Policy & Compliance

  • April 30, 2024

    Tougher Privacy Rule Won't End Abortion Data Fight

    Healthcare attorneys welcomed enhanced federal protections for patient abortion records. But the new rule likely won't release providers from the bind of complying with federal privacy law while potentially facing out-of-state probes into sensitive patient information.

  • April 30, 2024

    Texas, Washington Spar In Rare Interstate Gender Care Clash

    An investigation launched by the Texas attorney general into medical care 1,700 miles away in Washington triggered an unusual burst of litigation and a settlement, illustrating a potential new front in the legal fight over transgender rights.

  • April 29, 2024

    ReNew Health To Pay $7M To Settle COVID-19 FCA Claims

    ReNew Health Group LLC has agreed to pay the federal government and California $7 million to settle whistleblower allegations that the healthcare provider misused a COVID-19 waiver intended to free up hospital beds by submitting fraudulent claims for nursing home residents, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

  • April 29, 2024

    Pfizer Inks $25M Deal Ending Leftover Effexor Antitrust Claims

    A proposed class of indirect buyers have asked a New Jersey federal judge to greenlight a $25.5 million settlement to end allegations that Pfizer unit Wyeth engaged in a scheme with Teva Pharmaceuticals to delay generic competition for the antidepressant Effexor XR.

  • April 29, 2024

    Judge Rejects 2 Challenges To Medicare Drug Price Talks

    A New Jersey federal judge on Monday shot down a pair of challenges to the Medicare drug price negotiations, extending a string of court victories for the Biden administration as it defends the talks as entirely voluntary.

  • April 29, 2024

    9th Circ. Scraps Trans Law Opinion After High Court Ruling

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday scrapped its 2023 opinion blocking an Idaho law that would have banned transgender women from competing in sports following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision allowing enforcement of another Idaho law permitting a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, explaining that a revised opinion is needed.

  • April 29, 2024

    UnitedHealth's Cyberattack Response Is 'Inadequate,' AGs Say

    Nearly two dozen state attorneys general urged UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiary Change Healthcare "to do more" to address the fallout from a February cyberattack by Russian ransomware group Blackcat that breached their systems and services, noting their response efforts to the outage "have been inadequate."

  • April 29, 2024

    Trans Patients In NC, W.Va. Prevail In 4th Circ. Health Fight

    The Fourth Circuit on Monday affirmed two lower court decisions ordering North Carolina and West Virginia to end discriminatory exclusions for coverage of gender-affirming medical care for transgender people in both states, finding the lower courts properly struck down the policies as "textbook sex discrimination."

  • April 29, 2024

    Judge Rejects Class Certification Of Seizure Drug Customers

    An Illinois federal judge has rejected a class certification bid in a suit against drugmaker Mallinckrodt and prescription delivery platform Express Scripts, ruling that the plaintiffs were unable to meet their predominance burden as a class.

  • April 29, 2024

    DOL Finalizes Rescission Of ACA-Skirting Health Plan Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday finalized its rescission of an association health plan rule that allowed small businesses to band together to create healthcare plans that skirt certain Affordable Care Act requirements, which a D.C. federal court largely invalidated in 2019.

  • April 26, 2024

    HHS Finalizes Bolstered Sexual Orientation Bias Protections

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday unveiled a final rule designed to beef up protections against discrimination in healthcare, in particular protecting access to healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community as well as for other vulnerable populations.

  • April 26, 2024

    Gov't Wants Ex-Boston Celtic Imprisoned For Health Plan Scheme

    Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence former Boston Celtics player Glen "Big Baby" Davis to roughly three years in prison after he was convicted of scheming with a group of ex-pros to submit fraudulent invoices to the NBA's healthcare plan.

  • April 25, 2024

    Benefytt Successor Pursues Del.'s Bankruptcy Alternative

    Three affiliates of Benefytt Technologies have asked Delaware's Chancery Court for assignment for the benefit of creditors, a state-administered restructuring option, with $41 million in unsecured debt and $20 million worth of liens, saying the ripple effects of the health technology company's Chapter 11 drove them under.

  • April 25, 2024

    Houston Surgeon OKs Order For Docs In Wrongful Death Suit

    A transplant surgeon at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston and the families of three patients who died while on the hospital's liver transplant waiting list told a judge Thursday that they had agreed to a temporary restraining order preventing the doctor from deleting or altering any documents related to the families' wrongful death claims.

  • April 25, 2024

    5th Circ. May Ponder If Threats Are Claims In Healthcare Suit

    The Fifth Circuit will review Monday if a healthcare company is covered for a more than $200,000 settlement over mistakenly approving out-of-state treatment for a Florida Medicaid patient, with the case potentially hinging on whether a letter threatening litigation against another party constitutes a claim. Here, Law360 breaks down the case in advance of oral arguments.

  • April 25, 2024

    DOJ Still Owes Victims After $139M Nassar Settlement

    The federal government's $139 million settlement for victims of convicted sexual abuser Larry Nassar goes a long way toward holding the FBI responsible for its egregious mishandling of the victims' allegations, but gives no assurance that such complaints in the future will be handled properly, legal experts say.

