Policy & Compliance
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January 23, 2025
Conn. Lawmakers Target Healthcare After Hospital's Ch. 11
In the lead-up to and aftermath of California hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings Inc.'s $1 billion bankruptcy, Connecticut lawmakers are considering new regulatory powers, promising and penning oversight bills for hospitals owned by private equity firms and real estate trusts while seeking to stabilize the state's healthcare markets.
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January 23, 2025
UnitedHealthcare Settles Proton Beam Coverage Suit
UnitedHealthcare has agreed to resolve a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully denied coverage of a proton beam cancer treatment after wrongly labeling it as experimental, the insurance company and plan participants told a Massachusetts federal court.
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January 23, 2025
15 States Reach $7.4B Settlement With Sackler Family
A bipartisan coalition of states on Thursday announced a $7.4 billion settlement in principle with the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma Inc., representing the largest settlement to date with the family accused of contributing significantly to the opioid epidemic.
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January 22, 2025
RFK Filings Show Biopharma Stakes, Millions In Firm Income
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to sell off his stakes in two biopharmaceutical companies and step back from lucrative roles at a handful of law firms if he is confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to new financial disclosures.
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January 22, 2025
Med Mal Experts Need Only 1 Specialty, NJ Justices Rule
When a doctor accused of malpractice has more than one specialty, the plaintiff needs only to produce an affidavit of merit from a physician who is certified in one of the specialties, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, overturning a state appellate court ruling.
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January 22, 2025
Wash. City Beats Fired Workers' Suit Targeting Vax Mandate
A Washington federal judge tossed a suit brought by city workers claiming they were illegally fired for opposing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that the city they worked for didn't violate any of their rights by requiring them to get immunized or lose their jobs.
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January 22, 2025
Feds Trim Spine-Implant Kickback Case Ahead Of Trial
A Massachusetts federal judge has granted a motion by prosecutors to drop bribery charges against a maker of spinal implant devices and whittle down the case against two of its former executives.
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January 22, 2025
Logistics Cos. Say Workers' Tobacco Fee Suit Filed Too Late
A pair of logistics companies are asking a Connecticut federal court to throw out a proposed class action alleging they violated federal law by not fully reimbursing employees who paid an additional tobacco-use fee on their healthcare, saying all the claims in the suit are barred by statutes of limitation.
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January 21, 2025
The Legal And Practical Questions Around Trump's WHO Exit
President Donald Trump’s first-day order setting in motion the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization could leave the nation less prepared for global health threats and trigger legal clashes over the president’s authority to act unilaterally.
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January 21, 2025
4th Circ. Won't Undo Doctor's Conviction For Reusing Devices
A former North Carolina ear, nose and throat doctor staring down 25 years in prison for healthcare fraud lost an appeal Tuesday seeking to overturn her conviction, with the Fourth Circuit finding that the lower court did not commit any reversible error that would favor a shot at redemption.
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January 21, 2025
What To Know About Trump's Medicare Drug Price Order
In his first day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded a Biden directive for health officials to create new drug-pricing models for Medicare and Medicaid recipients. Here's what you need to know about the status of the pricing plans and what comes next.
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January 21, 2025
Minn. Agency Beats Worker's COVID Testing Policy Suit
A Minnesota state agency defeated a Catholic employee's lawsuit claiming it unlawfully refused to grant him a religious exemption from its COVID-19 vaccination and testing policies, with a federal judge ruling Tuesday that the worker had failed to show the agency knew about his religious objections.
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January 21, 2025
Outgoing HHS Official On The Thorny Issues Of Child Welfare
In an interview with Law360 Healthcare Authority, the now-former head of HHS' Administration on Children, Youth, and Families stresses the importance of preventive services and weighs in on the promise and perils of mandated reporting laws.
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January 21, 2025
DACA Health Coverage, Gilead IP Deal And PBM Insulin Case
Several state attorneys general are looking to defend immigrants' Affordable Care Act coverage, while a group of pharmacy benefit managers failed to oust the FTC's Democratic members from a case alleging collusion to inflate insulin prices. Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at the cases and decisions that shaped the industry over the last week.
