Policy & Compliance
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May 23, 2024
NJ Justices Toss Direct Appeals Over Hospital Contract Bid
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an independent state-owned teaching hospital's conduct cannot be challenged directly in the state's intermediate appellate court because it isn't considered an administrative agency, affirming the dismissal of two protests over the hospital's selection of a pharmacy vendor.
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May 23, 2024
UBH Urges 9th Circ. To Take Up Petition In Health Claim Fight
United Behavioral Health implored the Ninth Circuit to grant the insurance company's petition for appellate court intervention in a consolidated action alleging mismanagement of mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims, arguing a California federal court clearly erred by allowing further pleadings on a denial of benefits claim.
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May 23, 2024
Ambulance Co. Owner Accused Of $1M Pandemic Loan Fraud
The owner of a California ambulance company who was charged last year with tax evasion and filing false returns has been further accused of fraudulently securing $1 million from federal pandemic relief loan programs, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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May 23, 2024
Cancer Society Strategist Starts 'New Adventure' With Venable
Venable LLP has hired the former strategic director for the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network as a senior policy adviser for its legislative and government affairs practice group and its health policy team.
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May 22, 2024
Wash. Health System Wants $230M Worker Class Win Axed
A Washington hospital system is seeking to derail a nearly $230 million judgement in favor of workers in a class wage case, contending the plaintiffs' key expert who testified at a state court trial recommended that jurors calculate damages based on a flawed equation that didn't account for differences in pay classifications.
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May 22, 2024
NC Panel Revives Retention Claim In Faulty Back Surgery Suit
A North Carolina appeals court has revived a family's negligent retention claim against a clinic over a doctor who was ousted from the profession for unnecessary and faulty surgeries, finding the claim does not fall under the state's four-year statute of repose for medical malpractice claims.
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May 22, 2024
Anti-Abortion Activist Gets Two Years For DC Clinic Blockade
An anti-abortion activist convicted of invading and blockading a Washington, D.C., reproductive health clinic was sentenced to two years of incarceration Wednesday, becoming the ninth defendant to get prison time in the D.C. federal court case.
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May 21, 2024
FTC Noncompete Ban Raises Stakes For Nonprofit Hospitals
The Federal Trade Commission seems eager to apply its employee noncompete ban to healthcare, with a key target in mind: nonprofit healthcare providers that, in the agency's view, act more like for-profit businesses.
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May 21, 2024
Judge Shopping Row, Henrietta Lacks And SC Abortion Clock
BigLaw lawyers get deeper into sanction spat, a case over profits from harvested cancer cells, and a Texas Supreme Court decision in a Fen-Phen malpractice suit. Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at those and other developments from the week in healthcare litigation.
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May 21, 2024
DC Circ. Says Drugmakers Can Limit Pharmacy Discounts
The D.C. Circuit held Tuesday that a federal drug discount program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies, rejecting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' expansive interpretation of the 340B drug pricing program.
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May 21, 2024
Mich. Judge Doubts Abortion Laws Pass Constitutional Muster
A Michigan state judge on Tuesday was skeptical state regulators could impose a waiting period and other requirements on people seeking abortions without violating a state constitutional amendment enshrining the right to abortion.
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May 21, 2024
NY High Court Upholds State Abortion Coverage Mandate
New York's highest court on Tuesday upheld a state law requiring employee health plans to cover medically necessary abortions, finding a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision didn't change the state court's determination that an exemption process in the law was constitutional.
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May 21, 2024
Counties Not 'Persons' In Texas Opioid MDL Appeal
A Texas appeals panel found Tuesday that counties are not considered "persons" under the state's common law and therefore are not subject to the Texas Medical Liability Act's requirement that they serve expert reports to pharmacy defendants in the state's opioid multidistrict litigation.
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May 21, 2024
Custom Drug Makers Stay On DOJ Radar In Fla. Fraud Case
Federal law enforcement's stake in a recent whistleblower lawsuit focused on expensive skin creams shows the agency's focus on pharmacies providing custom medications — long recognized as a lucrative avenue for Medicare fraudsters — hasn't waned.
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May 21, 2024
Experts Skeptical Of Federal Plan To Address Drug Shortages
A recent federal proposal meant to ease drug shortages by giving hospitals a incentive to stockpile medications may do more harm than good in the effort to ensure drugs are consistently available.