  • April 25, 2024

    Jury Rejects Ex-Medical Co. GC's Suit Against Loeb & Loeb

    A Colorado federal jury has rejected a former in-house attorney's claim that Loeb & Loeb LLP and one of its ex-partners acted outrageously when they filed a lawsuit on behalf of a medical device company accusing him of stealing trade secrets.

  • April 25, 2024

    EEOC Pregnant Worker Rule Draws Suit From Red State AGs

    A group of 17 Republican state attorneys general hit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with a lawsuit Thursday over the agency's recently finalized Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations, saying the EEOC's stance that the PWFA encompasses abortion-related workplace accommodations is unconstitutional. 

  • April 24, 2024

    Motley Rice, Morgan & Morgan Among Ozempic MDL Leaders

    The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over alleged risks associated with Ozempic and similar drugs has appointed lawyers from Motley Rice LLC, Morgan & Morgan PA and six other firms to leadership roles, according to an order issued Tuesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Bill To Repeal 'Zombie' 1864 Abortion Ban Clears Ariz. House

    Legislation that would repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions in Arizona narrowly cleared the state House on Wednesday after a handful of Republican lawmakers crossed party lines to help Democrats muscle the measure through following a bruising debate.

  • April 24, 2024

    Justices Spar On Interplay Of EMTALA, Idaho Abortion Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court held a feisty debate Wednesday over whether an Idaho abortion ban is superseded by a federal law requiring doctors at Medicare-funded hospitals to give emergency care, including abortions, to women suffering a medical crisis.

  • April 23, 2024

    Misplaced Fears Leave Pregnant Subjects Out Of Drug Trials

    With federal drug regulators set to release new guidance meant to diversify clinical trial populations, new research largely undermines one key rationale for omitting pregnant and lactating people from drug and device development: the fear of legal liability.

  • April 23, 2024

    Retiring Health Exec Talks Past, Future Of Accountable Care

    The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations will see Chief Executive Officer Clif Gaus retire this fall, bringing an end to his nearly 12-year tenure at the organization. The group, which Gaus helped found, advocates for a care delivery model wherein providers share responsibility for both the quality and cost of care.

  • April 23, 2024

    Doctor Renews $20M Claim His Hospital Made Up 25 Murders

    An Ohio physician accused of 25 counts of murder and found guilty of none just renewed his $20 million malicious-prosecution suit against Trinity Health Corp., the parent company of his former employer, claiming that the company misled prosecutors to get him indicted as a distraction from the internal issues of the hospital where he worked.

  • April 23, 2024

    Divisive Cost Cap Deadline Looms For Calif. Healthcare Cos.

    California healthcare attorneys are preparing for the state's first cap on healthcare spending proposed by a new state office tasked with making care affordable. Industry leaders are sharply split on the viability of a proposed 3% target, which some say may ultimately do more harm than good for a state suffering from skyrocketing healthcare costs.

Expert Analysis

  • Uncharted Waters Ahead For FCA Litigation In 2024

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    Following a year of significant court decisions, settlements, recoveries and proposed amendments, 2024 promises to be a lively year for False Claims Act actions and litigation, and one that will hopefully provide more clarity as FCA jurisprudence evolves, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • OIG Report Has Clues For 2024 Healthcare Fraud Enforcement

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    A recent report from the Health Department's Office of the Inspector General reveals healthcare fraud and abuse enforcement trends that will continue in 2024, from increased telehealth oversight to enhanced policing of managed care, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • FOIA Exemption Questions On Redacted HHS Cannabis Letter

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent recommendation letter concerning the rescheduling of cannabis was heavily redacted, and based on an analysis on the applicability of Freedom of Information Act Exemption 5 to the letter, it's likely that we will see successful legal challenges to those redactions, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Primer On New Calif. Health Transaction Reporting Rules

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    New California regulations regarding the reporting of certain transactions involving healthcare entities, which took effect on Jan. 1, address some industry feedback about overly broad requirements but still leave several areas of concern, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year

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    In this quarterly Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity recap by former bureau personnel, attorneys at McGuireWoods explain the regulator's recent push to finalize new rules about data aggregators, digital payment apps and more before the election-year Congressional Review Act window opens.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • Digging Into The Debate On FDA's Proposed Lab Test Rule

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    A proposed 10-word amendment from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration represents a sea change in device regulation as it would summarily end decades of FDA enforcement discretion for laboratory developed tests, and the public comments offer some insight into the future of this long-running saga, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

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    Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

  • AI In Health Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

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    As the use of artificial intelligence accelerated this year, Expert Analysis writers examined AI's significant impact on the healthcare sector, ranging from key compliance considerations for companies utilizing AI tools to regulators' efforts to keep up with rapidly evolving technologies.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

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    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.

  • Inside Higher Education's New FCA Liability Challenges

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    As the educational sector expands its use of government funding, schools are at increased risk under the False Claims Act, but recent settlements offer valuable lessons about new theories of liability they may face and specific procedures to reduce their exposure, say James Zelenay and Jeremy Ochsenbein at Gibson Dunn.

  • AI Executive Order's Life Science, Healthcare Industry Effects

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    The recent White House executive order to manage risks associated with artificial intelligence includes provisions specific to healthcare and life sciences that merit special attention, including transparency, human oversight of AI output, and real world performance monitoring, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.