Policy & Compliance

  • October 07, 2024

    Holland & Knight Adds Former US Attorney In Nashville

    Holland & Knight LLP announced Monday that a former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee has come aboard in Nashville, Tennessee, as a partner, boosting the firm's healthcare regulatory and enforcement practice.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear Kickback Statute 'Willfulness' Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether a "willful" act under federal anti-kickback law requires a defendant to know their actions violate the law.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Seek Feds' Input On 10th Circ. PBM Preemption Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the federal government to weigh in on the state of Oklahoma's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision that found parts of a law regulating pharmacy benefit managers were preempted by federal benefits laws and Medicare Part D.

  • October 07, 2024

    High Court Won't Look At Alabama Frozen Embryo Decision

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it won't consider a challenge to a first-of-its-kind Alabama state court ruling that frozen embryos are legally children.

  • October 07, 2024

    High Court Won't Hear Emergency Care Abortion Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a circuit court block on a Biden administration directive that hospitals must provide emergency abortions in some circumstances, even in states with strict abortion restrictions.

  • October 04, 2024

    Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.

  • October 04, 2024

    DOJ Charges Execs, Sales Reps Over Texas 'Pill Mills' Sales

    Tens of millions of opioid pills ended up in the black market by way of pharmaceutical distribution executives and sales representatives who targeted a Houston "hot zone" for drug diversion, the U.S. Department of Justice said in unsealing several indictments in Texas, Florida, Missouri and North Carolina.

  • October 04, 2024

    NC Physician Assistant Sentenced To 6 Years For $10M Fraud

    A North Carolina federal court handed down a 72-month prison sentence to a physician assistant after a federal jury in Charlotte found him guilty of rubber-stamping bogus prescriptions for genetic testing to the tune of more than $10 million.

  • October 04, 2024

    4 Benefits Appellate Arguments To Watch In October

    The Fourth Circuit will consider a drugmaker's challenge to a West Virginia state law restricting access to the abortion drug mifepristone and Ohio pension funds are seeking to revive an investor class action at the Second Circuit, while the First and Ninth Circuits will take up executive compensation disputes. Here are four appellate arguments in October involving employee benefits that attorneys may want to keep on their radar.

  • October 04, 2024

    Healthcare Co. Inks Deal In DOL Equal Pay Investigation

    A healthcare diagnostics company has agreed to pay nearly $60,000 to the U.S. Department of Labor to end an agency probe over concerns that a New Jersey manufacturing facility undercompensated female employees compared to their male colleagues.

  • October 03, 2024

    Texas Transgender Health Rule Suit Paused For Gov't Appeal

    A Texas federal judge said he'd stay a lawsuit from Texas and Montana challenging new federal protections for transgender healthcare while the Biden administration appeals the court's July order freezing the new rule.

  • October 03, 2024

    12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

    One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.

  • October 03, 2024

    Texas Takes Aim At Insulin Manufacturers For Price-Gouging

    Texas sued several major insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers in Texas state court on Thursday, accusing the companies of running quid pro quo deals to bump insulin prices by as much as 1,000% and violating Texas laws around deceptive trade practices.

  • October 03, 2024

    Ex-US House Energy Committee Atty Joins Foley In DC

    Foley & Lardner LLP has announced that a former senior counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce joined the firm's Washington, D.C., office as counsel in its public policy and government relations practice group.

  • October 02, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Lab Co. Settles Bogus Testing Claims With Feds For $27M

    Precision Diagnostics Toxicology Lab, one of the nation's largest drug testing laboratories, has agreed to pay $27 million to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare and other federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary tests, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

  • October 02, 2024

    Pfizer Didn't Warn Of Tumor Risks In Depo-Provera, Suit Says

    Pfizer Inc. faces a product liability and negligence suit filed Tuesday in California federal court alleging it distributed the hormonal contraceptive drug Depo-Provera without adequately warning patients and doctors about the risk of brain tumors associated with its use, a danger that has been widely published in scientific journals for years.

