Policy & Compliance

  • May 17, 2024

    Jury Convicts NC Provider In Medicaid, COVID Fraud Scheme

    A clinical social worker in North Carolina was found guilty Friday of defrauding South Carolina's Medicaid program and falsely obtaining COVID-19 relief checks following a nine-day trial in Charlotte's federal courthouse, prosecutors said.

  • May 17, 2024

    Hinshaw Bolsters Healthcare Team In NY With New Partner

    Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP has added a healthcare-focused partner from New York healthcare and business firm Weiss Zarett Brofman Sonnenklar & Levy PC.

  • May 17, 2024

    Mass. Hospital Pays $24.3M To Settle Heart-Surgery FCA Case

    Cape Cod Hospital will pay $24.3 million to settle claims it flouted Medicare billing rules for hundreds of heart-valve replacement surgeries in what's understood to be the largest recovery under the False Claims Act from a Massachusetts hospital.

  • May 17, 2024

    Many Plans Already In Front Of 11th Circ. Trans Health Ruling

    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision that a county health plan's coverage exclusion for gender transition surgery violated federal anti-discrimination law likely won't have a big impact on plans because they have already made adjustments for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling the appeals court applied, experts say.

  • May 16, 2024

    Ointment Scheme Conned Gov't Out Of Millions, Fla. Suit Says

    Two Florida brothers and one of their former employees are accused of running a years-long fraudulent scheme billing government healthcare programs and receiving millions of dollars after paying kickbacks to generate prescriptions for ointments that were not needed, according to a False Claims Act lawsuit.

  • May 16, 2024

    3rd Circ. Shuns Teva's 'Novel' Appeal On Israeli Investor Class

    The Third Circuit on Thursday turned away an appeal brought by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., saying the class certification stage was not the right time to hear arguments over the "novel" question of the applicability of U.S. securities laws to Israeli-listed shares.

  • May 16, 2024

    FTC Deputy Director Rao On Healthcare Antitrust Agenda

    The reason behind the Federal Trade Commission's changed attitude toward antitrust in healthcare in recent years isn't simple, according to Rahul Rao, deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition.

  • May 16, 2024

    EPA Doctor Not A Whistleblower For Slamming Lead Plan

    A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pediatrician and epidemiologist who publicly criticized the EPA's plan to reduce lead in drinking water as inadequate is not protected by federal whistleblower law, the Federal Circuit said Thursday.

  • May 16, 2024

    Fla. Seeks To Halt Biden's ACA Trans Discrimination Rule

    Florida urged a federal court to stop recently finalized regulations clarifying gender identity-based discrimination under the Affordable Care Act from taking effect, saying the new rules would force the state to abandon its health and safety laws or lose funding from the federal government.

  • May 15, 2024

    Feds Urge Prison For Convicted Baby Formula Fraudster

    Urging the judge to communicate the gravity of white collar crime, federal prosecutors in New York asked Wednesday that a Staten Island man get at least 2.25 years in prison after he pled guilty to forging baby formula prescriptions as part of a scheme to defraud insurers of $1.9 million.

  • May 15, 2024

    Anti-Trans Groups Fail To Block Wash. Youth Shelter Law

    A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by two anti-transgender groups challenging a Washington state law intended to ensure shelter for teens seeking gender-affirming care or reproductive health services, ruling that speculating on possible injury was not enough to clear a standing hurdle.

  • May 15, 2024

    AstraZeneca Sales Reps Win Early Cert. In Gender Bias Suit

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday granted a bid by workers to conditionally certify a collective in a lawsuit alleging AstraZeneca paid women less than men, giving the green light for notices to be sent out to female sales representatives who have worked at the pharmaceutical giant since late 2018.

  • May 14, 2024

    Hospitals Liable For Failing To Admit Killer, Pa. Justices Told

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court was reminded Tuesday, during oral arguments over whether someone can be officially treated at a hospital without filling out an application, that the case before them concerned a man who killed his girlfriend after he was turned away despite claiming homicidal and suicidal impulses.

  • May 14, 2024

    Vein Tech Maker Faces Investor Suit Over DOJ Kickback Probe

    Vein disease device maker Inari Medical Inc. and three of its current and former executives face a proposed investor class action over claims that the company's share price fell after it disclosed an investigation into its compliance with federal anti-kickback laws.

  • May 14, 2024

    States Accuse EEOC Of 'Smuggling' Abortion Into PWFA Rule

    Louisiana and Mississippi have sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeking to invalidate regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, claiming the agency's stance that employers must provide workers accommodations if they get an abortion flouts U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the PWFA itself.

