Policy & Compliance
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April 08, 2025
NJ Hospital Can Face Claims In Life Support Malpractice Suit
A New Jersey appeals court won't let a hospital escape claims that it wrongfully took a patient off life support, saying Tuesday the trial court was too hasty in tossing the suit under the New Jersey Declaration of Death Act.
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April 08, 2025
Calif. Bill Aims To Limit Insurer Control Over Addiction Care
A number of U.S. states have made it illegal for insurance providers to override a physician's judgment concerning the addiction treatments necessary for their patient, be it for inpatient care or other kinds of therapies. A recently introduced bill could make California the latest to join the trend.
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April 08, 2025
5th Circ. Orders New Trial In $140M Healthcare Fraud Case
A Fifth Circuit panel shot down a bid from a suspect in a $140 million healthcare fraud scheme to forestall a second trial after alleged prosecutorial misconduct sank the first, finding the government hadn't intentionally withheld evidence.
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April 08, 2025
OIG Finds $1.8M Of Potential 'Overbillings' In VA Contract
The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General said Tuesday that a transportation services contractor may have overbilled the department by about $1.8 million over two years and recommended that VA contracting officials consider whether they could or should try to recover any money.
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April 08, 2025
Expert And 'Worthlessness Theory' Ejected In Valsartan MDL
Patients and insurers who claim they were ripped off when purchasing the contaminated blood pressure medication Valsartan won't be able to argue that the drug was worthless as a matter of law, a New Jersey federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation has ruled, casting doubt that the plaintiffs will secure a full refund for their purchase.
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April 08, 2025
Medicare Drug Price Plan Tramples Constitution, 3rd Circ. Told
New Jersey federal court rulings preserving the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' ability to negotiate prices with drug companies should be overturned on constitutional grounds, pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Novartis told the Third Circuit during oral arguments Tuesday.
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April 08, 2025
UnitedHealth Puts Anesthesiologists' Antitrust Suit To Sleep
A New York federal judge tossed an antitrust lawsuit accusing a United Healthcare unit of using its market power in the New York metropolitan area to cut reimbursement rates to anesthesia providers by 80% in its public-sector employee health plan, while enlisting MultiPlan to pressure providers into accepting the rates.
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April 08, 2025
Md. Board Enacts Expungement Rule For Physician Records
Maryland doctors who have faced administrative action for failing to pay taxes or attend continuing education classes can have their public records wiped clean under a new rule from the state Board of Physicians.
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April 08, 2025
2nd Circ. Rejects Biden Diary Thief's Appeal Over Medical Info
The Second Circuit denied an appeal on Tuesday from a woman who pled guilty to stealing a diary belonging to former President Joe Biden's daughter, rejecting her arguments that a judge was wrong to allow a probation officer to disclose her presentencing report and prior medical records to mental health providers without first obtaining consent.
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April 07, 2025
CMS' Nursing Home Staffing Requirements Struck Down
A Texas federal judge on Monday struck down new staffing standards for nursing homes participating in Medicare or Medicaid, ruling that federal health officials overstepped their authority by establishing a one-size-fits-all requirement.
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April 07, 2025
Policy Group Tells 4th Circ. Drug Discount Âé¶¹´«Ã½ Needs Reform
The Fourth Circuit on Monday allowed a Boston-based think tank to file an amicus brief supporting a district court's injunction against a West Virginia law that pharmaceutical companies and lobbyists claim unconstitutionally expands a federal drug discount program.
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April 07, 2025
Drug Buyers, Generics Cos. Fight Over Bellwether Litigation
Generic drug buyers vied Friday with the pharmaceutical companies they've accused of price-fixing over how to shape the first rounds of long-gestating Pennsylvania federal court litigation that the plaintiffs want heard in separate consecutive trials and that the drugmakers want combined.
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April 07, 2025
AGs Announce $335M Opioid Deal With Mylan
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday said her office and those of other states reached a $335 million deal with Mylan to help combat the opioid crisis.
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April 07, 2025
Ex-Conn. Budget Official Plans To Testify In Corruption Cases
Twice-indicted former Connecticut budget official Konstantinos Diamantis plans to testify in two upcoming federal corruption trials, his attorney revealed Monday during a scheduling call that snapped into focus the timeline for both cases.
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April 07, 2025
Conn. Judge Pauses 'Staggering' Hospital Data Subpoena
A Connecticut judge temporarily paused a subpoena seeking what a health nonprofit called "a staggering amount" of confidential patient data by a proposed class of Constitution State residents accusing Hartford HealthCare Corp. of monopolizing the state's healthcare industry, stating that the court must review the subpoena first.
