Policy & Compliance
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February 20, 2025
Drug Buyers Get OK On $275M Sandoz Antitrust Settlement
Swiss drugmaker Sandoz and its subsidiaries will pay consumers, insurers and other "end payer plaintiffs" $275 million to settle class action claims that it conspired with other companies to fix the price of certain generic drugs, under a deal that got preliminary approval from a Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday.
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February 19, 2025
Contractors' Group Asks DC Judge To Halt Gutting Of USAID
A group representing U.S. citizen personal services contractors working for the U.S. Agency for International Development is the latest to ask a federal judge to step in and block the Trump administration's push to gut the agency and its operations.
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February 19, 2025
Judge Probes Vagueness In Suit Over Trump's Anti-DEI Orders
A Baltimore federal judge on Wednesday pressed a U.S. Department of Justice attorney to spell out what would constitute so-called illegal DEI under Trump administration executive orders that aim to root out diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the public and private sectors.
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February 19, 2025
Michigan Expert Defends State's Abortion Counseling Law
Michigan kicked off its defense of a waiting period and mandatory counseling requirements for abortions Wednesday with a physician's testimony that abortion seekers should receive information about parenting and adoption before undergoing the procedure.
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February 19, 2025
Judge Won't Halt PBM Case Over Attack On FTC Independence
A Missouri federal judge refused to temporarily block the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing pharmacy benefits managers of artificially inflating insulin prices through unfair rebate schemes, rejecting the PBMs' claims that the Trump administration's attempt to eliminate safeguards protecting FTC members from at-will presidential removal favors their attempt to stop the case.
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February 19, 2025
LA Gardasil Trial Against Merck Bagged After 3 Weeks
A Los Angeles state court trial over the alleged dangers of Merck & Co. Inc.'s human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil was abruptly called off after three weeks of testimony, with a new panel of jurors slated to hear the case next fall instead.
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February 19, 2025
Local 11 Must Pay Health Fund's Atty Fees In Sanctions Fight
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday granted attorneys' fees in connection with work to file a sanctions motion against a union local in a federal benefits lawsuit against their multiemployer union health fund but reduced the total grant to about half of what was requested.
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February 19, 2025
Feds Urge Justices To Undo 5th Circ. Preventive Care Ruling
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit decision that members of a task force setting preventive services coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act were unconstitutionally appointed, arguing the HHS secretary retained sufficient oversight.
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February 18, 2025
1st Circ. Backs Strict View Of Kickback Law In Blow To FCA
In an eagerly awaited ruling, the First Circuit on Tuesday said a major avenue for False Claims Act enforcement requires proof that kickbacks directly changed treatment decisions, a holding that creates a lopsided circuit split as well as significant challenges for the U.S. Department of Justice and the plaintiffs bar.
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February 18, 2025
Health Net Pays $11.25M To Settle Cybersecurity FCA Claims
Health Net and its parent Centene Corp. have reached an $11.25 million False Claims Act settlement to resolve allegations that the health plan administrator falsely certified compliance with cybersecurity requirements under a U.S. Department of Defense contract.
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February 18, 2025
Michigan's Top Doc Calls Informed Consent Law 'Cruel'
Michigan's chief medical executive testified that making abortion seekers review parenting information before terminating a pregnancy is manipulative and even harmful during a trial over the viability of several Michigan laws regulating abortion care.
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February 18, 2025
Trump's Sweeping Healthcare Cuts Sow Confusion, Concern
In recent days, the Trump administration has started to fire thousands of federal health employees, kicking off what is expected to be the first of a series of terminations set to shape the future of healthcare in the U.S.
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February 18, 2025
Utah Trans Care Law Stirs Legal Doubt On Informed Consent
Language in a new Utah law that allows minors receiving gender-affirming care to later revoke informed consent and retroactively sue clinicians could undermine treatment for patients and spill over into other forms of healthcare, researchers say.
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February 18, 2025
Trump Issues Order Calling For Expanded IVF Access
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday giving his administration 90 days to develop policy recommendations designed to protect access to in vitro fertilization and sharply reduce out-of-pocket costs for IVF treatment.
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February 18, 2025
Trump Trans Order Is Unconstitutional 'End-Run,' Judge Says
A Washington federal judge has further explained her temporary block on President Donald Trump's executive order targeting funding for gender-affirming care for young people, saying the edict threatens a broad swath of congressionally approved research spending and "amounts to an end-run around the separation of powers."
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February 18, 2025
Feds Strike $29M Deal To Settle FCA Overpayment Claims
Healthcare system SVCMC Inc. will pay $29 million to resolve allegations it held onto erroneous overpayments for medical services provided to retired military members and their families, the U.S. Department of Justice has said.
