PE-Owned Doc Staffing Raises ER Fraud Risk
As private equity firms scoop up physician staffing companies, healthcare litigators say emergency rooms and referrals are fertile ground for fraud and False Claims Act enforcement.
AbbVie Tests Exclusion Strategy In Drug Price Fight
Following a series of drugmaker losses in suits challenging Medicare drug price negotiations, AbbVie Inc. is trying something new in a challenge focused on Botox and a legal exclusion for drugs made from human plasma.
Oregon Racing to Block Predatory Hospice Schemes
As California's revamped laws trigger a massive crackdown on hospice fraud, Oregon lawmakers are moving to protect their residents against an influx of predatory operators. The state currently lacks robust hospice regulations, making it an attractive target for bad actors seeking a foothold as they are pushed out of neighboring markets, palliative care advocates say.
Deals & Corporate Governance More
The Ninth Circuit ruled against a lower court Wednesday in saying pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly does not owe $278 million in royalties to an Arizona company for insulin-brands sales, saying an agreement betwe... (more story)
Novo Nordisk said on Wednesday it is partnering with Vivtex Corp. on a deal worth up to $2.1 billion to develop drugs for obesity and related conditions, pressing ahead with a weight loss-drug franchise that h... (more story)
The Eighth Circuit has affirmed a lower court ruling that tossed a case accusing Iowa Pathology Associates of monopolizing pathology services in central Iowa, finding the rival never explained why doctors can'... (more story)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked for Natera's position on a petition from rival CareDx asking the high court to review a Third Circuit decision that erased a $45 million jury award stemming from CareDx's... (more story)
A New Jersey watchdog will take its bid to shield investigative files from discovery in a hospital's antitrust suit to the Third Circuit, according to a court notice.
Gilead Sciences Inc. announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire clinical-stage biotechnology company Arcellx Inc. for $115 per share in cash plus one contingent value right worth $5 per share, reflecting a... (more story)
Digital Health & Technology More
Centene Corp. urged an Illinois federal judge Tuesday to grant it partial judgment in a proposed class action by patients alleging the company violated racketeering laws and cheated them out of billions with b... (more story)
Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at drugmakers' intervention in federal litigation concerning mail-order abortion medication, questions left open by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision striking down tariffs and... (more story)
Ongoing challenges to enforcement actions underscore the uphill battle businesses face in arguing that a state investigation is prohibited by federal law, but when properly deployed, these arguments present a ... (more story)
A North Carolina federal judge has ruled that a prospective class of Nurse.com users lacked standing to sue the website's operator for Video Privacy Protection Act violations for allegedly sharing customers' i... (more story)
Two significant final guidance documents released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month reflect a targeted effort to ease innovation friction around specific areas, including singular clinical de... (more story)
A former Johnson & Johnson subsidiary has agreed to pay $4.7 million to settle a potential class action claiming it unlawfully stored and collected facial scans of people who used its Neutrogena Skin360 tool, ... (more story)
Policy & Compliance More
State laws that block drugmakers from imposing restrictions on federally funded hospitals and the contract pharmacies they use to dispense discounted drugs under the 340B drug discount program are violating fe... (more story)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Aid Access, its founder and a California doctor in state court Tuesday alleging they operate an "abortion-by-mail enterprise" that ship abortion-inducing drugs to Texas r... (more story)
The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would hold back $259.9 million in Medicaid funding for Minnesota as part of what it called an unprecedented effort to combat fraud in programs that support low-income families.
A Florida panel on Wednesday set aside a state agency's proposed rules that would include doctors in a workers' compensation law that gives patients an "absolute choice" over which pharmacist can fill their pr... (more story)
A native of Pakistan who is living in Texas pled not guilty Wednesday to a Chicago indictment claiming he participated in an alleged $10 million healthcare fraud and money laundering scheme involving fake medi... (more story)
The U.S. Department of Education must fund K-12 mental health grants given to public schools to help students cope with school shootings, the Ninth Circuit ruled, denying the agency's emergency request to paus... (more story)