Policy & Compliance
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									September 24, 2025
									States Say Ed Dept. Must Face Suit Over Mental Health CutsA group of 16 states led by Washington has asked a federal judge not to let the U.S. Department of Education escape the states' claims that the agency violated federal law by discontinuing mental health grants given to public schools to help students cope with school shootings. 
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									September 24, 2025
									Amtrak Beats Retired Worker's Suit Over Benefits ReversalA Rhode Island federal judge dismissed an ex-Amtrak employee's suit claiming the company illegally rolled back medical care reimbursement benefits that the rail service said it mistakenly granted him in retirement, finding he wasn't entitled to the extra credits under the plan's terms. 
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									September 23, 2025
									Fed. Vaccine Panel Prompts Legal, Health ConfusionIt's been days since a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee updated recommendations for a common childhood vaccine and the COVID-19 booster. But healthcare and legal experts are still trying to understand the implications of the meeting and the votes that came out of it. 
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									September 23, 2025
									Kansas Abortion Mandates On Trial: What You Need to KnowThe largest provider of reproductive healthcare in Kansas will face off with state officials this week at a long-awaited trial focused on a 24-hour abortion waiting period, among other state requirements. 
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									September 23, 2025
									Tylenol MDL In Spotlight After Trump Blasts Use In PregnancyThe Trump administration's attack on the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy drew on the work of a Harvard expert whose analysis is central to a legal clash now before a federal appeals court. The president's broadside promises to energize plaintiffs. 
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									September 23, 2025
									State Medicaid Cuts Mean 'Financial Squeeze' For ProvidersLaw360 Healthcare Authority talks with Gayland Hethcoat of ArentFox Schiff LLP about the rationale behind major cuts coming to Medicaid state-directed payments and what they will mean for providers and patients. 
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									September 23, 2025
									NC Sens. Vote To Cut Planned Parenthood's Medicaid FundsRepublican state senators in North Carolina have greenlit a bill that would revoke Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, aligning the Tar Heel state with the president's "One Big Beautiful Bill," which prohibits Medicaid funding for nonprofit groups that provide abortion services. 
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									September 23, 2025
									Long Time Limits In Trans Care Laws Expand Doctors' LiabilityState lawmakers are including lengthy statutes of limitations — some of them decades-long — in new bans on transgender care for minors. Advocates say long time frames for prosecutions or civil suits make sense when a child is involved. Others see a "chilling" effect for providers. 
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									September 23, 2025
									EX-CTA Worker's $425K Vaccine Bias Award Capped At $300KAn Illinois federal judge lowered a former Chicago Transit Authority employee's $425,000 jury award to $300,000 Tuesday for the ex-worker's claim that he was wrongly fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, entering a judgment the judge said he'll later amend with awards that include back and front pay. 
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									September 23, 2025
									Two Longtime HHS Attys Depart Posts For Crowell & MoringTwo prominent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services attorneys have left their posts for Crowell & Moring LLP after more than two decades in the federal government. 
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									September 23, 2025
									Burns White Launches Correctional Healthcare Practice GroupPittsburgh-based Mid-Law firm Burns White LLC has launched a practice group focused on helping clients navigate liability risk from providing healthcare in prisons and other correctional settings. 
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									September 23, 2025
									Pa. Health Network To Pay $1.15M In 401(k) Forfeiture SuitA Pennsylvania health system agreed to pay workers $1.15 million to resolve a federal suit alleging it unlawfully used forfeited retirement plan funds to satisfy its contribution obligations and allowed workers to be overcharged for plan administrative fees. 
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									September 22, 2025
									2nd Circ. Undoes $25M Restitution In Horse-Doping CaseA veterinarian convicted of conspiracy in a sprawling horse-doping scheme has escaped $25 million in restitution and is also off the hook for the $10.3 million forfeiture of funds tied to the sale of undetectable, performance-enhancement drugs, the Second Circuit said Monday. 
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									September 22, 2025
									Family Sues For $100M In Child's Hyperbaric Chamber DeathThe family of a 5-year-old boy who died in a hyperbaric chamber explosion in January sued the center that was treating the child and the manufacturer of the chamber for more than $100 million in damages Monday, alleging the Michigan clinic concealed the dangers of using the chamber. 
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									September 22, 2025
									Anthem's $12.9M ERISA Deal Clears First HurdleA New York federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a nearly $12.9 million settlement resolving claims that Anthem wrongfully denied coverage for residential behavioral health treatment under employer-sponsored health plans. 
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									September 22, 2025
									Mayo Clinic Can't Fully Nix Suit Over Withheld Benefits InfoThe Mayo Clinic and its benefits administrator can't entirely escape a worker's suit claiming they pushed her to work with pricey out-of-network providers and wouldn't provide reimbursement estimates, after a Minnesota federal judge said she supported some federal benefits law claims with enough detail to remain in court. 
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									September 19, 2025
									Ga. Providers Seek Exit From 'Conspiratorial' BCBS Fraud SuitHealthcare consulting firm HaloMD and several providers urged a federal judge Friday to toss a lawsuit from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia accusing them of abusing a federal dispute resolution process for surprise medical bills, arguing the insurer's suit offers little more than "inflammatory, conspiratorial rhetoric." 
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									September 19, 2025
									CDC Panel Urges Caution On COVID Vax, Punts On Hep BA panel of advisers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday voted unanimously to recommend that people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine this season do so only after discussing it with their health providers. 
