From a New York judge dismissing an antitrust lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare and MultiPlan to a Texas judge vacating a Biden-era nursing home staffing mandate, here are 10 recent healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements and legal developments that Becker’s has reported since April 1:
1. A New York federal judge dismissed an antitrust lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare and MultiPlan that alleged the companies conspired to reduce reimbursement rates for an anesthesia services provider.
2. Martins Ferry-based East Ohio Regional Hospital and its owner and CEO, John Johnson, MD, have been hit with a lawsuit following the hospital’s March 14 layoffs and March 21 closure. The lawsuit alleges that the hospital violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying employees their final paycheck and conducted mass layoffs and closure without the required legal notice under the WARN Act.
3. A Texas federal judge vacated a yet-to-be-imposed nursing home staffing level mandate approved during the Biden administration.
4. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against major pharmacy benefit managers, including UnitedHealth Group’s Optum, CVS Health’s Caremark and Cigna’s Express Scripts, over insulin pricing practices is set to move forward after being paused. FTC chair Andrew Ferguson said April 3 that he would no longer recuse himself from the case, clearing the way for the lawsuit to resume.
5. A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a permanent injunction to block the Trump administration’s proposal to limit medical research funding. The federal government plans to appeal the decision, setting up a longer legal battle over the future of research grant policy.
6. Miami-based Nicklaus Children’s Hospital paused its effort to evict Fort Meyers, Fla.-based Lee Health from the Golisano Children’s Health Center in Naples, Fla., providing a temporary reprieve in a high-stakes dispute that threatened access to pediatric care for tens of thousands of families in Collier County.
7. The Justice Department is urging a federal court to allow a decade-old lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group to continue. Justice Department attorneys argued that a court-appointed special master was incorrect in her recommendation to throw out the lawsuit, alleging UnitedHealth Group overcharged the federal government through Medicare Advantage claims.
8. A federal judge ordered Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit to pay $1.64 billion for illegally promoting HIV drugs Prezista and Intelence.
9. A federal judge dismissed Amgen’s lawsuit against Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board, allowing the state to move forward with setting price ceilings on prescription drugs.
10. A federal judge in Texas ruled that the FDA does not have the authority to regulate laboratory developed tests as medical devices, striking down the agency’s recently finalized rule.