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January 21, 2025
With Circuits Split, Mass. Judge Backs Tough Fraud Standard
An influential judge with a history of shaping False Claims Act litigation weighed in decisively on a debate that has split circuit judges and may eventually reach the Supreme Court. Attorneys across the country are evaluating the impact.
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January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year
Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.
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January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Firms Of The Year
Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.
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January 17, 2025
Unified Care Services To Pay $18M To Settle PPP Case
Skilled nursing chain Unified Care Services LLC and its owner have agreed to shell out $18 million to put to rest a whistleblower suit alleging the California-based company and its affiliates knowingly included false information on Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, according to an announcement made Friday.
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January 17, 2025
Walgreens Knowingly Filled Invalid Prescriptions, Feds Say
The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Walgreens of knowingly filling millions of prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances that did not have a legitimate medical purpose or were not valid, intervening in cases brought by four whistleblowers in Illinois federal court.
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January 17, 2025
Bayer, J&J Minimized Drug Reaction Data, 3rd Circ. Told
A doctor urged the Third Circuit on Friday to revive his whistleblower suit against Bayer Corp. and Johnson & Johnson, arguing that the drugmakers' regulatory approval applications played down the side effects of the antibiotics Cipro and Levaquin.
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January 17, 2025
MultiPlan Wants Antitrust Claims Over Pricing Tools Tossed
MultiPlan and several major insurance companies urged an Illinois federal court to toss claims that they schemed to fix reimbursement rates, saying the pricing tools at issue do not hurt the healthcare providers that are bringing the case.
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January 17, 2025
Trade Group Sues To Stop Federal Mental Health Parity Regs
A benefits-focused employer trade group sued the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies in D.C. federal court Friday, seeking to block recently finalized mental health parity regulations the group alleges are unconstitutional and violate administrative procedure laws.
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January 17, 2025
4 Battles Over Gender-Affirming Care To Watch In 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the federal government's challenge to Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and the Eleventh Circuit is considering a bid to upend federal rules extending the Affordable Care Act's nondiscrimination protections to transgender patients. Here, Law360 looks at four cases that could have ramifications for benefits law in 2025.
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January 17, 2025
1st Circ. Revives Biotech Worker's COVID-19 Vax Challenge
The First Circuit on Thursday resuscitated religious discrimination claims brought by a former pharmaceutical company employee who alleged her employer's COVID-19 vaccination mandate during the pandemic was in conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs.
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January 16, 2025
Texas Judge Says 3 States Can Pursue Mifepristone Suit
A Texas federal judge said Thursday that Idaho, Missouri and Kansas can continue to challenge federal approvals for the abortion medication mifepristone in Texas federal court after private plaintiffs dropped their claims.
Expert Analysis
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AI In Health Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023
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.
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The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023
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.
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Inside Higher Education's New FCA Liability Challenges
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.
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AI Executive Order's Life Science, Healthcare Industry Effects
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.
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HHS Advisory Highlights Free Product Inducement Risks
A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advisory opinion highlights concerns that valuable free products and other inducements may influence patients and providers to choose one manufacturer’s product over another, notwithstanding that such free healthcare products may be a benefit, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities
Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
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In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023
Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
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How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season
Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and federal and state courts made 2023 another groundbreaking year for whistleblower litigation and retaliation developments, including the SEC’s massive whistleblower awards, which are likely to continue into 2024 and further incentivize individuals to submit tips, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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The State Of CFPB Focus On Credit Reporting Of Medical Debt
An increase in credit reporting complaints and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent annual report on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — which focuses on medical debt in credit reporting — are both evidence of the fact that the bureau will continue to prioritize oversight of credit reporting of medical debt, says Kristen Watson at Burr & Forman.
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FDA's Recent Litigation Records Are Strong, But Imperfect
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notched its share of litigation wins in recent years thanks to a number of key advantages, but the FDA has been less successful in certain highly visible arenas, Jonathan Berman and Colleen Heisey at Jones Day.
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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.