Policy & Compliance
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October 02, 2025
NC Court Rejects McGuireWoods' Immunity In Defamation Suit
A North Carolina appellate court dismissed an interlocutory appeal by McGuireWoods and a former partner in a defamation case over statements about an investigation into the onetime CEO of a managed care organization during a press conference, reiterating its opinion that the statements were "too far afield" to be considered part of a judicial proceeding.
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October 02, 2025
Feds Eye Partial Pretrial Ruling In Regeneron FCA Case
The government has urged a Massachusetts federal judge to rule that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals "naturally or foreseeably" caused providers to present false claims for its macular degeneration drug Eylea, arguing that it does not need to prove the tougher "but-for causation" standard for its theory of false certification.
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October 02, 2025
Colo. Healthcare Nonprofit Sues Gov. Over Medicaid Cuts
A Colorado healthcare nonprofit seeks a court order to reverse a recent executive order from Gov. Jared Polis which cut state Medicaid spending to pediatric behavioral therapy and autism therapy services.
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October 02, 2025
AstraZeneca Asks Judge To Block Colorado's 340B Drug Law
AstraZeneca urged a Colorado federal judge on Wednesday to block the enforcement of a recently enacted state law that aims to extend a federal drug discount program to certain pharmacies, saying the Colorado law is costly for manufacturers and preempted by federal law.
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October 02, 2025
Mass. Court Denies States' Bid To Block ACA Subsidy Cuts
A Massachusetts federal court has rejected a bid by a coalition of 21 states to stay implementation of a rule that will cut Affordable Care Act subsidies and enforce enrollment restrictions, saying the states hadn't shown imminent or irreparable harm from the policy's costs or possible coverage losses.
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October 02, 2025
Justices To Hear Clash Over State Med Mal Laws In Fed. Court
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Monday on whether a Delaware medical malpractice statute can be applied in federal court, in a case that is expected to offer legal guidelines for similar laws in 28 other states.
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October 02, 2025
UChicago Medicine Ducks Class Claims In Patient Privacy Suit
A UChicago Medicine patient can move forward with amended privacy violation claims over the medical center's allegedly illegal use of Meta pixel tracking tools but must leave her class allegations behind, given an agreement she entered between pleadings, an Illinois federal judge ruled.
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October 01, 2025
Eli Lilly's Drug Suit Slammed As 'Anti-Competitive' Move
Eli Lilly and Co.'s lawsuit accusing a compounding pharmacy of unlawfully selling untested weight loss drugs should be tossed because the drugmaker didn't show its advertising was deceptive or harmful, the defendant told a Texas federal court this week.
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October 01, 2025
Texas Judge Sends Mifepristone Challenge To Missouri Court
A closely watched challenge to federal approvals for the abortion medication mifepristone is moving from Texas to Missouri after a federal judge found the plaintiffs remaining in the litigation have no connection to the Lone Star State.
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October 01, 2025
Cozen O'Connor Adds Healthcare Litigator To Philly Office
An attorney with more than three decades of experience representing healthcare providers in litigation matters has recently moved his practice to Cozen O'Connor's Philadelphia shop.
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September 30, 2025
Ill. Doctor Gets Two Years' Probation For $4M Medicare Fraud
A former doctor who admitted to submitting more than $4 million in false Medicare claims was sentenced to two years of probation Tuesday by an Illinois federal judge who sought to honor the ex-physician's cooperation in prosecutors' efforts to pursue other allegedly culpable defendants in different jurisdictions.
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September 30, 2025
Blue Cross Insurers Sanctioned For 2-Year Discovery Drawout
An Illinois federal judge has ordered a host of Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers to pay the fees and costs Walgreens incurred in an overbilling suit while helping to work through discovery production, which took two years to remediate with a special master.
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September 30, 2025
Nevada Hospital Nets $510M Verdict In Staff Poaching Suit
A Nevada hospital won a jury award of more than $510 million in its lawsuit accusing Universal Health Services of raiding its staff and swiping its trade secrets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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September 30, 2025
HHS Moves To Suspend Harvard From Funding
The civil rights office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is moving to cut off Harvard University from future funding, a maneuver legal experts say could stymie healthcare and biomedical research.
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September 30, 2025
Judge Ends Challenge To Mich. Abortion Rights Amendment
A federal judge tossed a challenge to Michigan's voter-approved constitutional right to an abortion on Tuesday because abortion opponents had not shown they were personally harmed by the amendment.
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September 30, 2025
From Entresto To Ozempic: This Week In Generics Litigation
Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at the week in generics litigation.
