Policy & Compliance
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June 03, 2025
Trump Admin. Nixes Guidance Protecting ER Abortion Care
The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is rescinding post-Dobbs guidance from 2022 that emphasized medical providers' abortion care obligations under federal law and that assured federal law protected providers' clinical judgment, regardless of conflicting state laws or mandates.
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June 03, 2025
MAHA Report's Fake Citations A Red Flag For Experts
Fake and misinterpreted citations in a recent federal report focused on chronic disease in the U.S. are raising alarm bells that federal health officials may be trading in scientific rigor for cherry-picked evidence.
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June 03, 2025
6th Circ. Denies PBMs' Privilege Claim In Opioid MDL
A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday denied a petition from Cigna's Express Scripts and UnitedHealth's Optum seeking to reverse discovery orders allowing certain personnel files and internal communications into the multidistrict opioid litigation, finding that the two pharmacy benefit managers failed to show extraordinary abuses justifying relief.
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June 03, 2025
Plan Providers Must Face DOJ Overpayment Suit, Judge Says
A Maine federal judge refused to let five military healthcare plan providers escape a False Claims Act suit alleging that they knowingly pocketed millions of dollars that were overpaid, holding that U.S. Department of Justice claims against them pass muster for now.
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June 03, 2025
DC Judge Blocks Trump's Ban On Transgender Prisoner Care
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday blocked the enforcement of a Trump administration executive order barring funding of gender-affirming care in federal prisons and granted class certification to a group of transgender inmates challenging the directive.
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June 03, 2025
HHS, DOGE Accused Of Using Flawed Data In Mass Layoffs
Former federal workers laid off by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services brought a putative class action Tuesday in D.C. federal court alleging their terminations were unlawful because they were based on "hopelessly error-ridden" personnel records, in violation of the Privacy Act.
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June 03, 2025
Health Policy Expert On The Changing Vaccine Landscape
KFF's Jen Kates talks about the changing vaccine landscape, the trickle-down effects of the Trump administration's policies and what she's watching for from federal health officials in the future.
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June 03, 2025
2nd Circ. Says Social Worker Can't Challenge NY Abortion Law
The Second Circuit on Tuesday rejected a social worker's constitutional challenge to a New York law decriminalizing abortion, finding that she lacked standing to sue because she couldn't identify any specific fetus facing harm.
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June 03, 2025
Health System, Staffing Co. Accused Of Shaving Work Time
New York state's largest healthcare provider and a staffing firm unlawfully round down the amount of time employees spend working and deduct 30 minutes from their hours regardless of whether they took a break, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
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June 03, 2025
The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms
A rebound in client work sent the nation’s largest law firms into growth mode last year, driving a wave of hiring, mergers and strategic moves that reshaped the top tier of the Law360 400. Here's a preview of the 100 firms with the largest U.S. attorney headcounts.
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June 02, 2025
9th Circ. Sends Express Scripts Opioid Case To State Court
The Ninth Circuit sent California's public nuisance lawsuit against Express Scripts and OptumRx over opioid dispensing back to state court Monday and denied the pharmacy benefit managers' bid to stay the remand pending appeal, saying the U.S. Supreme Court's 2009 Nken decision controls, not its later Coinbase ruling.
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June 02, 2025
Ore. Psilocybin Access Suit Can Continue, Judge Says
An Oregon federal judge has ruled that the state's health regulator must face a suit brought under a federal antidiscrimination law that seeks to broaden access for homebound patients to the state's regulated psilocybin program.
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June 02, 2025
Nursing Exec Says DOJ Misapplied Justices' Fraud Ruling
A Nevada nursing home executive convicted of wage-fixing and wire fraud has told a Nevada federal judge that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a fraud case doesn't preclude his motion for a new trial, contrary to what the U.S. Department of Justice has argued.
