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Health
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September 09, 2024
Ore. Seeks Dismissal Of Psilocybin Disabilities Suit
Oregon's health regulator has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging aspects of the state's pioneering regulated psilocybin treatment program, saying that the program's illegality under federal law makes the lawsuit untenable.
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September 09, 2024
White House Final Rule On Mental Health Parity Unveiled
The White House released a final rule Monday meant to boost employer health plans' compliance with a federal law requiring coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments that's at the same level as physical health care.
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September 06, 2024
Abortion Provider Says Activist Group Intercepted Patient Info
A Massachusetts reproductive health clinic says an anti-abortion group operating a "pregnancy resource center" next door is secretly intercepting messages from patients trying to schedule treatment, then taking steps to cancel appointments or divert the patients to its own offices.
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September 06, 2024
NJ Atty's Med Mal, Defamation Suit Against Hospital Revived
A New Jersey appellate court on Friday reinstated a suit accusing a hospital of negligently committing an attorney complaining of hip pain as a schizophrenia patient, saying the requisite medical expert affidavit was not necessary due to the so-called common knowledge exception.
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September 06, 2024
Actelion Must Face Tracleer Antitrust Suit With Class Certified
A Maryland federal judge refused Friday to toss an antitrust suit accusing Actelion Pharmaceuticals of illegally denying generics companies the samples they needed to produce generic versions of its hypertension drug Tracleer, while separately certifying a class composed of "hundreds" of insurers and self-funded employers.
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September 06, 2024
Fla. Hospital Wins Records Fight In Amputation Suit
A Florida appeals court ruled Friday that a hospital need not produce an orthopedic surgeon's "credentialing file" in a suit accusing the surgeon of providing negligent care resulting in a leg amputation, saying the documents are protected under the state's Peer Review Statutes.
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September 06, 2024
VA Must Turn LA Campus Into Vets' Housing, Judge Says
A California federal judge on Friday ruled in favor of a class of disabled homeless military veterans alleging that they're facing disability discrimination due to the lack of permanent supportive housing on a West Los Angeles campus.
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September 06, 2024
Appeals Court Says Nursing Home Seller Keeps Atty Fees
An entity that sold a nursing home is entitled to keep attorney fees because the underlying contract spelled out that it was entitled to them, a Texas appeals court found, even though the eventual buyer was not a party to the contract granting attorney fees.
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September 06, 2024
3rd Circ. Follows Corner Post In Home Care OT Change Feud
Three home care companies' challenge to an Obama-era rule expanding overtime eligibility for certain workers is back on track, the Third Circuit ruled Friday, saying that the U.S. Supreme Court's Corner Post decision mooted a Pennsylvania federal court's ruling that the entities' suit was late.
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September 06, 2024
IHS Seeks Stay In $17M Suit In Wake Of High Court Ruling
The Indian Health Service is asking for a stay in a challenge by a Navajo Nation hospital board that seeks $17.4 million in unpaid contract support costs, saying the agency is working toward a methodology on how to address claims stemming from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the issue.
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September 06, 2024
PruittHealth Enabled Antigay Abuse, Fired Nurse Says
The former nursing director of a PruittHealth facility in northwest Georgia has sued his former employer claiming a homophobic work environment, alleging that he was subjected to antigay abuse from his coworkers and patients alike before eventually being fired on bogus grounds.
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September 06, 2024
4 ERISA Arguments To Watch In September
The Ninth Circuit will weigh two cases involving whether class claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can be forced into solo arbitration, and the Second Circuit will hear Yale University workers' bid to revive their retirement plan mismanagement suit. Here are four upcoming oral argument sessions that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.
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September 06, 2024
Atty Loses Bid To Revive NJ Malpratice Suit Against 2 Firms
A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of an attorney's common law fraud and negligence claims against two law firms for allegedly misrepresenting a debt he owed.
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September 06, 2024
Glioblastoma Org. Wants End To Rival's Use Of 'GBM'
The Glioblastoma Foundation has hit a competing nonprofit with a suit alleging that the group's use of the initials "GBM" in its name has ripped off its trademark and sown confusion among donors who can't tell the two organizations apart.
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September 05, 2024
Ohio Justices Craft New Jury Rule For Negligence Trials
An Ohio state appeals court on Friday reinstated a jury verdict clearing a hospital and others of liability in a suit accusing them of negligently causing a patient's death, and it set new guidelines for jury deliberations in all negligence cases.
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September 05, 2024
Law Firms Appeal Atty Fee Denial In Opioid Settlements
Two law firms, Goldstein & Russell PC and Kelley & Ferraro LLP, have claimed in an appeal to the Sixth Circuit that they were improperly shut out of the $2.13 billion attorney fee pool created by recent national opioid settlements with major pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy chains.
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September 05, 2024
NC County Says Hospital 'Monopoly' Led To ER Understaffing
A North Carolina county has accused an Asheville hospital of driving up taxpayer-funded ambulance expenses by understaffing its emergency department and forcing paramedics to step into the roles of emergency physicians.
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September 05, 2024
Judge Rewrites 'Unfair' Missouri Abortion Ballot Language
A Missouri judge on Thursday found that the Republican secretary of state's language used to describe an abortion amendment set to appear on the state's November ballot is "inaccurate" and "unfair," and he must replace the language with the new statement from the court.