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May 21, 2024
Ga. Says Feds Shouldn't Prevail In Medicaid Expansion Suit
Georgia urged a federal judge on Monday not to rule in favor of the Biden administration in its suit attempting to keep its Medicaid program for low-income residents running until 2028, arguing the government has "no authority" to make it apply for a program extension when "illegal acts" delayed the program's launch.
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May 21, 2024
Baker Donelson Lands Health Law Pair From Nelson Mullins
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC has added to its health law group and data protection, privacy and cybersecurity team two attorneys who previously worked at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.
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May 21, 2024
Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023
The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.
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May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.
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May 21, 2024
Paul Hastings' FDA Chair Departs For Arnold & Porter
The chair of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration practice at Paul Hastings LLP has left for Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP just a few months after joining Paul Hastings, the firm said Tuesday.
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May 20, 2024
Texas Atty Chided For 'Crappy Strategy' Of Ducking Subpoena
A transplant surgeon at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center accused of tampering with patients' donor acceptance criteria failed to show up to a Houston court hearing — partly thanks to his attorney — in three families' wrongful death case after being subpoenaed, in what a Harris County judge told his attorney was "a crappy strategy."
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May 20, 2024
EEOC Says Red States Can't Block PWFA Rule On Abortion
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged an Arkansas federal judge to reject a bid by 17 Republican state attorneys general to block recently finalized regulations that guide the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, arguing that concerns about its abortion accommodations are merely hypothetical.
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May 20, 2024
iRhythm Brass Face Suit Over FDA's Heart Monitor Inquiry
Several current and former directors and executives of medical technology company iRhythm are named in a shareholder derivative suit alleging they failed to disclose an inquiry by the Food and Drug Administration that found iRhythm's heavily touted and high-cost real-time heart monitoring device failed to meet the company's claims.
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May 20, 2024
Latham Hires 2 Skadden Healthcare Partners In DC
Latham & Watkins LLP has picked up two healthcare and life sciences partners from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Patients Urge 9th Circ. To Deny UBH Petition In Claim Fight
Patients alleging United Behavioral Health mismanaged their mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims urged the Ninth Circuit not to grant the insurance company's petition for appellate court intervention in the consolidated action, arguing the effort was inappropriate and unjustified.
Expert Analysis
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Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
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Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues
Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Cos. Must Overhaul Data Privacy Approach To Avoid Lawsuits
With the proliferation of third-party trackers and the increasing complexity of privacy laws, companies need to significantly change their approach to online privacy to avoid litigation by focusing on responsible data collection practices and ongoing monitoring of ad tech tools, says Ian Cohen at LOKKER.
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Biden Admin's Mental Health Proposal May Not Be Enough
The Biden administration's recent proposed updates to federal mental health care rules acknowledge the difficulty that Americans face in finding and affording care, but may have limited impact due to enforcement challenges, a lack of providers and other issues, say Khaled Klele and Jessica Osterlof at Riker Danzig.
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How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI
When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.
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How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth
Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.
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ESG Around The World: Australia
Clive Cachia and Cathy Ma at K&L Gates detail ESG-reporting policies in Australia and explain how the country is starting to introduce mandatory requirements as ESG performance is increasingly seen as a key investment and corporate differentiator in the fight for global capital.
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Info Exchanges Must Stay Inside Now-Invisible Antitrust Lines
While the antitrust agencies recently withdrew long-standing enforcement policy statements for being "overly permissive" on information exchanges, we should not assume that all information exchanges are inherently suspect — they are still permissible if carefully constructed and vigorously managed, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.
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Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics
X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.
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Avoid Telehealth Pitfalls In A Post-Pandemic Environment
As federal and state governments roll out various changes to regulation of telehealth services, health practitioners should remain vigilant and ensure that necessary professional standards — such as proper note-taking and documentation — are not neglected in a remote environment, say attorneys at Kaufman Borgeest.
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ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act
While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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8 Ways Life Sciences Cos. Can Adapt To The Social Media Era
As pharmaceutical and medical device companies harness the powerful promotion potential of social media, they must navigate legal, regulatory and reputational risks that can be particularly challenging due to the complex framework of rules that apply to the life sciences industry, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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FTC Settlements Widen Efforts To Shield Health Data
The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement actions aim to send a clear message that companies using tracking technologies should carefully monitor the sharing of sensitive data, particularly in the mental health, substance use disorder treatment and reproductive health care fields, say attorneys at Choate.