Policy & Compliance

  • May 23, 2025

    Class Of Health Plans Certified In Avandia Marketing MDL

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has certified a class of health plans in multidistrict litigation over GlaxoSmithKline's alleged deceptive marketing of the drug Avandia in which the plans claim they wouldn't have paid higher premiums for the drug if they'd known about its potential cardiovascular risks.

  • May 22, 2025

    Clinic Tells NC Justices Med Mal Reforms Apply To Practices

    An orthopedic clinic is urging North Carolina's highest court to free it from a family's negligent-retention claim over an allegedly faulty surgery by a doctor who later lost his license, asserting that the lower court incorrectly found that state medical malpractice statutes and subsequent reforms don't apply to medical practices.

  • May 22, 2025

    Justices Urged To Undo Denial Of Fast Track For Gastro Drug

    Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Food and Drug Administration's decision denying fast-track approval for its gastroparesis drug tradipitant, saying it meets the statutory standard for fast-track review as a new treatment with the "potential to address unmet medical needs."

  • May 22, 2025

    Judge Asks If DEI Is Now 'Homogeneity, Inequity And Exclusion'

    A Massachusetts federal judge considering a challenge to the Trump administration's cuts to hundreds of National Institutes of Health grants pressed the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday for its definition of diversity, equity and inclusion, at one point asking hypothetically whether the government's policy is now "homogeneity, inequity and exclusion."

  • May 21, 2025

    GOP FTC Renews Calls For Orange Book Patent Delistings

    The now-Republican controlled Federal Trade Commission again called on Teva, Novartis, Mylan and other drugmakers to remove patents from a key federal database that partially insulates their drugs from generic competition, arguing Wednesday the patents cover "devices," not drugs, and thus don't warrant such protection.

  • May 21, 2025

    Court Won't Revive Mental Health Class Suit Against Fla. Blue

    A Florida appeals court Wednesday declined to revive a proposed class suit by state employees enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida healthcare plan alleging the insurer designed a claims process to obstruct approval and payment of claims for mental health care.

  • May 21, 2025

    Food Distribution Co. Must Face Tobacco Surcharge Suit

    Food distributor Performance Food Group must face a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully overcharged tobacco users hundreds of dollars for health benefits, with a Virginia federal judge ruling workers sufficiently alleged the company breached its responsibilities under federal benefits law.

  • May 20, 2025

    Trump Admin Rationale For HHS Firings Challenged By Judge

    A Rhode Island federal judge expressed skepticism Tuesday about the Trump administration's assertion that mass firings at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were lawful and intended to improve national health, saying during a preliminary injunction hearing that nothing in the record demonstrates "thoughtful work" behind these decisions.

  • May 20, 2025

    Medical Organizations Sue Feds For Removing Health Data

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and several constituent agencies are accused of violating the Administrative Procedure Act by illegally purging websites containing critical public health information related to trans and HIV care, vaccines and the prevention of outbreaks of communicable diseases, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington federal court.

  • May 20, 2025

    Mont. Wraps Anti-DEI Medical Board Row: 3 Things To Know

    A recent decision by Montana lawmakers to eliminate rules supporting gender and racial balance in state government brought an early end to a legal challenge by an anti-DEI medical advocacy group.

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Md. Retirees' Drug Benefits Case

    The Fourth Circuit backed Maryland's defeat of a proposed class action alleging it broke promises made to retirees when it transitioned their prescription drug benefits to Medicare Part D, saying Tuesday that a lower court was right to toss the case.

  • May 20, 2025

    J&J Workers Reassert Drug Costs Resulted In Concrete Harm

    Johnson & Johnson workers are urging a New Jersey federal court to maintain their proposed class claims that the company botched the management of prescription drug costs in its employee healthcare plan by allowing excessive pharmacy costs, asserting that company mismanagement resulted in concrete harm.

  • May 20, 2025

    As Trump Pushes Coal, Miners Fear Health Protection Erosion

    A court order restoring a coal miner "black lung" screening program hasn't ended concerns among health and legal advocates that the Trump administration is neglecting miners as it pushes coal production.

  • May 20, 2025

    Doctor's Disability Bias Claim Too Late, Mass. Court Says

    A former Brigham and Women's Hospital anesthesiologist and Harvard Medical School faculty member is time-barred from pursuing disability bias claims for actions by the hospital that he was aware of as early as 2006, an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court has concluded.

  • May 20, 2025

    Genital Mutilation Expert On DOJ Anti-Trans Care Enforcement

    A recent memo from the U.S. Department of Justice marks a turning point as the first time U.S. government officials, publicly and at the national level, have conflated female genital mutilation with gender-affirming therapies and surgeries.

  • May 20, 2025

    Manners, Experts And A Plan: Immigration Agents In Hospitals

    As the Trump administration increases deportation efforts, hospitals and medical staff may find themselves caught between federal immigration agents pressing pointed questions about patients or medical records and privacy laws designed to prevent probing eyes.