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April 07, 2025
11 States Tell 6th Circ. To Ax Mich. Conversion Therapy Ban
Eleven U.S. states led by Iowa and South Carolina urged the Sixth Circuit to strike down Michigan's ban on conversion therapy for minors, saying the law censors therapists' speech.
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April 07, 2025
Feds Say Fla. Doctor Fleeced Medicare With Bogus Charges
A doctor and his Florida-based business, Vohra Wound Physicians Management LLC, deliberately overbilled Medicare for years, charging it for wound care procedures that were unnecessary or not performed, according to federal prosecutors.
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April 04, 2025
Split DC Circ. Denies Calif. Subsidies For Border Hospitals
A split D.C. Circuit panel on Friday found it was not unconstitutional for California to exclude hospitals bordering the state from a program distributing supplemental payments to providers that serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
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April 04, 2025
HHS Drops 11th Circ. Fight Over ACA Trans Rule Freeze
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to drop its bid to overturn an order blocking it from enforcing regulations that extend the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination provisions to transgender individuals against Florida organizations, according to filings with the Eleventh Circuit.
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April 04, 2025
Ohio AG Takes Trans Care Limits Bid To State Justices
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has taken his bid to reinstate limits on gender-affirming care for transgender youths to the state's highest court and wants the law's enforcement to continue throughout his appeal.
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April 04, 2025
Seattle Children's Faces Class Action Over Nurse Meal Breaks
A Washington nurse has filed a proposed class action alleging Seattle Children's Hospital broke state law by failing to schedule or provide mandatory rest and meal breaks, in a state court complaint that said the problem was made worse by understaffing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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April 04, 2025
AGs Sue To Halt Disruptions To NIH Grant Funding
A coalition of 16 states on Friday sued the National Institutes of Health over delays and cancellations of grant programs linked to vaccines, transgender issues and other areas they say are currently "disfavored" by the Trump administration.
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April 03, 2025
Optum, Express Scripts Want Judge Ousted From Opioid MDL
Pharmacy benefit managers Optum and Express Scripts say the Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation should recuse himself because he "regularly communicates" with plaintiffs' attorneys in the litigation and is biased in favor of plaintiffs, according to a motion filed Wednesday.
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April 03, 2025
TV Star Dr. Oz Confirmed As New Medicare, Medicaid Leader
The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 53 to 43, along party lines, to confirm former talk show host and surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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April 03, 2025
Swedish Health Services Found Liable For Wage Violations
A Washington state judge has put Seattle-area hospital system Swedish Health Services on the hook for state wage law violations in an employee class action, finding workers were shortchanged by its timekeeping practices and failure to provide a second meal break on longer shifts.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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USPTO Disclaimer Rule Would Complicate Patent Prosecution
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's proposed changes to terminal disclaimer practice could lead to a patent owner being unable to enforce a valid patent simply because it is indirectly tied to a patent in which a single claim is found anticipated or obvious in view of the prior art, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.
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Navigating Scrutiny Of Friendly Professional Corps. In Calif.
In light of ongoing scrutiny and challenges to private equity participation in the California healthcare marketplace, particularly surrounding the use of the friendly professional corporation model, management services organizations should consider implementing four best practices, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Takeaways From New HHS Substance Use Disorder Info Rules
A new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule continues the agency's efforts to harmonize complex rules surrounding confidentiality provisions for substance use disorder patient records, though healthcare providers will need to remain mindful of different potentially applicable requirements and changes that their compliance structures may require, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
The second quarter of 2024 in California, which saw efforts to expand consumer protection legislation and enforcement actions in areas of federal focus like medical debt and student loans, demonstrated that the state's role as a trendsetter in consumer financial protection will continue for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Affect Current Operators
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's proposal to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III provides relief in the form of federal policy from the stigma and burdens of Schedule I, but commercial cannabis operations will remain unchanged until the federal-state cannabis policy gap is remedied by Congress, say Meital Manzuri and Alexis Lazzeri at Manzuri Âé¶¹´«Ã½.
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Air Ambulance Ruling Severely Undermines No Surprises Act
A Texas federal court's recent decision in Guardian Flight v. Health Care Service — that the No Surprises Act lacks a judicial remedy when a health insurer refuses to pay the amount established through an independent review — likely throws a huge monkey wrench into the elaborate protections the NSA was enacted to provide, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Âé¶¹´«Ã½.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.
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How Congress Is Tackling The US Healthcare Shortage
With healthcare shortages continuing across the U.S. despite industry efforts to improve patient access to care, increased Medicare support for graduate medical education could be a crucial component of the solution, say Sarah Crossan and Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.