Health

  • October 18, 2024

    Ill. Justices Find Broad COVID Immunity For Health Facilities

    The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday read broad immunity into an emergency order that immunized healthcare facilities aiding the state's COVID-19 response, saying the order shields those facilities from ordinary negligence claims during that time, not just ones directly relating to their pandemic care.

  • October 18, 2024

    What Attorneys Expect From Harris And Trump On Patents

    Patents have scarcely been mentioned during the presidential campaign, but attorneys say that positions taken by the candidates suggest Donald Trump would favor stronger patent rights, while Kamala Harris would focus on steps to make drugs and other patented inventions more widely available.

  • October 18, 2024

    HHS Slams Hackensack Meridian's Chevron-Inspired Suit

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has torn into a suit from New Jersey's largest healthcare network over Medicare reimbursements, arguing the network has "chosen to blaze a path … that is both prohibited by Congress and unsanctioned by precedent."

  • October 18, 2024

    Cigna Says Florida Labs Owe $16M After 'Cheating' For Benefits

    Three Florida substance abuse laboratories wrongly filed $16 million in claims for medically unnecessary tests and doubled their scheme by failing to seek patient payments, Cigna attorneys told a federal jury on Friday.  The labs, however, accused the insurer of breaching policy agreements by failing to pay for services rendered.

  • October 18, 2024

    Hospital, Medical Practice Ink $12M Deal In Brain Damage Suit

    A New Jersey hospital and other entities sued by the family of a woman who suffered permanent brain damage during childbirth have settled the lawsuit for $11.9 million, with about a quarter of the deal earmarked for attorney fees, according to court documents.

  • October 18, 2024

    AGs Slam 4th Circ. Bid To Restore NC Abortion Drug Limits

    In a joint amicus brief to the Fourth Circuit, a coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia has said the abortion drug mifepristone is a part of women's reproductive healthcare, assailing the "needless" limits that states including North Carolina have sought to impose on the drug's access.

  • October 18, 2024

    Suit Wants Fla. Abortion Measure Struck Over Fraud Claims

    A group of Florida voters represented by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson have filed suit to invalidate an abortion rights ballot measure over allegations of wide-scale fraud by the initiative's sponsor during the signature gathering process.

  • October 18, 2024

    NC Hospital Fights Competitor's Expansion Bid Approval

    A North Carolina hospital operator urged a state appellate court to invalidate an administrative judge's approval of a competitor's expansion bid, arguing that members of the public were wrongfully denied input.

  • October 18, 2024

    Polsinelli Adds K&L Gates Litigation Team In SC

    A group of three federal healthcare litigators, plus consultants and support staff, has departed K&L Gates LLP for Polsinelli PC in Charleston, South Carolina.

  • October 18, 2024

    Expect Mental Health Parity Data Guidance, DOL Official Says

    The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm is working on guidance to help employer health plans comply with data collection and analysis requirements tied to recently finalized mental health and substance use disorder treatment coverage rules, an agency official told attorneys Friday.

  • October 18, 2024

    Philly Atty Suspended After Guilty Plea In Pill Mill Scheme

    A Philadelphia attorney who pled guilty to filling fraudulent opioid prescriptions in his side job as a part-time pharmacist had his law license suspended for a year and a day, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania announced.

  • October 18, 2024

    CVS Health Replaces CEO Amid Reported Activist Pressure

    CVS Health announced an executive shakeup on Friday, including the appointment of new President and CEO David Joyner, a move that comes as the troubled healthcare services giant faces pressure from activist investors pushing for change.

  • October 18, 2024

    Ted Kennedy Jr. On Disability Inclusion In The Legal Industry

    Ted Kennedy Jr., a healthcare regulatory attorney at Epstein Becker Green and a pediatric bone cancer survivor who has an amputation, has made it his life’s work to advocate for people with disabilities. Here, Kennedy talks with Law360 Pulse about why legal employers should be more inclusive.

  • October 18, 2024

    FTC Faces More Pressure To Block $16.5B Novo-Catalent Deal

    A dozen advocacy groups are pushing the Federal Trade Commission to block Novo Holdings' planned $16.5 billion purchase of Catalent, arguing that the deal would stifle competition for certain obesity and gene therapy drugs — and that no remedy can fix that.

  • October 17, 2024

    'More Honesty' Needed In Philips IP Row, Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge told the owner of a company accused of pilfering around $12 million worth of Philips North America LLC's trade secrets that things might have gone better if he had "been more honest," pointing out that he had given contradictory testimony during a hearing Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    'It's The First Amendment, Stupid': Judge Blasts Fla.'s Threats

    A Florida federal judge on Thursday blocked the state from threatening television stations with criminal prosecution if they did not pull a campaign ad promoting an abortion rights ballot initiative, calling the ads political speech that "is at the core of the First Amendment."

