Policy & Compliance

  • April 24, 2024

    Bill To Repeal 'Zombie' 1864 Abortion Ban Clears Ariz. House

    Legislation that would repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions in Arizona narrowly cleared the state House on Wednesday after a handful of Republican lawmakers crossed party lines to help Democrats muscle the measure through following a bruising debate.

  • April 24, 2024

    Justices Spar On Interplay Of EMTALA, Idaho Abortion Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court held a feisty debate Wednesday over whether an Idaho abortion ban is superseded by a federal law requiring doctors at Medicare-funded hospitals to give emergency care, including abortions, to women suffering a medical crisis.

  • April 23, 2024

    Misplaced Fears Leave Pregnant Subjects Out Of Drug Trials

    With federal drug regulators set to release new guidance meant to diversify clinical trial populations, new research largely undermines one key rationale for omitting pregnant and lactating people from drug and device development: the fear of legal liability.

  • April 23, 2024

    Retiring Health Exec Talks Past, Future Of Accountable Care

    The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations will see Chief Executive Officer Clif Gaus retire this fall, bringing an end to his nearly 12-year tenure at the organization. The group, which Gaus helped found, advocates for a care delivery model wherein providers share responsibility for both the quality and cost of care.

  • April 23, 2024

    Doctor Renews $20M Claim His Hospital Made Up 25 Murders

    An Ohio physician accused of 25 counts of murder and found guilty of none just renewed his $20 million malicious-prosecution suit against Trinity Health Corp., the parent company of his former employer, claiming that the company misled prosecutors to get him indicted as a distraction from the internal issues of the hospital where he worked.

  • April 23, 2024

    Divisive Cost Cap Deadline Looms For Calif. Healthcare Cos.

    California healthcare attorneys are preparing for the state's first cap on healthcare spending proposed by a new state office tasked with making care affordable. Industry leaders are sharply split on the viability of a proposed 3% target, which some say may ultimately do more harm than good for a state suffering from skyrocketing healthcare costs.

  • April 23, 2024

    Dating Apps Tell Court Idaho Abortion Ban's Bad For Business

    The online dating industry is weighing in on the latest abortion case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, joining other groups making a business-first argument against an evolving patchwork of state abortion laws.

  • April 23, 2024

    Appellate Courts Confront Legal Fights On Transgender Care

    The national debate over transgender rights reached the U.S. Supreme Court and surfaced in three circuit courts over the last week as judges take up fiercely litigated questions on gender-affirming care and participation in sports.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ariz. Abortion Ban Ruling Reanimates 'Zombie' Law Debate

    The living dead lurk in law books. So-called "zombie" statutes remain in legal codes around the country — archaic and unenforceable, but not quite deceased either. Given the right conditions, even long-dormant statutes can stir to life and wreak havoc, a fact made clear by the reanimation of Arizona's 1860s criminal abortion law.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Faegre Atty, 33, Makes High Court Debut In Abortion Case

    Fifteen months ago, Josh Turner was a BigLaw litigation associate in Minneapolis preparing to make the jump to public service. On Wednesday, the 33-year-old, now heading constitutional litigation for the Idaho attorney general, will make his first appearance at the U.S. Supreme Court in a closely watched emergency abortion case.

  • April 23, 2024

    DOJ Unveils $139M Deal For Larry Nassar Victims

    The U.S. Department of Justice will pay $138.7 million to settle 139 tort claims accusing the Federal Bureau of Investigation of not doing enough to stop the sprawling, decades-long sexual abuse of hundreds of victims at the hands of USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, according to a Tuesday announcement.

  • April 22, 2024

    Ohio AG Slams Halt Of Transgender Care, Youth Sports Limits

    Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost argued Monday in an emergency motion with the Ohio Supreme Court that the lower-court judge overstepped his authority when halting a bill, in its entirety, that would limit transgender care and participation in youth sports in the state.

  • April 22, 2024

    J&J Says Worker's Drug Costs Suit Misses Big Picture

    Johnson & Johnson asked a New Jersey federal judge to toss a worker's suit claiming employees were overcharged for their prescriptions under a drug benefit program because of a contract with a pharmacy benefits manager, saying employees didn't show they could've gotten a better deal elsewhere.

  • April 22, 2024

    5 New State Employment Laws Passed This Year So Far

    State legislatures around the country are winding down legislative sessions that began in January, bringing newly enacted employment laws into effect in the coming months. From child labor to pay inequality to mandatory overtime, Law360 looks at five state laws that employers will have to comply with.

  • April 19, 2024

    Allergan To Face Kickback Claim In Suit Over Child Botox Use

    A Texas federal judge has axed allegations that pharmaceutical company Allergan Inc. defrauded the U.S. government when it promoted the unapproved use of Botox to treat migraines in children but will allow claims that the company bribed doctors to conduct the procedure to move forward.

