Policy & Compliance
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July 09, 2024
Independence Blue Cross Elevates Atty To Deputy GC
Independence Blue Cross has promoted an attorney who has worked for more than 13 years for the Philadelphia-based insurance provider to serve as vice president and deputy general counsel.
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July 08, 2024
Ex-Ga. Insurance Chief Wants Lighter Term In Kickback Case
Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has objected to the government's recommendation that he serve 44 months in prison and pay a $700,000 fine for his role in a multimillion-dollar medical testing kickback scheme, arguing that he is deserving of a lesser sentence.
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July 08, 2024
Ohio Woman Says Clinic Fired Her Because Of Disabled Son
A Cleveland-based kidney dialysis clinic allegedly fired a technician for telling it she might have to return to a less demanding work schedule to help treat her son's medical condition, according to a complaint filed Monday.
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July 08, 2024
DC Circ. Supports NLRB Order Against Puerto Rico Hospital
The National Labor Relations Board rightly found that a hospital in Puerto Rico violated federal labor law by unilaterally slashing workers' hours, the D.C. Circuit ruled, saying the hospital can't excuse its actions with claims about financial effects from the pandemic.
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July 08, 2024
Hospital Must Face Ex-Worker's Religious Bias Suit
An Oregon federal judge refused to release a hospital from a former employee's suit claiming she was fired because she objected to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in light of her Christian beliefs, saying a jury is best suited to decide if there was bias when the company refused to accommodate her.
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July 05, 2024
9th Circ. Backs Remand Of Cedars-Sinai Patient Data Suits
The Ninth Circuit held Friday that a trio of proposed class actions accusing Cedars-Sinai of improperly sharing patients' personal information with tech companies indeed belong in California state court, agreeing with a lower court that the health provider wasn't acting at the direction of the federal government.
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July 05, 2024
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court
Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
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July 05, 2024
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court's lethargic pace of decision-making this term left the justices to issue a slew of highly anticipated and controversial rulings during the term's final week — rulings that put the court's ideological divisions on vivid display. Here, Law360 takes a data dive into the numbers behind this court term.
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July 05, 2024
High Court Flexes Muscle To Limit Administrative State
The U.S. Supreme Court's dismantling of a 40-year-old judicial deference doctrine, coupled with rulings stripping federal agencies of certain enforcement powers and exposing them to additional litigation, has established the October 2023 term as likely the most consequential in administrative law history.
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July 05, 2024
The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court's session ended with a series of blockbuster cases that granted the president broad immunity, changed federal gun policy and kneecapped administrative agencies. And many of the biggest decisions fell along partisan lines.
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July 05, 2024
5 Moments That Shaped The Supreme Court's Jan. 6 Decision
When the high court limited the scope of a federal obstruction statute used to charge hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol, the justices did not vote along ideological lines. In a year marked by 6-3 splits, what accounts for the departure? Here are some moments from oral arguments that may have swayed the justices.
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July 05, 2024
The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term
In a U.S. Supreme Court term teeming with serious showdowns, the august air at oral arguments filled with laughter after an attorney mentioned her plastic surgeon and a justice seemed to diss his colleagues, to cite just two of the term's mirthful moments. Here, we look at the funniest moments of the term.
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July 05, 2024
Hackensack Meridian Sues Feds, Citing Chevron Ruling
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference last month, making it easier to challenge federal regulators in court, New Jersey's largest healthcare network became one of the first to seek remedies citing the ruling.
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July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
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July 03, 2024
HHS Scores Early Win In Boehringer's Medicare Pricing Suit
A Connecticut federal judge on Wednesday sided with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boehringer Ingelheim's challenge to a new Medicare drug price negotiation program, rejecting the pharmaceutical company's claim that the program is unconstitutional.
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July 03, 2024
Red States Get ACA Trans Discrimination Rule Blocked
Federal judges in Mississippi and Texas granted conservatives states' requests Wednesday to freeze a new rule protecting access to healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community, with both judges ruling that states are likely to succeed in showing that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overstepped when it created the regulations.
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July 03, 2024
Contentious Ala. Gender Care Case Partly Paused
Favoring "judicial efficiency," an Alabama federal court has partially granted the Biden administration's opposed motion to stay a case challenging the state's ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a similar Tennessee ban, though some briefing, including for summary judgment, was permitted to proceed.
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July 03, 2024
4 Mass. Rulings You Might Have Missed In June
Massachusetts state courts last month dealt with thorny contract disputes, mistakenly disclosed emails between a defendant and an attorney, and a company's overtime policy change that may not have been spelled out to workers.
