Policy & Compliance
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October 22, 2025
Ed Dept. Must Face States' Case Over Mental Health Grants
A Seattle federal judge declined to throw out a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Education of illegally discontinuing grants for student mental health programming, recognizing that Washington and other states have valid claims that the move will cut them off from money meant for reducing violence in schools.
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October 22, 2025
States Back Boston Hospital In Fight Over Trans Care Records
A group of states backed a Boston hospital in its bid to block the Trump administration from accessing transgender care records, warning a federal judge that allowing the government's request could expose a wide variety of doctors to criminal charges.
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October 22, 2025
Obstetrician's Win Upheld In 'Outrageous Terminology' Suit
A Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a trial court's decision that an Atlanta obstetrician's allegedly "outrageous terminology" wasn't "extreme and dangerous," and that she didn't intentionally inflict emotional distress when she told a couple their stillborn child had been "decapitated" during delivery.
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October 22, 2025
DOJ Pushes To Pause DACA Health Suit Due To Shutdown
Pointing to the government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Justice asked a North Dakota federal judge to pause litigation over a regulation that allowed immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without authorization to access Affordable Care Act health coverage.
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October 21, 2025
Novo Nordisk Says Officials Not Qualified To Doubt Drug Bills
Attorneys for Novo Nordisk Inc. on Tuesday sought to undercut witness testimony that Medicaid claims in Washington state for the company's hemophilia drug NovoSeven were shockingly high, leading one state auditor to suspect fraud.
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October 21, 2025
Anesthesia Giant Cuts Deals To End Hospital Antitrust Cases
North America's largest anesthesia provider has reached settlements ending antitrust claims from hospitals in New York and Florida as well as counterclaims accusing the hospitals of illegally recruiting away clinicians, according to court filings.
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October 21, 2025
MAHA Insider Talks 'Fever Point' For Healthcare
A MAHA insider says the healthcare industry should be prepared amid a massive cultural shift on health issues.
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October 21, 2025
Healthcare Laws This Week: Drug Pricing, AI And Aid In Dying
Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at a proposal by congressional Democrats to scale back Medicare price negotiation exemptions for so-called orphan drugs, new chatbot safeguards enacted in California to prevent youth suicide and other legislative developments affecting the healthcare industry this week.
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October 21, 2025
4th Circ. Backs Hospital's Firing Of Christian Vaccine Refuser
The Fourth Circuit declined Tuesday to reinstate a lawsuit from a hospital worker who claimed she was illegally fired for refusing to get immunized against COVID-19 because of her Christian faith, agreeing with the hospital that letting her remain unvaccinated would have put patients at risk.
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October 21, 2025
Calif. Court Backs Birth Battery Claim, Split On Gender Abuse
A California appeals court has reinstated a medical battery lawsuit brought by a woman who accused her obstetrician of forcing an unwanted procedure on her during childbirth, but the court rejected her claim that the act constituted gender-based violence, prompting a sharp judicial dissent.
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October 21, 2025
Supreme Court Medina Ruling Erodes Public Health Networks
Healthcare advocates in more than a dozen states are bracing for Planned Parenthood's ouster from public benefit programs after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June.
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October 21, 2025
Texas Doctor Vows Court Battle After Ivermectin Sanction
Four years after a confrontation outside a Fort Worth hospital, the Texas Medical Board reprimanded a doctor who arranged to have ivermectin delivered to a COVID-19 patient. Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, a vocal critic of vaccine mandates and a frequent litigant, says she's ready for more legal battles.
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October 21, 2025
'Ghost' Mental Health Providers Haunt Medicare Advantage
A new federal report looks at a widespread problem within Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans of networks riddled with "ghost providers."
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October 20, 2025
Drugmakers Say Conn. Law Illegally Extends Beyond State
A group of generic drug manufacturers has asked a Connecticut federal court to block the enforcement of a new price-control law against sales that occur outside of Connecticut, claiming that the law violates the U.S. Constitution.
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October 20, 2025
Tylenol Maker Tells FDA Not To Add Autism Warning
Tylenol maker Kenvue on Friday told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reject a call to add warnings about the risk of using acetaminophen during pregnancy, saying that "expansive" scientific evidence shows there is no proven link between the over-the-counter drug and autism.
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October 20, 2025
Lab Cos. Seek $542M For COVID Testing Reimbursement
Three New York-based COVID-19 testing companies sued the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims seeking more than $542 million in damages over the government's alleged refusal to reimburse them for providing testing services to uninsured individuals.
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October 20, 2025
21 AGs Back Planned Parenthood In Funding Freeze Fight
A coalition of attorneys general from 21 Democrat-led states chimed in on Monday in support of Planned Parenthood's case challenging the Trump administration's push to cut off Medicaid reimbursements to its centers and affiliates, saying more than a million people could lose healthcare access if the First Circuit doesn't halt the move.
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October 20, 2025
Justices Won't Review Repeat Indictment For Medicare Fraud
The U.S. Supreme Court let stand Monday the repeat indictment of a health clinic manager for what the Second Circuit called a massive, yearslong scheme to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid, effectively rejecting the manager's claims that his original trial was irreparably delayed.
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October 20, 2025
Top Court Won't Hear Chicago Hospital's Medicaid Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a decision by the full Seventh Circuit holding that a Chicago hospital can't sue the state of Illinois to force the managed care organizations it contracts with to make timely Medicaid payments, rejecting a petition that argued another case on the high court's docket "will likely decide the outcome" in this one.
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October 20, 2025
High Court Won't Hear Hospital Vax Mandate Case
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it won't review a decision backing a hospital's termination of a group of workers who refused to get COVID-19 vaccinations.
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October 20, 2025
Justices Won't Review Merck's Immunity From Vaccine Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a decision immunizing Merck & Co. from claims that it blocked competition by making false submissions to federal regulators for its mumps vaccine.
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October 17, 2025
Nursing Exec Denied New Trial On Wage-Fixing Claims
A Nevada federal judge has denied a new trial to a nursing executive convicted of wage-fixing conspiracy and wire fraud after he claimed the U.S. Department of Justice misled the jury about sweetheart terms of a cooperation deal with another company.
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October 17, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Revives Yelp Abortion Notice Suit
The statewide Texas appeals court revived Texas' claims that Yelp misled customers about crisis pregnancy centers' limited services, finding that a lower court got it wrong by tossing the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction.
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October 17, 2025
CVS Can't Dodge Tobacco Surcharge Suit, Employee Says
CVS shouldn't be allowed to escape a proposed class action claiming it illegally charged higher fees to health plan participants and their spouses due to their use of tobacco, an employee argued Friday, urging a California federal court to reject the company's assertion that he didn't have standing.
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October 17, 2025
NJ Parents Keep Fighting State Over Storage Of Babies' DNA
Across the U.S., health departments draw small blood samples from newborns' heels to test for metabolic and genetic disorders. After a new mother discovered that New Jersey police had used DNA extracted from such samples in criminal investigations, she signed on as plaintiff in a suit that says parents have a right to refuse these blood draws.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.