  • April 19, 2024

    Up Next At High Court: Abortions & Presidential Immunity

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the term's final week of oral arguments, during which it will consider several high-stakes disputes, including whether a federal healthcare law can preempt state abortion bans and whether former President Donald Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal charges related to official acts.

  • April 19, 2024

    'Anti-Vax Momma' Admits To Selling Fake Immunization Creds

    A woman who went by the Instagram handle @AntiVaxMomma pled guilty on Friday to selling fake U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards and falsely registering buyers in New York state's immunization database.

  • April 19, 2024

    Feds Want Prison For Ga. Chiropractor In NBA Health Fraud

    Federal prosecutors have asked a New York federal judge to impose a 10- to 16-month prison sentence for a chiropractor who admitted to conspiring with former Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis to commit healthcare and wire fraud by submitting fake invoices to the NBA health plan.

  • April 18, 2024

    Jury Awards $98M To Wash. Healthcare Workers In Wage Suit

    A Seattle jury said Thursday a Washington-based healthcare system should pay thousands of its employees almost $100 million for its illegal timeclock rounding and meal break practices, an award that's expected to be doubled because a judge has already determined that the company's violations were willful.

  • April 18, 2024

    Clinic Head Gets 9 Years For Medicare Kickback, Tax Scheme

    A health clinic manager was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $40 million in restitution to the government for participating in a multimillion-dollar healthcare kickback scheme that involved tax fraud, according to documents in a New York federal court.

  • April 18, 2024

    Endo Pleads Guilty To Marketing Opioids As 'Crush Proof'

    Endo Health Solutions Inc. pled guilty Thursday in Michigan federal court to putting out a drug it falsely advertised as being "crush proof" and "abuse deterrent," part of its larger agreement with the government to resolve nearly $2 billion in civil and criminal claims against the company.

  • April 18, 2024

    Would-Be Whistleblowers Drop ER Service Overbilling Claims

    A North Carolina federal judge has granted two whistleblowers' request to drop their suit accusing a pair of healthcare companies and their affiliates of overcharging both state and federal Medicare and Medicaid programs for emergency services provided at multiple regional hospitals, dismissing the case without prejudice.

  • April 18, 2024

    FDA Head Gets GOP Rep.'s Rebuke Over Pot Rescheduling

    The Republican chair of a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday chided the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the agency's recommendation last year to loosen restrictions on marijuana.

  • April 17, 2024

    Lab Whistleblower Drops COVID Test Suit After Feds Pass

    An ex-lab director has dropped his False Claims Act lawsuit alleging he was ousted from a diagnostic testing firm for raising concerns about regulatory violations and improper billing of federal health care programs, closing his Washington federal court case just days after the government declined to intervene.

  • April 17, 2024

    FDA's Foot-Dragging On Menthol Ban Sparks Frustration

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's yearslong delay to ban menthol has left public health groups frustrated over why the agency has failed to act on what the groups see as an obvious way to improve public health and prevent needless deaths, prompting a second lawsuit over taking menthol off store shelves.

Expert Analysis

  • Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance

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    Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories

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    The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.

  • White House Activity Is A Band-Aid For Regulating AI In Health

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    In the medium term, recent White House actions will have a greater impact on AI in the health care industry than Congress' sluggish efforts to regulate it, but ultimately legislation of AI's development and use in the health space will fall to Congress, say Wendell Bartnick and Vanessa Perumal at Reed Smith.

  • Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • How Mental Health Ruling Paves Road For Equal Coverage

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    The Tenth Circuit’s recent ruling in E.W. v. Health Net, which clarified the pleading requirements necessary to establish a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act violation, is a win for plaintiffs as it opens the door to those who have been denied coverage for behavioral health treatment to prove a mental health parity violation, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

  • ESG Around The World: Mexico

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    ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

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    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • 10 Takeaways From New HHS Federal Compliance Guidelines

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recently issued general compliance program guidance is the first of its kind that would apply across all health care stakeholders, and signals the agency’s first step to improve and update existing compliance guidance, says Melissa Wong at Holland & Knight.

  • 2 HHS Warnings Highlight Anti-Kickback Risks For Physicians

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    Two recent advisory opinions issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General involve different scenarios and rationales, but together they illustrate the OIG's focus on and disapproval of contractual joint ventures and other revenue-maximizing physician arrangements, say Robert Threlkeld and Elliott Coward at Morris Manning.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Cross-Market Implications In FTC's Anesthesia Complaint

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent complaint against a private equity firm's acquisition of anesthesiology practices highlights the controversial issue of cross-market harm in health care provider mergers, and could provide important insights into how a court may view such theories of harm, say Christopher Lau and Dina Older Aguilar at Cornerstone Research.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.