Policy & Compliance
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September 26, 2024
Winner Of $8.6M Suit Wants Mich. Justices' Take On Cap
The estate of a patient who won an $8.6 million medical malpractice verdict earlier this year is asking a Michigan federal court to certify a question to the state's Supreme Court to determine whether a statutory cap on noneconomic damages is constitutional.
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September 26, 2024
Senate Patent Bill Markups Delayed Until After Election
Congressional hearings scheduled for Thursday to mark up several bills related to patents, including measures dealing with patent eligibility, validity challenges and drug patents, have been postponed until after Election Day due to the Senate's adjournment.
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September 26, 2024
NY Lawmakers Beat ADA Suit Over Contentious Mask Ban
A New York federal judge threw out a challenge to Nassau County's ban on face masks worn by people trying to hide their identities in public, noting in an order Wednesday the plaintiffs lack standing since the ban doesn't apply to coverings worn to protect the wearer's health and safety.
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September 26, 2024
Healthcare Atty Rejoins Polsinelli After Foley Hoag Stint
Polsinelli PC announced on Wednesday that a doctor and former healthcare policy attorney who spent 11 years during a previous stint with the firm has returned to its Washington, D.C., office as a public policy shareholder.
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September 26, 2024
Behavioral Health Exec Pleads Guilty To Medical Billing Fraud
The chief executive of a behavioral health company on Thursday admitted to directing employees to bill Medicare and Medicaid for extra psychotherapy sessions that never took place.
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September 25, 2024
NY Judge Pauses Abortion 'Reversal' Case As AG Files Appeal
A New York federal judge has ruled that two more anti-abortion pregnancy centers are free to promote abortion pill "reversal" while a legal clash continues over whether the First Amendment protects their right to market the treatment, which is doubted by major medical groups.
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September 25, 2024
Generics Group Names Ex-BIO, PhRMA Exec As New CEO
The generic drug industry group the Association for Accessible Medicines on Wednesday announced it has appointed a new chief executive officer who brings over a decade of experience in the branded drug industry.
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September 25, 2024
DC Circ. Judges Ask If It's Too Late To Fast-Track Gastro Drug
A panel of D.C. Circuit judges grilled an attorney for Vanda Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday over claims Vanda's gastroparesis drug was improperly denied fast-track designation by the Food and Drug Administration, questioning why the company declined to complete animal toxicological studies even after the FDA paused the drug's human trials.
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September 25, 2024
Wash. Hospital System Misclassifies Workers, Nurse Says
A Washington-based hospital operator misclassified its workers as independent contractors and underpaid them for their overtime as a result, a registered nurse said in a proposed class and collective action in Washington federal court.
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September 25, 2024
AmerisourceBergen Can't Escape Workers' 401(k) Fee Suit
AmerisourceBergen Corp. can't escape a proposed class action alleging it allowed its employee 401(k) plan to be saddled with excessive recordkeeping costs, a Kentucky federal judge ruled, saying the workers' claims and calculations were detailed enough to move forward.
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September 24, 2024
Medical Aid-In-Dying Movement Faces Setback In NJ Fight
Advocates for state laws that allow physicians to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients hit a roadblock when a New Jersey federal judge concluded the state can limit it to state residents. Previous challenges in two other states prompted changes to aid-in-dying statues.
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September 24, 2024
Novo Nordisk Tells Sens. Ozempic Costs Are Linked To PBMs
Novo Nordisk's CEO argued Tuesday that the high prices of the company's diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy primarily stem from the actions of pharmacy benefit managers, earning support from many members of a Senate committee and frustrating others who wanted more direct answers on the Danish drugmaker's own responsibilities.
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September 24, 2024
NY Diocese Targets Landmark Religion Ruling At High Court
A Roman Catholic diocese in New York and other religious ministries have launched a fresh attempt to get the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a landmark ruling that restricts religious-freedom challenges to neutral, generally applicable laws.
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September 24, 2024
8th Circ. Grapples With Standing In Battle Over EEOC Regs
The Eighth Circuit appeared to be wrestling Tuesday with whether a group of red states had the right to sue over the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recently finalized pregnant worker regulations, as the states pushed for revival of their challenge to abortion-related components of the rule.
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September 24, 2024
State Courts Take Lead In Fraught Abortion Ballot Battles
A slew of abortion-rights ballot initiatives headed to voters this November are being challenged in state courts, keeping a politically charged issue in front of state judges at a time of historically low public trust in the judiciary.