  • May 14, 2024

    White House Targets Kidney Transplant Bias Amid Lawsuits

    A White House effort to reduce bias in the organ transplant system comes as some Black litigants are pressing legal claims against a national transplant network they say used a flawed, racially biased calculation to delay kidney transplants.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ariz. Justices Stay 1864 Abortion Ban To Allow For Appeal

    Enforcement of Arizona's 1864 anti-abortion law will remain on hold for at least 90 days as state Attorney General Kris Mayes evaluates whether to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mich. AG Says Eli Lilly 'Cherry-Picking' Enforcement Data

    Michigan's attorney general has hit back against Eli Lilly's arguments that recent consumer protection law recoveries show her office is not being hampered in its investigations, as she seeks subpoenas in a probe of the pharmaceutical giant's pricing for an insulin drug.

  • May 14, 2024

    Holland & Knight Atty On 'Historic' Women's Health Moment

    Julia Hesse, a veteran healthcare attorney who recently joined Holland & Knight LLP, talks about her multifaceted practice, pressing public policy issues, and why menopause care can be the next big thing in women's healthcare.

  • May 14, 2024

    Huge Payouts Pressure Hospitals To Address Doc Sex Abuse

    A string of high-profile settlements and the conviction of a prominent urologist in New York are motivating more victims of sexual abuse to come forward and intensifying the legal scrutiny facing hospitals as they navigate a culture that grants doctors substantial authority.

  • May 14, 2024

    Convicted Fraudster Says Exchanges With Atty Are Privileged

    A convicted fraudster who had his sentence commuted by then-President Donald Trump — now charged with launching another scam shortly after leaving prison — is embroiled in a fight with New Jersey federal prosecutors over his attempt to assert attorney-client privilege for communications with an Israeli attorney who allegedly participated in the scheme.

  • May 14, 2024

    BigLaw Attys Fight Sanctions Over Alleged Judge Shopping

    Attorneys from Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Cooley LLP, Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC and prominent LGBTQ rights organizations did not engage in judge shopping when walking away from cases challenging an Alabama law banning certain medical procedures for transgender youth, the lawyers have told an Alabama federal court.

  • May 14, 2024

    Medicaid Work Mandates Resurface In Legal, Political Fights

    Work requirements can help solve the tricky politics of expanding Medicaid in some states. But the job mandates can also trigger regulatory and legal challenges that make them tough to carry out.

  • May 14, 2024

    Chinese Drug Co. Sanctioned After 'Tortuous' 3-Year Info Fight

    Chinese drug firm Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has been hit with sanctions after its chief executive officer failed to sit for a court-ordered deposition in sprawling multidistrict litigation taking place in New Jersey over generic drugs that U.S. authorities say were contaminated with carcinogens.

  • May 13, 2024

    USPTO Eyes Change To Patent Applicants' Disclaimer Practice

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking to add a requirement for patent applicants filing so-called terminal disclaimers in order to overcome rejections by patent examiners over obviousness-type double patenting, a move that lawyers and a former USPTO official say could change the agency's approach considerably, especially for patents covering brand-name drugs.

Expert Analysis

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • 10 Takeaways From New HHS Federal Compliance Guidelines

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recently issued general compliance program guidance is the first of its kind that would apply across all health care stakeholders, and signals the agency’s first step to improve and update existing compliance guidance, says Melissa Wong at Holland & Knight.

  • 2 HHS Warnings Highlight Anti-Kickback Risks For Physicians

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    Two recent advisory opinions issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General involve different scenarios and rationales, but together they illustrate the OIG's focus on and disapproval of contractual joint ventures and other revenue-maximizing physician arrangements, say Robert Threlkeld and Elliott Coward at Morris Manning.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Cross-Market Implications In FTC's Anesthesia Complaint

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent complaint against a private equity firm's acquisition of anesthesiology practices highlights the controversial issue of cross-market harm in health care provider mergers, and could provide important insights into how a court may view such theories of harm, say Christopher Lau and Dina Older Aguilar at Cornerstone Research.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • A Look At Healthcare Timelines Set By Biden's AI Order

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    President Joe Biden's artificial intelligence executive order establishes standards for using AI in the healthcare industry, including a number of staggered deadlines that should help coordinate a more unified federal approach to AI governance, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • A Look At Successful Bid Protests In FY 2023

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    Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin look beyond the statistics in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s recent annual report on bid protests, sharing their insights about nine categories of sustained protests, gained from reading every fiscal year 2023 decision in which the protester had a positive result.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • FDA's Lab-Developed Test Rule May Bring Historic Challenges

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    If finalized, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed rule for regulating laboratory-developed tests will provoke some of the most interesting legal challenges that the agency has faced in decades, with outcomes that will likely reverberate across the agency's product centers, says Stacy Amin at MoFo.