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February 18, 2025
340B Rebate Clash Triggers 5 Suits By Drugmakers
The federal agency overseeing the 340B drug pricing program faces five distinct legal challenges by drugmakers that say the agency illegally blocked their plans to offer rebates rather than upfront discounts to participating hospitals.
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February 18, 2025
State AGs Can't Yet Block Musk From Accessing Agency Data
A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion from 14 state attorneys general for an emergency order to stop Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from accessing data systems at seven federal agencies or enacting mass firings of those agencies' employees.
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February 18, 2025
White House Says City Can't Show Harm From Anti-DEI Orders
The Trump administration urged a Maryland federal court Tuesday not to block its executive orders curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying the city of Baltimore and other challengers hadn't shown any of their funding has been affected by the orders.
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February 18, 2025
FCA Claims Surge As Whistleblowers Eye Pandemic Spending
The historic influx of federal spending on pandemic relief and infrastructure projects helped fuel a record-breaking wave of whistleblower lawsuits launched under the False Claims Act last year, attorneys say, creating a surge in litigation unlikely to recede anytime soon.
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February 18, 2025
In Rare Move, Trump Backs Biden War On Medicare Brokers
Though the Trump administration has changed direction on a range of legal positions taken by the Justice Department under Biden, it appears to be staying the course on Biden's efforts to stop health insurance companies from paying agents to guide seniors to certain Medicare Advantage plans.
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February 18, 2025
Georgia Justices Revive Defamation Suit Against Atty
An orthopedic surgeon in Georgia will get another chance to prove he was defamed by a defense attorney, after the Supreme Court of Georgia found a state appellate court mistakenly used the well-known "actual malice" standard to toss the case instead of the relevant state law standard.
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February 18, 2025
Boston Children's Hospital Settles Retirement Plan Fee Suit
Boston Children's Hospital has settled a suit with a proposed class of participants in its $1.1 billion retirement plan who alleged the hospital allowed excessive fees.
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February 14, 2025
FTC's Ferguson, PBMs Agree: Nix Leader Removal Safeguards
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson offered his own support for enabling the president to readily fire independent agency commissioners at the FTC and beyond, a day after pharmacy benefit managers cited the new U.S. Department of Justice policy in their own battle with the FTC.
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February 14, 2025
Trump Admin To Cut Thousands Of Federal Health Employees
The Trump administration has started to cut thousands of federal healthcare employees, following through on its promises to shrink government and enact mass changes to agencies that oversee the health of millions of Americans.
Expert Analysis
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5 Steps For Healthcare Companies After Biden's AI Order
Rather than simply monitoring for the issuance of agency guidelines on artificial intelligence in the wake of President Joe Biden's October executive order, health and life sciences companies should take action now and begin building internal operational and technical infrastructures designed to govern the use of AI, says Joy Sharp at Faegre Drinker.
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Giving The Gov't Drug Patent March-In Authority Is Bad Policy
The Biden administration's recent proposal to allow government seizure of certain taxpayer-funded drug patents is a terrible idea that would negate the benefits of government-funded research, to the detriment of patients and the wider economy, says Wayne Winegarden at Pacific Research Institute.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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When Patients Have Standing For Hospital Antitrust Suits
Brown v. Hartford Healthcare Corp., recently decided by a Connecticut state court, provides a useful examination of how antitrust standing issues may be analyzed when patients directly sue a healthcare system for anti-competitive conduct, says Charles Honart at Stevens & Lee.
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ESG Around The World: Singapore
Singapore is keen to establish itself as a leading international financial center and a key player in the sustainable finance ecosystem, and key initiatives led by its government and other regulatory bodies have helped the Asian nation progress from its initially guarded attitude toward ESG investment and reporting, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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'Patient' Definition Ruling Raises Discount Drug Questions
A South Carolina federal court's recent decision in Genesis Health Care v. Becerra supports a broader definition of a "patient" eligible to receive discounted drugs under the Section 340B program, but raises a host of novel questions regarding how the decision will affect covered entities and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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Activist Short-Sellers Are The Dark Knights Of Wall Street
While so-called activist short-sellers have been subject to increased scrutiny in recent years, these investors work in the shadows like Batman to expose fraud on Wall Street, often generating leads that may move regulators to take action, say attorneys at Labaton Sucharow.
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Steps Toward A Unified Health Financing System For Calif.
A new law authorizes the secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency to move forward with designing a unified healthcare financing system, though the notable absence of healthcare payers in the law's list of specified stakeholders raises questions about the state's position regarding private payer options, says Ima Nsien at Squire Patton.
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Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.