  • May 19, 2025

    Feds Get Early Win In Drugmakers' Suit Over 340B Rebates

    A D.C. federal judge awarded an early win to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday on claims it illegally blocked drugmakers' efforts to implement rebates instead of discounts in a decades-old drug pricing program, finding the agency has the authority to pre-approve the price reduction models.

  • May 19, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Family's Win In Suit Over Denied Benefits

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend a guild member's win in his lawsuit challenging his healthcare plan's decision to deny coverage for his son's mental health treatments, but said a lower court was wrong to award the family additional damages on their breach of fiduciary duty claim.

  • May 19, 2025

    Doc Loses 4th Circ. Fight Over $5.5M Order After FCA Deal

    A North Carolina district court was right to reject a doctor and his wife's request to overturn or modify a $5.5 million judgment against them for allegedly hiding assets after settling a previous False Claims Act case with the government, the Fourth Circuit ruled Monday.

  • May 19, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Masculinity Gibe Can't Sustain Gay Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit backed a hospice company's win over a former nurse who said a supervisor failed to take action when a colleague insulted him for being gay, saying the coworker's offensive comment wasn't enough to sustain a bias case.

  • May 16, 2025

    Fla. Gov. Says He Will Veto Bill To Expand Death Damages

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he will veto a bill recently passed by Florida lawmakers to repeal a statute limiting pain-and-suffering damages in fatal medical malpractice cases, saying a veto will prevent a flood of lawsuits against healthcare providers.

  • May 16, 2025

    Biotech Co. Hit With Investor Suits Over Cancer Drug Launch

    Cancer treatment company Iovance Biotherapeutics has been hit with two proposed shareholder class actions accusing the company of misleading the public about the success of its commercial rollout of an FDA-approved skin cancer treatment.

  • May 16, 2025

    HHS Says Pain Clinic's Delay Hurts $11M Bill Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday fought a pain clinic's bid in North Carolina federal court for a pretrial win in the clinic's suit challenging $11 million in overpayments for urine drug screening tests, saying the clinic waited too long to bring evidence that the testing was justified.

  • May 16, 2025

    Feds Want Ex-McKinsey Exec To Serve Time For Obstruction

    Prosecutors urged a Virginia federal judge Thursday to sentence a disbarred, former senior McKinsey & Co. partner to one year in prison for obstructing an investigation into the consulting giant's work with opioid-manufacturer Purdue Pharma, while defense counsel pushed for probation so that he can return to his home in Thailand.

  • May 16, 2025

    23 States Win Order Halting Billions In HHS Public Health Cuts

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday barred the Trump administration from cutting off billions of dollars in funding to state public health programs, determining the abrupt grant terminations likely violated congressional authority over spending.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Drug Price Negotiation Program's Ongoing Impact

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    More than two years after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid implementation of the drug price negotiation program, attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the IRA has influenced licensing strategies, and how maximum fair prices under the law have economically affected certain drugs.

  • Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Drug Pricing Policy Trends To Expect In 2025 And Beyond

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    Though 2025 may bring more of the same in the realm of drug pricing policy, business as usual entails a sustained, high level of legal and policy developments across at least six major areas, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment

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    For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • How Views On Healthcare Price Transparency Are Changing

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    Regulators' attitudes toward price transparency regulation have shifted over the past several years in ways that may seem contradictory, and research into detailed rate information published by hospitals and health plans has yielded mixed results, says Matthew List at Charles River Associates.

  • EEOC Wearable Tech Guidance Highlights Monitoring Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent fact sheet on wearable technologies cautions against potential issues with federal anti-discrimination laws and demonstrates growing concern from regulators and legislators about intrusive technologies in the workplace, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Navigating The Potential End Of GLP-1 Drug Shortages

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's determination of whether GLP-1 products are in shortage may affect how compounders provide these products and spur a range of litigation including patent disputes and unfair competition suits, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Politicized OIGs Could Target Federal Employees, Contractors

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    After President Donald Trump fired nearly 20 inspectors general last week, it’s worth exploring how the administration could use Offices of Inspectors General to target federal employees and contractors, why it would be difficult to fight this effort, and one possible bulwark against the politicization of these watchdogs, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Takeaways From DOJ Fraud Section's 2024 Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Paul Weiss highlight notable developments in the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section’s recently released annual report, and discuss what the second Trump administration could mean for enforcement in the year to come.

  • IVF Suits Highlight Need For Better Legal Frameworks

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    The high number of in vitro fertilization embryo losses underscores the need for more cohesive legal and regulatory guidance related to human errors, property versus personhood, and liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • Takeaways From FDA's Updated Confirmatory Trial Guidance

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest draft guidance about accelerated drug approval indicates the FDA's intent to address the significant lag time between accelerated approval and full approval of drugs and may help motivate the industry to complete confirmatory trials, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • A Look At FDA's Plans To Establish New OTC Drug Category

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule, creating a new over-the-counter pathway for drugs when patients satisfy certain conditions, may be useful for off-patent drugs with established safety records, though switching to OTC comes with additional costs and considerations, say attorneys at Skadden.