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September 30, 2025
High Court To Weigh Free Speech In Conversion Therapy Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear its first challenge to a state ban on "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ minors. The fate of the Colorado law, which has counterparts in some two dozen states, may rest on which level of constitutional scrutiny is applied.
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September 30, 2025
Colorado Hospital Pushed Out Older Nurses, EEOC Says
A Colorado hospital ousted older nurses from their jobs after leadership proclaimed a need for more "youthful and energetic" staff, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court Tuesday.
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September 30, 2025
Wis. Providers Tasked With Setting Medical 'Chaperone' Policy
This week, Wisconsin broadened requirements on the use of medical "chaperones" during patient examinations, making the state the latest to turn to the practice as a way to address misconduct by healthcare professionals.
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September 30, 2025
Hospital Urges Justices To Review 7th Circ. Medicaid Ruling
A Chicago hospital urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its petition for review of a Seventh Circuit ruling that had shut down its suit against the state of Illinois seeking enforcement of timely Medicaid payments, saying it's an "excellent opportunity" to address "resulting uncertainties" after a recent ruling against Planned Parenthood.
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September 30, 2025
SC Mulls Bill To Make Early Abortions Felonies Under RICO
Abortion access advocates say a proposed abortion ban in South Carolina sets a new “extreme” precedent. A bill sponsor calls it a strong deterrent that will criminalize all abortions in the first weeks of pregnancy. Activists from across the political spectrum will be watching as lawmakers meet to consider the “no exception” ban.
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September 30, 2025
FCA Suit Tainted By Expert's AI 'Hallucination' Gets Dismissed
A False Claims Act suit rocked by allegations of AI-generated hallucinations in an expert's report ended Tuesday after the federal government joined the case and quickly urged a Utah federal judge to throw it out.
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September 30, 2025
Vape Shops Knock FDA Enforcement After Jarkesy
Wielding a U.S. Supreme Court decision on in-house tribunals, a Texas vape store chain won a first-of-its-kind ruling that may provide a roadmap for similar Seventh Amendment challenges.
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September 30, 2025
RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vax Group Confronts Health Agencies In Court
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once drew hefty paychecks from Children's Health Defense as the group repeatedly sued federal agencies and other targets. Now he's the one who may face the organization in court.
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September 29, 2025
CTA Could Face Second Ill. Jury Over Vaccine Bias Allegations
An Illinois federal judge has found there are too many open questions to give a win to the Chicago Transit Authority in a former employee's suit over its decision to terminate him after he sought a religious exemption to the agency's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
Expert Analysis
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High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Diaz v. U.S. appears to give the government a powerful new tool in calling its own agents as expert witnesses, but it could also benefit defense counsel in criminal healthcare fraud and other white collar criminal cases that arise in complex legal or regulatory environments, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs
A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.
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DOJ Innovasis Settlement Offers Lessons On Self-Disclosure
The recent $12 million settlement with Innovasis and two of its executives demonstrates the U.S. Department of Justice's continued prioritization of Anti-Kickback Statute enforcement amid the growing circuit split over causation, and illustrates important nuances surrounding self-disclosure, say Denise Barnes and Scott Gallisdorfer at Bass Berry.
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How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying
Pharmaceutical patent holders should be reviewing Orange Book listing practices, as the Federal Trade Commission takes a more aggressive antitrust approach with actions such as the Teva listing probe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls attention to potentially improper listings, say attorneys at McDermott.
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After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may inhibit agencies' regulatory efforts, potentially slowing down the approval and implementation of artificial intelligence-driven methodologies in medical research, as well as regulators' responses to public health emergencies, say Ragini Acharya and Matthew Deutsch at Husch Blackwell.
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FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny
Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.
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Analyzing FDA Draft Guidance On Clinical Trial Diversity
In light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance on clinical trial diversity action plans, there are several important considerations for sponsors and clinical researchers to keep in mind to prevent delay in a drug or device application, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.
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Critical Questions Remain After High Court's Abortion Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in two major abortion-related cases this term largely preserve the status quo for now, but leave federal preemption, the Comstock Act and in vitro fertilization in limbo, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Navigating FDA Supply Rule Leeway For Small Dispensers
As the November compliance deadline for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new pharmaceutical distribution supply chain rules draws closer, small dispensers should understand the narrow flexibilities that are available, and the questions to consider before taking advantage of them, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case
The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.
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6 Lessons From DOJ's 1st Controlled Drug Case In Telehealth
Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s first-ever criminal prosecution over telehealth-prescribed controlled substances in U.S. v. Ruthia He, healthcare providers should be mindful of the risks associated with restricting the physician-patient relationship when crafting new business models, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies
The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.