  • October 17, 2024

    Acadia Hid Wrongful Detainment Of Patients, Investor Claims

    Behavioral healthcare provider Acadia Healthcare was hit with a proposed securities class action in Tennessee federal court alleging that investors were damaged after The New York Times published an investigative report saying the company detained patients in its psychiatric facilities for financial gain rather than out of medical necessity.

  • October 17, 2024

    Hospital Can Use TM Fraud Claim As Shield, Not Sword

    A North Carolina hospital and healthcare provider can't pursue a trademark fraud counterclaim in a weight loss clinic's infringement dispute but can assert the claim as an affirmative defense, a federal judge ruled.

  • October 17, 2024

    Under Pot Law, Preschool Isn't 'School,' Ariz. Court Rules

    A divided Arizona appeals court on Thursday shut down a challenge to a state decision that granted a medical marijuana license to a dispensary located near a preschool after finding that state law treats "public or private schools" and "preschools" as two different things.

  • October 17, 2024

    GAO Finds VA Rightly Canceled Too-High 'Wander System' Bid

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office backed a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decision rejecting a lone bid that came in at more than double the agency's budget for a wander management system at a medical center in Fresno, California.

  • October 17, 2024

    FCC OKs New Rules Mandating Georouting For 988 Calls

    Calls that come into the 988 suicide and crisis hotline will now be routed to centers based on where the call is coming from, following the Federal Communications Commission's decision to adopt rules requiring georouting on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Feds Drop Marketing Exec's Tricare Fraud Case In Florida

    A Florida marketing executive previously convicted in a healthcare fraud scheme and then granted a new trial has had his criminal case dismissed by U.S. attorneys after he alleged prosecutorial misconduct, saying federal officials violated his constitutional rights and fed lies to a grand jury in order to secure an indictment.

  • October 17, 2024

    $20B Verizon-Frontier Deal Faces Scrutiny, And Other Rumors

    A growing list of Frontier Communications' largest shareholders are concerned about its planned $20 billion takeover by Verizon Communications, and a group of former professional athletes are in talks to buy a stake in the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable rumors from the past week.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-Genzyme Exec Says Anxiety Disclosure Led To Firing

    A former marketing director for Sanofi subsidiary Genzyme says he was fired on a pretext after disclosing that he suffers from anxiety, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Massachusetts state court.

  • October 17, 2024

    Sen. Report Slams Insurers For Medicare Advantage Denials

    A trio of major Medicare Advantage insurers are driving profits by denying coverage for patient stays at "costly but critical" facilities for those recovering from injuries and illnesses, according to a report issued Thursday by a Congressional committee.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    DOL's Impending Mental Health Act Regs Should Be Simplified

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    The U.S. Department of Labor should consider revising these six issues in its forthcoming Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act regulations to ease the significant compliance hurdles for group health plan sponsors, says Alden Bianchi at McDermott.

  • Parsing FY 2024 DOJ Criminal Healthcare Fraud Enforcement

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    While the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division's strike force on healthcare fraud enforcement action shows an impressive doubling of criminal indictments, a closer look at the data offers important clues about underlying trends, including the comparably modest, accompanying increase in associated intended loss, say Roderick Thomas and Kathleen Cooperstein at Wiley.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Flags Work Harassment Risks Of Social Media

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    The recent Ninth Circuit ruling in Okonowsky v. Garland, holding an employer could be liable for a co-worker's harassing social media posts, highlights new challenges in technology-centered and remote workplaces, and underscores an employer's obligation to prevent hostile environments wherever their employees clock in, say Jennifer Lada and Phillip Schreiber at Holland & Knight.

  • Vendor Rights Lessons From 2 Chapter 11 Cases

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    A Texas federal court’s recent critical vendor order in the Zachry Holdings Chapter 11 filing, as well as a settlement between Rite Aid and McKesson in New Jersey federal court last year, shows why suppliers must object to critical vendor motions that do not recognize creditors' legal rights, says David Conaway at Shumaker.

  • How Cos. With Chinese Suppliers Should Prep For Biotech Bill

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    A proposed bill to prohibit government-affiliated life sciences companies from contracting with Chinese biotech companies of concern may necessitate switching to other sources for research and supplies, meaning they should begin evaluating supply chains now due to the long lead times of drug development, say John O'Loughlin and Christina Carone at Weil Gotshal.

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

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    A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Can Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Help Cannabis Businesses?

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    Attorneys at Fox Rothschild consider whether Chapter 15 may be used as a tool to liquidate U.S. assets of cannabis companies in foreign bankruptcy proceedings, and look at the statutory provisions that may have a bearing on the successful liquidation of assets under the Bankruptcy Code.

  • FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny

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    The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma

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    If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

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    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • What Cos. Should Note In DOJ's New Whistleblower Pilot

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    After the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a new whistleblower pilot program last week — continuing its efforts to incentivize individual reporting of misconduct — companies should review the eligibility criteria, update their compliance programs and consider the risks and benefits of making their own self-disclosures, say attorneys at Skadden.

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