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July 03, 2024
Gov't Says Justices' Decision Doesn't Fully Solve OT Suit
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision pushing deadlines to challenge federal regulations doesn't entirely solve an overtime dispute between three home care companies and the U.S. Department of Labor, the government told the Third Circuit.
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July 03, 2024
NC Appeals Court OKs Hospital's 'Facility Fees' For ER Patient
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has found that Novant Health was allowed to charge an emergency room patient "facility fees" because a contract she signed for healthcare included language requiring payment for anything not covered by insurance.
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July 03, 2024
Steward Health Downfall Prompts Calls For Tighter Regs
The magnitude of the financial troubles plaguing bankrupt hospital operator Steward Health Care has turned the Chapter 11 case into a flash point that should prompt a regulatory overhaul, according to a new report released by advocacy group Private Equity Stakeholder Project.
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July 02, 2024
Chamber, Pharma Slam Colorado Drug Price Controls
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a prominent pharmaceutical industry group have urged a Colorado federal court to bar a state review board from setting price controls on prescription drugs, arguing that the practice is "irreconcilable" with federal patent law.
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July 02, 2024
Ga. Justices Say COVID Order Tolls Med Mal Repose Statute
The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday said that a judicial emergency order handed down during the COVID-19 pandemic can be used to toll the state's five-year medical malpractice statute of repose.
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July 02, 2024
Abortion, Trans Healthcare Top Lower Court Litigation
Major healthcare decisions at the U.S. Supreme Court dominated the headlines in recent weeks. But there has also been significant movement in state and other appellate courts on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid coverage, and transgender care, and among other weighty matters. Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at the significant disputes and decisions that shaped the industry over the last week.
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July 02, 2024
Arizona AG Abortion Opinion May Influence Courts, Doctors
A new advisory opinion reassuring Arizona doctors they can use their good-faith judgment to provide an emergency abortion, despite a 15-week state ban, isn’t binding on the courts. But it may still exert influence on judges and prosecutors in a state with a fast-changing abortion landscape.
![(iStock.com/pcess609)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/assets.law360news.com/1854000/1854477/0fcd19d657fd232307c7697ca6d2b0d534ec53a0-istock-1351646522-patient.jpg)
4 Takeaways From FDA's Clinical Trial Diversity Guidance
Long-awaited U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance sheds new light on clinical trial action plans meant to improve health outcomes for more populations. Here are four takeaways from the FDA's latest clinical trial diversity guidelines.
![Trans Youth From Over 16 States Gather At The Nation's Capitol For The First Trans Youth Prom
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 22: Trans kids and additional activists march to the U.S. Supreme Court following the end of the "Trans Youth Prom" on May 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trans and non-binary youth gathered outside of the U.S. Capitol Building to hold a Prom like event that included music, dancing and speeches. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/assets.law360news.com/1851000/1851094/e533f1d2f208c637fbed3cda9f389658bc606f9c-gettyimages-1492428949.jpg)
Supreme Court Sets Stage For Crucial Ruling On Trans Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court's plunge into the legal clash over gender-affirming care for minors could determine the fate of restrictions enacted in 25 states and shape the future of transgender rights for years to come.
![Adderall XR capsules are displayed on Feb. 24, 2023. Prescriptions for ADHD treatments surged among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to fuel lingering shortages that are frustrating parents and doctors. A study published Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in JAMA Psychiatry says new prescriptions for stimulants used to treat the condition jumped 30% for young adults and women during a two-year window after the pandemic hit in March 2020. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/assets.law360news.com/1849000/1849233/13a25983821d8364167d764d8d9df3135e848602-drug_shortages-adhd_treatments_57633.jpg)
Adderall Indictment Shows DOJ Focus On Telehealth Drugs
The arrest of two digital health executives accused of conspiring to illegally distribute Adderall online is a "shot across the bow" from federal prosecutors ramping up enforcement of telehealth fraud.
Expert Analysis
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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 Overreach May Find Itself In 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 Law.
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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 Law.
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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.
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The Current State Of Healthcare Transaction Reviews In Calif.
As of April, certain healthcare transactions in California have been subject to additional notification compliance requirements, and complying with these new rules could significantly delay and discourage some deals, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.
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High Court's Abortion Pill Ruling Shuts Out Future Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine maintains the status quo for mifepristone access and rejects the plaintiffs' standing theories so thoroughly that future challenges from states or other plaintiffs are unlikely to be viable, say Jaime Santos and Annaka Nava at Goodwin.