity To Nursing Board In Exam Dispute
A Pennsylvania appellate court on Tuesday narrowly rejected a lawsuit filed by an ex-nurse who contends a state board violated her rights by ordering her to undergo a mental health exam, finding instead that the board members are entitled to quasi-judicial immunity.
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July 08, 2025
HHS Can't Dodge Suit Over Nixed LGBTQ Bias Protections
A New York federal judge declined Tuesday to toss a transgender woman's suit challenging President Donald Trump's decision to roll back anti-discrimination regulations for LGBTQ patients during his first term, rejecting arguments from the government that the case is moot given that a Biden-era rule restored the protections.
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July 08, 2025
High Court Allows Trump's Gov't Cuts And Restructuring
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the Trump administration can move forward with its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal departments and agencies, lifting a California federal judge's order that had paused the efforts while a legal challenge continues.
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July 08, 2025
Merits Not At Issue For Health Co. Wage Collective, Court Told
A healthcare facility operator is focusing too much on the merits of unpaid wages claims rather than whether it had common policies that detracted from employees' pay, a respiratory therapist told a North Carolina federal court, saying collective status is appropriate.
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July 08, 2025
Ore. Weighs Tough New Requirements For Long-Term Care
Two years ago, an Oregon woman died in the cold after leaving, unseen, from a memory care facility. Today, state lawmakers are moving to strengthen oversight of long-term care facilities that serve older adults, including those with dementia.
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July 07, 2025
Pregnant Doc, Medical Orgs. Sue To Block RFK's Vax Directive
A pregnant doctor who fears she will be denied a COVID-19 vaccination, along with a coalition of medical associations, sued Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Massachusetts federal court on Monday challenging his directive recommending against the shot for pregnant women and children.
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July 07, 2025
Planned Parenthood Wins Block of 'Catastrophic' Defunding
A Massachusetts federal judge late Monday agreed to temporarily block the Trump administration's plans to prohibit Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, issuing a temporary restraining order just hours after Planned Parenthood sued, saying the consequences would be "catastrophic."
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July 07, 2025
Mich. Top Court Won't Hear COVID-19 Immunity Appeal
A split Michigan Supreme Court has decided to leave in place an appellate panel's ruling that a state pandemic-response law shields a hospital from malpractice and negligence claims brought by a woman who was admitted for COVID-19-related stress, with dissenting justices saying they have concerns with the lower court's rationale.
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July 07, 2025
Atty-Client Shield Null In HIV Drug Fraud Case Docs, Feds Say
Two alleged distributors of sham HIV drugs can't shield more than 1,000 documents related to legal advice from discovery, U.S. prosecutors told a Florida federal judge Monday, asserting that any attorney-client privilege is invalidated because the advice was used to facilitate a $90 million fraud.
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July 07, 2025
Ex-Leerink Banker Can't Get Redo On Unpaid Bonuses Claim
A Massachusetts federal judge declined on Monday to rethink partially tossing a former Leerink Partners employee's suit alleging she was cheated out of millions of dollars in bonuses, rejecting the worker's argument that new evidence should change the court's mind.
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July 07, 2025
J&J Unit Looks To Wipe Out $442M Catheter Antitrust Loss
Johnson & Johnson health tech unit Biosense Webster has asked a California federal court to throw out Innovative Health's $442 million trial win in a case accusing Biosense of conditioning product support for its cardiac mapping systems on the purchase of cardiac catheters.
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July 03, 2025
States Still Oppose Florida's Generic Drug Deal With Sandoz
States accusing generic-drug makers of fixing prices are continuing to object to a $10 million settlement struck between Florida and Sandoz, arguing that it limits their ability to negotiate deals while letting the Sunshine State benefit without participating in the litigation.
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July 03, 2025
Natera Inks $8.25M Deal To End Prenatal Tests Suit
A proposed class of buyers of Natera Inc.'s noninvasive prenatal tests has asked a California federal court to give preliminary approval to an $8.25 million settlement to resolve claims that the company knew the tests were unreliable but failed to tell buyers.
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July 03, 2025
High Court Passes On Mont. Abortion, Parental Consent Case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Thursday to hear a case focused on parental consent and abortion in Montana, as two conservative justices said the decision shouldn't be seen as a rejection by the justices of the parental-rights question itself.
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July 03, 2025
HHS Ordered To Restore Data Axed Under 'Gender Ideology' EO
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services must restore a swath of webpages and datasets it took down following a Trump administration executive order seeking to root out references to so-called gender ideology, a D.C. federal judge ruled.
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July 03, 2025
Mich. Justices Turn Down Challenge To Med Mal Damage Cap
Michigan's highest court won't weigh in on the constitutionality of the state's caps on medical malpractice awards, rejecting a federal district court's certified question Thursday.
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July 03, 2025
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.
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July 03, 2025
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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The Fate Of Biden-Era Clinical Study Guidance Under Trump
Draft guidance about the study of sex and gender differences in medical product development issued by the outgoing Biden administration currently faces significant uncertainty and litigation potential due to the Trump administration's executive orders and other actions, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting
This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Dispelling 10 Myths About Health Provider-Based Compliance
Congress appears intent on requiring hospitals to submit provider-based attestations for all off-campus outpatient hospital locations, so now is the time for hospitals to prepare for this change by understanding common misconceptions about provider-based status and proactively correct noncompliance, say attorneys at McDermott.
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A Look At HHS' New Opinion On Patient Assistance Programs
A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General follows a recent trend of blessing patient assistance program arrangements that implicate the Anti-Kickback Statute, as long as they are structured with appropriate safeguards to minimize the risk of fraud and abuse, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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2 Anti-Kickback Developments Hold Lessons For Biopharma
The U.S. Department of Justice's Anti-Kickback Statute settlement with QOL Medical and a favorable advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provide a study in contrasts, but there are tips for biopharma manufacturers trying to navigate the vast compliance space between them, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.
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Tips For Pharma-Biotech Overlap Reporting In New HSR Form
While there’s no secret recipe for reporting overlaps to the Federal Trade Commission in the new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act form, there are several layers of considerations for all pharma-biotech companies and counsel to reflect on internally before reporting on any deal, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.
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A Look At Drug Price Negotiation Program's Ongoing Impact
More than two years after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid implementation of the drug price negotiation program, attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the IRA has influenced licensing strategies, and how maximum fair prices under the law have economically affected certain drugs.
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Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage
The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.