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May 30, 2025
$5.2M Generic Drug Price-Fixing MDL Deal Gets Final OK
Apotex Corp. will be paying $5.2 million to settle claims from a class of indirect purchasers alleging the drugmaker was working with other pharmaceutical companies to hike up the price of certain generic medications.
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May 30, 2025
5th Circ. To Rehear No Surprises Act Ruling En Banc
The full Fifth Circuit agreed Friday to reconsider a dispute over provisions for calculating qualifying payments under the 2020 No Surprises Act.
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May 30, 2025
DLA Piper Adds Healthcare Regulatory Atty In DC Office
DLA Piper strengthened its healthcare regulatory resources in Washington, D.C., with the recent addition of an attorney who previously served as acting general counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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May 29, 2025
AstraZeneca Inks $51.4M Settlement In Pay-For-Delay Case
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and Handa Pharmaceuticals LLC have agreed to shell out a combined $51.4 million to put to rest allegations AstraZeneca paid off generic-drug makers, including Handa, to protect its brand antipsychotic drug Seroquel XR, according to a filing Thursday in Delaware federal court.
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May 29, 2025
CMS Seeks Hospital Responses On Gender Dysphoria Care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is asking hospitals to produce information on gender dysphoria care provided to children and adolescents, noting in an oversight letter that the U.S. government has "serious concerns" surrounding hormone therapy and other gender-affirming medical interventions.
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May 29, 2025
Ga. BCBS Says Providers Are Gaming Billing Dispute System
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia has accused a healthcare consulting firm and a handful of Peach State providers of systematic abuse of a federal dispute resolution process for surprise medical bills, accusing them of "flooding" the system with bogus dispute claims.
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May 29, 2025
Express Scripts Says Arkansas Can't Ban PBM Pharmacies
Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts sued the state of Arkansas in federal court Thursday, alleging that the state's recently enacted law banning PBMs from owning pharmacies in the state violated the U.S. Constitution and ran afoul of federal law governing military employee benefits.
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May 29, 2025
Split 9th Circ. Says Spa's Rule On Certain Trans Women Biased
A divided Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a Korean spa's constitutional challenge against the Washington State Human Rights Commission and ordered it to rescind its policy denying admission to trans women without gender-affirming surgery, noting Thursday the policy violated state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
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May 28, 2025
Elon Musk Is Leaving White House Role, Trump Admin Says
Billionaire Elon Musk is ending his work with President Donald Trump and the federal Department of Government Efficiency, a White House official confirmed Wednesday evening.
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May 28, 2025
Justices Told Del. Expert Law Doesn't Apply In Federal Court
A retired attorney who claims he was negligently injured by healthcare providers urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to hold that a Delaware federal court need not apply a state statute requiring an expert affidavit for all medical malpractice suits.
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May 28, 2025
Judge Rejects Johns Hopkins Unit's Claim FCA Suit Is Untimely
A Maine federal judge on Wednesday denied Johns Hopkins Medical Services Corp.'s bid to dismiss a False Claims Act suit as untimely, ruling it must face allegations it failed to report being overpaid for healthcare services for military personnel, retirees and their families.
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May 28, 2025
Feds Urge Supreme Court To Let 10th Circ. PBM Ruling Stand
The federal government urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up the state of Oklahoma's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision that found parts of a law regulating pharmacy benefit managers were preempted by federal benefits and healthcare laws, arguing the case doesn't warrant further review from the justices.
Expert Analysis
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4th Circ. Health Data Ruling Opens Door To State Law Claims
In Real Time Medical v. PointClickCare, the Fourth Circuit recently clarified that state law claims can rest in part on violations of a federal law that prohibits electronic health information blocking, expanding legal risks for health IT companies and potentially creating exposure to a range of competitive implications, say attorneys at BCLP.
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Unpacking Trump Admin Plans For Value-Based Care
Recent developments from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation suggest the Trump administration intends to put its own stamp on value-based care, emphasizing cost savings assessment in particular, with its recent cancellation of several payment models that had supported primary care, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.
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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.