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									September 18, 2025
									Brothers Blame Associate For $90M HIV Drug Fraud SchemeTwo Maryland brothers accused of selling $90 million worth of mislabeled HIV drugs told a Florida federal jury on Thursday that their charges stem from an associate hired for his pharmaceutical industry connections, but who instead lied about the medication's black market origins and told them it was purchased legitimately. 
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									September 18, 2025
									Mich. Top Court To Weigh Medicare's Role In No-Fault CasesMichigan's highest court will weigh whether an injured driver who opted out of personal injury protection due to his Medicare coverage must offset his damages by billing the insurance program for accident-related medical expenses in a no-fault dispute. 
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									September 18, 2025
									HHS Shutters Miami Organ Donor Org. For 'Unsafe' PracticesFederal health officials have decertified a Miami-based organ procurement organization that arranges organ donations after an investigation found a pattern of "unsafe" practices, marking the first time the federal government has revoked the certification of such a group, according to an announcement Thursday from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 
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									September 18, 2025
									Elevance Won't Cover Zepbound To Treat Apnea, Patient SaysElevance Health, formerly known as Anthem Inc., arbitrarily excludes coverage of FDA-approved Zepbound to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and refuses to consider requests for exceptions by maintaining that the medication is for weight loss, alleges a proposed class action filed by an enrollee in Indiana federal court Tuesday. 
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									September 18, 2025
									Senate Confirms Trump's Pick To Lead DOL Benefits ArmThe Senate confirmed fiduciary liability insurance expert Daniel Aronowitz on Thursday to lead the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits division, which oversees regulation and enforcement of employer-provided health and retirement plans. 
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									September 18, 2025
									Couple Slam NC Defense Attys In Hospital Negligence AppealA couple pursuing negligence claims against a local hospital scoffed at the idea that they were lurking on the sidelines waiting to cash in on a favorable outcome in a similar case, telling the North Carolina appeals court to ignore an amicus brief by defense attorneys arguing as much. 
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									September 18, 2025
									1st Circ. Won't Lift Block On HHS Job, Program CutsThe First Circuit on Wednesday rejected a bid by the Trump administration to let it move ahead with cutting 10,000 jobs and end a number of programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services while it appeals a Rhode Island federal judge's order temporarily barring the plan. 
Expert Analysis
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								What Trump's Order Means For The Legal Status Of IVF  An executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month signals the administration's potential intention to increase protections for in vitro fertilization services, though more concrete actions would be needed to resolve the current uncertainty around IVF access or bring about a binding legal change, says Jeanne Vance at Weintraub Tobin. 
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								Mitigating Tariff Risks For Healthcare In US And Canada  Healthcare stakeholders should take steps to evaluate the impact of cross-border tariffs, as the historically strong ties between Canada and the U.S. demonstrate the potential for real disruption and harm to the healthcare industry in both countries, say attorneys at Norton Rose. 
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								What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit  The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff. 
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								6 Laws Transforming Calif.'s Health Regulatory Framework  Attorneys at Hooper Lundy discuss a number of new California laws that raise pressing issues for independent physicians and small practice groups, ranging from the use of artificial intelligence to wage standards for healthcare employees. 
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								Anticipating Calif. Oversight Of PE Participation In Healthcare  A new bill recently introduced in the California Senate revives last year's attempt to increase oversight of healthcare transactions involving private equity groups and hedge funds, meaning that attorneys may soon need to assess the compliance status of existing management relationships and consider modifying contract terms, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell. 
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								Considering The Future Of AI Regulation On Health Sector  As Texas looks to become the next state to pass a comprehensive law regulating artificial intelligence, the healthcare industry should consider how AI regulation will continue to evolve in the U.S. and how industry members can keep up with compliance considerations, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis. 
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								What To Expect From 'Make America Healthy Again' Actions  The Make America Healthy Again Commission recently established by President Donald Trump and chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will potentially bring energy and attention to important public health topics, and stakeholders should be aware of pathways for sharing their input and proactively informing proceedings, says Nicholas Manetto at Faegre Drinker. 
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								How Citizen Petitions Have Affected Drug Competition  In light of recent citizen petitions and proposed legislation regulating such petitions, Omar Robles at Managing Health analyzes the statistics of the extent to which citizen petitions have been filed, and to what extent they have delayed competition in prescription pharmaceuticals. 
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								Drug Kickback Ruling Will Make FCA Liability Harder To Prove  The First Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, requiring the government to prove but-for causation to establish False Claims Act liability based on violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, raises the bar for FCA enforcement and deepens a circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court may need to resolve, say attorneys at Baker Donelson. 
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								Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments  A law recently passed in Massachusetts amends the commonwealth's False Claims Act by dramatically expanding potential liability for private equity firms and investors, underscoring the importance of robust diligence and risk assessments for private equity firms conducting transactions in the commonwealth, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn. 
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								What Trump Actions Mean For Federal Research Funding  New guidance from the National Institutes of Health represents a massive policy shift regarding federal funding for researchers at institutions of higher education, contributing to a perfect storm of significant resource shortfalls in upcoming years, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter. 
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								A Look At Healthcare Transaction Oversight In Oregon  Understanding Oregon's enforcement authority and its impact on proposed transactions last year provides a road map to the state's plans to strengthen its processes this year, though enforcement could be challenged by ongoing litigation, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray. 
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								Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises  “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.