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September 05, 2024
Conn. Dentist Admits To Reaping $2.2M Through Kickbacks
A Connecticut dentist has pled guilty to paying $360,000 in kickbacks to recruiters who corralled Medicaid patients into her practice, pocketing $2.2 million in government payments in the process, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Thursday.
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September 05, 2024
Judge Orders Jury Trial Over Arbitration Bid In TCPA Fight
An Ohio federal judge declined to rule on whether a proposed Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action against a Maryland-based healthcare company should go to arbitration, ordering that a jury should decide whether the plaintiff had an applicable arbitration agreement.
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September 05, 2024
Referral Model Means No Tax Exemption For Texas Health Co.
The commissioner of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service told a Fifth Circuit panel Thursday that the U.S. Tax Court got it right when it barred a Texas company that coordinates healthcare for chronically ill patients from claiming tax-exempt status, telling the court that secondary social welfare effects of the company's business model aren't enough to establish tax-exempt status.
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September 05, 2024
9th Circ. Says Court 'Lost The Letter' In ERISA Coverage Row
A California federal court "lost the letter" in remanded proceedings over allegations that United Behavioral Health improperly denied nearly 70,000 claims for mental health coverage, the Ninth Circuit has said in a new memorandum.
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September 05, 2024
Texas Says New HIPAA Rule Obstructs State Abortion Laws
Texas has hit the federal government with a suit challenging a new privacy rule limiting the disclosure of reproductive health information to law enforcement, arguing the rule was designed to obstruct the state's ability to enforce its own laws on abortion.
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September 05, 2024
FTC Staff Opposes Indiana Hospital Merger
Federal Trade Commission staff on Thursday urged Indiana's health department to reject Union Health's planned purchase of Terre Haute Regional Hospital LP from HCA Healthcare Inc.
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September 05, 2024
Lupin Infringes Exeltis Contraceptive Patents, Judge Finds
Mumbai-based generic-pharmaceuticals company Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has infringed five patents of the estrogen-free contraceptive Slynd, a Delaware federal judge said Wednesday, finding in favor of Spanish pharmaceutical company Insud Pharma and its New Jersey-based division Exeltis USA Inc. on all asserted claims.
Expert Analysis
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How Clinical Trials Affect Patentability In US And Europe
A comparison of recent U.S. and European patent decisions — concerning the effect of disclosures in clinical trials on the patentability of products — offers guidance on good practice for companies dealing with public use issues and prior art documents in these commercially important jurisdictions, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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Opinion
State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E
Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.
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Key Takeaways From FDA Final Rule On Lab-Developed Tests
Michele Buenafe and Dennis Gucciardo at Morgan Lewis discuss potential consequences of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule regulating lab-developed tests as medical devices, and explain the rule's phaseout policy for enforcement discretion.
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Examining Illinois Genetic Privacy Law Amid Deluge Of Claims
After a federal court certified an Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act class action in August, claims under the law have skyrocketed, so employers, insurers and others that collect health and genetic information should ensure compliance with the act to limit litigation risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Assessing HHS' Stance On Rare Disease Patient Assistance
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent advisory opinion, temporarily blessing manufacturer-supported copay funds for rare disease patients, carves a narrow path for single-donor funds, but charities and their donors may require additional assistance to navigate programs for such patients, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.
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Opinion
Feds' Biotech Enforcement Efforts Are Too Heavy-Handed
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent actions against biotech companies untether the Anti-Kickback Statute from its original legislative purpose, and threaten to stifle innovation and undermine patient quality of care, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Del. Ruling Highlights M&A Deal Adviser Conflict Disclosures
The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed the Court of Chancery's dismissal of challenges to Nordic Capital's acquisition of Inovalon, demonstrating the importance of full disclosure of financial adviser conflicts when a going-private merger seeks business judgment rule review, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Action Steps To Address New Restrictions On Outbound Data
Companies should immediately assess all their data-based operations so they can consider strategies to effectively mitigate new compliance risks brought on by recently implemented transaction restrictions, including a Justice Department proposal and landmark data legislation, say attorneys at Wiley.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking
With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.
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Are Concessions In FDA's Lab-Developed Tests Rule Enough?
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new policy for laboratory-developed tests included major strategic concessions to help balance patient safety, access and diagnostic innovation, the new rule may well face significant legal challenges in court, say Dominick DiSabatino and Audrey Mercer at Sheppard Mullin.
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8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.
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Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
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Mid-2024 FCA Enforcement And Litigation Trends To Watch
Reviewing notable False Claims Act trends and enforcement efforts in the last year and a half reveals that healthcare is a key enforcement priority for the U.S. Department of Justice, and the road ahead may bring clarification on Anti-Kickback Statute causation and willfulness standards, along with increased focus on private equity, cybersecurity and self-disclosure, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.
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A Recipe For Growth Equity Investing In A Slow M&A Market
Carl Marcellino at Ropes & Gray discusses the factors bolstering appetite for growth equity fundraising in a depressed M&A market, and walks through the deal terms and other ingredients that set growth equity transactions apart from bread-and-butter venture capital investing.