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September 24, 2024
Firms Allowed To Exit IP Case After Gaining Philips' Consent
A North Carolina federal judge allowed Dentons and Morningstar Law Group to withdraw as Transtate Equipment Co. Inc.'s counsel in a copyright and unfair competition case, after a stipulation was struck with opposing attorneys representing a Dutch health technology conglomerate that initially scoffed at the request.
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September 24, 2024
Insurer Wants Quick Appeal At 8th Circ. In DOL Tax Fight
A health insurer will seek the Eighth Circuit's review after a federal judge refused to toss a suit from the U.S. Department of Labor claiming the company unlawfully took at least $66.8 million in Minnesota state tax liability from plans it administered to pay in-network providers.
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September 24, 2024
Senators Spar Over Abortion Bans Where 'Docs Play Lawyer'
Republican and Democratic senators on Tuesday grappled with whether some states' abortion bans conflict with a federal emergency care law and whether exceptions under those bans put doctors in situations where they must decide between a prison sentence or providing emergency stabilizing care.
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September 24, 2024
Home Care Co. Cuts $400K Deal To End EEOC Race Bias Suit
A home healthcare company has agreed to pay Black and Hispanic employees $400,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit filed in New York federal court claiming it allowed patients to request — or turn away — their home attendants based on their race.
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September 24, 2024
In Florida, Regulators Eye Brazilian Butt Lift Industry
A spate of patient deaths following a gluteal fat graft — otherwise known as a Brazilian butt lift — has the attention of lawmakers and regulators in Florida, the epicenter of a booming plastic surgery business. The state’s moves may ripple through other parts of the country if the procedure continues to grow in popularity.
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September 23, 2024
'Dreamers' Want In On GOP States' Suit Over ACA Coverage
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and a Maryland nonprofit have moved to intervene in a Republican states-led lawsuit challenging a rule giving DACA beneficiaries access to Affordable Care Act health insurance programs, saying the Biden administration can't adequately represent their interests.
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September 23, 2024
Edelson, Susman, Berger To Lead MultiPlan Collusion MDL
An Illinois federal judge on Monday tapped a team of lawyers from Edelson PC, Susman Godfrey LLP and Berger Montague PC to take the lead for plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation accusing MultiPlan and a host of insurers of colluding through the use of the data firm's pricing tools to systematically underpay out-of-network providers.
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September 23, 2024
Aetna ER Payment Suit Remanded To Ohio State Court
An Ohio federal judge remanded a suit accusing multiple Aetna health insurance entities of underpaying healthcare workers for emergency services they provide to its insureds to state court, stating that to resolve the claims in his own court "would disrupt the state-federal balance of judicial responsibilities."
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September 20, 2024
Arbitration Unlikely For Nursing Home Poison Death Suit
A California state appeals court has all but affirmed the denial of arbitration in a suit alleging a nursing home caused the poisoning death of a resident who was mistakenly served industrial cleaner left in a pitcher, saying the trial court must first review the validity of the arbitration agreement.
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September 20, 2024
5th Circ. Deals Biden A Loss in Medicare Drug Pricing Row
A Fifth Circuit panel majority said that a healthcare trade association has standing to challenge the Biden administration's Medicare drug pricing program, allowing the group to sidestep agency administrative procedure and test its claims in federal court.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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White House Activity Is A Band-Aid For Regulating AI In Health
In the medium term, recent White House actions will have a greater impact on AI in the health care industry than Congress' sluggish efforts to regulate it, but ultimately legislation of AI's development and use in the health space will fall to Congress, say Wendell Bartnick and Vanessa Perumal at Reed Smith.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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How Mental Health Ruling Paves Road For Equal Coverage
The Tenth Circuit’s recent ruling in E.W. v. Health Net, which clarified the pleading requirements necessary to establish a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act violation, is a win for plaintiffs as it opens the door to those who have been denied coverage for behavioral health treatment to prove a mental health parity violation, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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ESG Around The World: Mexico
ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
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.
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10 Takeaways From New HHS Federal Compliance Guidelines
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.
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2 HHS Warnings Highlight Anti-Kickback Risks For Physicians
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.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
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.
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Cross-Market Implications In FTC's Anesthesia Complaint
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.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
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.