  • October 02, 2024

    Colo. Judge Sees No Injuries In Health Data Breach Class Suit

    A Colorado federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action alleging a software company waited nearly three months to tell data breach victims about hackers accessing personal and medical information for more than 250,000 people, concluding the plaintiffs' allegations weren't enough to give them standing.

  • October 02, 2024

    Abortion Clinic To Get Early Discovery In Patient Spying Case

    A Massachusetts federal judge said Wednesday that an abortion clinic should get expedited discovery into its claims that a neighboring "pregnancy resource center" illegally infiltrated its patient communications in an attempt to derail appointments.

  • October 01, 2024

    CFPB Warns On Collecting 'Invalid,' Unverified Medical Debt

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday cautioned debt collectors about significant potential compliance risks when working in the medical debt market, issuing guidance that identified a number of practices as illegal and capable of triggering "strict liability" under federal law.

  • October 01, 2024

    Judge Backs Louisiana 340B Law In Loss For Pharma Lobby

    A Louisiana federal court has issued a sweeping loss to Big Pharma's top lobbying group and two pharmaceutical companies that argued a state law improperly expands the scope of the federal drug discount program.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ga. County Urges Full 11th Circ. To Nix Trans Deputy's Win

    A Georgia county told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday that a health plan coverage exclusion for gender-affirming surgery is comparable to other exclusions in coverage and does not violate federal anti-discrimination laws.

  • October 01, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives FCA Claims Against Dermatology Practice

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday revived the claims of a former employee who accused a Nevada dermatology practice of retaliation under the False Claims Act and other wrongdoing, reversing the practice's early win and sending the case back for trial.

  • October 01, 2024

    Novel FCA Decision Amplifies Voices Of Whistleblower Critics

    A Florida federal judge's characterization of whistleblowers as self-appointed "special prosecutors" when they file lawsuits on the federal government's behalf amplifies the voices of critics questioning the constitutionality of a key enforcement tool for fighting fraud, while threatening to create a circuit split.

  • October 01, 2024

    11th Circ. Hearsay Ruling May Open Door To Top Court Review

    An Eleventh Circuit decision to allow co-conspirator statements under a hearsay rule exclusion in a $400 million health insurance fraud case could stretch the scope of federal fraud law and might draw the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • October 01, 2024

    Biotech Investors Reach $32.5M Deal Over Failed COVID Test

    A class of Talis Biomedical Corp. investors accusing the company of inflating their stock price in the run-up to its IPO and then failing to launch a COVID-19 diagnostic test asked a California federal judge on Monday to preliminarily approve their $32.5 million settlement, citing Talis' shrinking cash reserves and imminent plans to file for bankruptcy.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Healthcare FCA Deals Provide Self-Disclosure Takeaways

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    Several civil False Claims Act settlements of alleged healthcare fraud violations over the past year demonstrate that healthcare providers may benefit substantially from voluntarily disclosing potential misconduct to both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, say Brian Albritton and Raquel Ramirez Jefferson at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Takeaways From High Court's Tribal Health Admin Cost Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent determination that the government must reimburse two Native American tribes for administrative healthcare costs will help tribes maintain equal footing with the Indian Health Service when administering programs, and continues a pattern of how the current court aligns on tribal concerns, say attorneys at Lewis Roca.

  • FTC Focus: Private Equity Investments In Healthcare

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    As the Federal Trade Commission is tightening its scrutiny of private equity investment in healthcare, the agency is finding novel grounds to challenge key focus areas, including rollup acquisitions, the flip-and-strip approach and minority investments in rival providers, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants

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    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.

  • Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs

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    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.

  • DOJ Innovasis Settlement Offers Lessons On Self-Disclosure

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    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.

  • How Orange Book Antitrust Scrutiny Is Intensifying

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    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.

  • After Chevron: Slowing Down AI In Medical Research

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    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.

  • FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny

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    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.

  • Analyzing FDA Draft Guidance On Clinical Trial Diversity

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    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.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises

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    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.

  • Critical Questions Remain After High Court's Abortion Rulings

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    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.

  • Navigating FDA Supply Rule Leeway For Small Dispensers

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    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.