Policy & Compliance
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September 29, 2025
Benefits Co. Can't Escape Worker's Tobacco Surcharge Suit
A Tennessee federal court refused to toss an employee benefits company worker's proposed class action alleging a surcharge on the health plans of employees who used tobacco violated federal benefits law, but agreed to pare some allegations from the suit for failure to state a claim and lack of standing.
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September 29, 2025
TikTok Can't Use Section 230 To End NJ AG's Harm Suit
A New Jersey state court judge has rejected TikTok's bid to use an internet safety law carveout that shields publishers of third-party information to end Attorney General Matthew Platkin's lawsuit over the exploitation of children, reasoning that the alleged harm stems from the social media app's design rather than what users view.
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September 29, 2025
Mass. Appellate Court Revives Hospital Worker's Vaccine Suit
A former surgical technician at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital who was fired after her request for a religious exemption from a mandatory coronavirus vaccination policy was deemed to be based on "demonstrably false" information will get another chance to prove her discrimination claim, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court ruled Monday.
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September 29, 2025
EEOC Says Air Medic Nixed Job Offer Over Prescription Drugs
A helicopter ambulance company violated federal law by scuttling a job transfer for an air mechanic because he took prescribed opioids, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told an Alabama federal court.
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September 26, 2025
Trump Announces 100% Tariff On Drug Imports Starting Oct. 1
President Donald Trump announced a slew of new Section 232 tariffs to be imposed beginning Oct. 1, including a 100% tariff on drug imports and new rates for semi trucks, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture.
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September 25, 2025
GAO Says Agencies' Procurement Data Reports Are Lacking
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report on Thursday that most federal agencies that reported procurement data in 2023 failed to complete a procurement data quality report or fell short of meeting all reporting requirements.
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September 25, 2025
GE Avoids Retirees' Lawsuit Over Pension Annuity Deal
General Electric dodged a proposed class action claiming it put retirees' benefits at risk by transferring over $1.7 billion of pension obligations to a private equity-controlled insurance company, with a New York federal judge ruling the retirees hadn't shown how they'd been harmed.
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September 25, 2025
MiMedx, FDA Ordered To Rework Args In Wound Care Case
Biomedical company MiMedx Group Inc. and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been ordered to reframe their briefs in a suit in which the company seeks to overturn the agency's classification of a wound care treatment as a biological product.
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September 25, 2025
Families Cite Trump In Bid To Revive Tylenol Autism Claims
Families suing the maker of Tylenol quickly cited President Donald Trump's words this week as they pushed the Second Circuit to overturn a lower-court ruling that barred their expert witnesses from testifying that prenatal exposure to the medicine can cause autism.
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September 25, 2025
Conn. Cities' Insulin Pricing Suits Against PBMs Join NJ MDL
Two Connecticut cities' civil racketeering and state trade practices law claims against insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Co., Novo Nordisk Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis US LLC, and pharmacy benefit managers CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx, have been rolled into a New Jersey multidistrict litigation proceeding.
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September 24, 2025
DC Judge Won't Reinstate IGs Over 'Obvious' Trump Violation
A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Wednesday declined to reinstate eight inspectors general whom President Donald Trump fired without warning or rationale, finding that while it is "obvious" the president violated federal law governing the removal of inspectors general, the plaintiffs have not shown irreparable harm.
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September 24, 2025
NY Appeals Court Backs Drug Co.'s $6.5M Contract Case Win
A New York state appeals court won't disturb a finding that a South Korean logistics firm owes $6.5 million for breaching a deal allowing it to license and sell a RedHill Biopharma Ltd. COVID-19 treatment in the country.
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September 24, 2025
CVS Moves To End Worker's Tobacco Surcharge ERISA Suit
CVS urged a California federal judge to toss an employee's proposed class action alleging it illegally imposes surcharges to health plan participants and their covered spouses who use tobacco, arguing it offers surcharge alternatives to workers and spouses when a medical condition makes it unreasonably difficult to cease tobacco use.
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September 24, 2025
Court Sides With Texas, Nixes Medicaid Tax Funding Rule
The federal government improperly expanded a Medicaid funding restriction to private parties that was meant only to govern the use of state taxes to fund the health insurance program, a Texas federal court ruled Wednesday in vacating guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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September 24, 2025
Trans Youth Care Ban Discriminatory, Mo. High Court Hears
The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on a law that bans gender-affirming care for minors and restricts Medicaid coverage for transgender care at any age, but the justices gave little indication of how they might rule.
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September 24, 2025
4th Circ. Kicks Trans Care Exclusion Suits Back To Trial Court
A pair of suits challenging health plan coverage exclusions on gender-affirming care for minors are headed to district court after the Fourth Circuit vacated decisions finding those policies discriminatory, in line with a U.S. Supreme Court directive to revisit the cases in light of new precedent.
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September 24, 2025
Hall Booth Smith Grows In NJ With Aging Services Expert
Hall Booth Smith PC built out its aging services practice this week with the hire of a Paramus, New Jersey-based of counsel attorney specializing in litigation and risk management for clients in the acute care and post-acute care fields.
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September 24, 2025
States Say Ed Dept. Must Face Suit Over Mental Health Cuts
A group of 16 states led by Washington has asked a federal judge not to let the U.S. Department of Education escape the states' claims that the agency violated federal law by discontinuing mental health grants given to public schools to help students cope with school shootings.
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September 24, 2025
Amtrak Beats Retired Worker's Suit Over Benefits Reversal
A Rhode Island federal judge dismissed an ex-Amtrak employee's suit claiming the company illegally rolled back medical care reimbursement benefits that the rail service said it mistakenly granted him in retirement, finding he wasn't entitled to the extra credits under the plan's terms.
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September 23, 2025
Fed. Vaccine Panel Prompts Legal, Health Confusion
It's been days since a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee updated recommendations for a common childhood vaccine and the COVID-19 booster. But healthcare and legal experts are still trying to understand the implications of the meeting and the votes that came out of it.
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September 23, 2025
Kansas Abortion Mandates On Trial: What You Need to Know
The largest provider of reproductive healthcare in Kansas will face off with state officials this week at a long-awaited trial focused on a 24-hour abortion waiting period, among other state requirements.
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September 23, 2025
Tylenol MDL In Spotlight After Trump Blasts Use In Pregnancy
The Trump administration's attack on the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy drew on the work of a Harvard expert whose analysis is central to a legal clash now before a federal appeals court. The president's broadside promises to energize plaintiffs.
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September 23, 2025
State Medicaid Cuts Mean 'Financial Squeeze' For Providers
Law360 Healthcare Authority talks with Gayland Hethcoat of ArentFox Schiff LLP about the rationale behind major cuts coming to Medicaid state-directed payments and what they will mean for providers and patients.
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September 23, 2025
NC Sens. Vote To Cut Planned Parenthood's Medicaid Funds
Republican state senators in North Carolina have greenlit a bill that would revoke Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, aligning the Tar Heel state with the president's "One Big Beautiful Bill," which prohibits Medicaid funding for nonprofit groups that provide abortion services.
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September 23, 2025
Long Time Limits In Trans Care Laws Expand Doctors' Liability
State lawmakers are including lengthy statutes of limitations — some of them decades-long — in new bans on transgender care for minors. Advocates say long time frames for prosecutions or civil suits make sense when a child is involved. Others see a "chilling" effect for providers.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.