1. Hartford HealthCare and St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, both based in Hartford, Conn., reached a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged Hartford HealthCare engaged in anticompetitive behavior
2. UnitedHealth Group asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s challenge to its acquisition of Amedisys, or require the department to provide more specific data on how the deal could harm competition.
3. Chesapeake (Va.) Regional Medical Center is facing federal criminal charges related to unnecessary surgeries performed by a physician who was convicted of 52 federal counts in 2020.
4. A pair of trade groups filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, aiming to halt the agency’s new rule banning medical debt from credit reports.
5. Novo Nordisk filed a citizen petition with the FDA to block the compounding of liraglutide, a key ingredient in its diabetes and obesity medications, by outsourcing facilities.
6. Missouri University Health Care, based in Columbia, Mo., agreed to an $8 million settlement to resolve claims related to a May 2020 data breach that allegedly compromised the personal information of 3,000 patients.
7. The lawsuit alleging Fresno, Calif.-based Community Health System misused $1 billion in tax dollars has been paused until June while the health system and the nonprofit plaintiffs negotiate privately.
8. A group of community physicians filed a lawsuit against Saint Agnes Medical Center, alleging the Fresno, Calif.-based hospital’s new contract with Vituity violates the state’s unfair competition laws and will cause disruptions to patient care.
9. A Massachusetts court ordered three UnitedHealth-owned insurers to pay over $165 million for engaging in widespread deceptive practices that misled thousands of consumers into purchasing supplemental health insurance they didn’t need. The defendants were acquired by UnitedHealthcare in 2019. The deceptive practices occurred primarily between 2012 and 2016, before UnitedHealth purchased the companies.
10. Whittier, Calif.-based PIH Health is facing a lawsuit over a ransomware attack that hit the health system on Dec. 1.
11. Providence, R.I.-based Care New England Health will pay $1.9 million in back wages and damages to 853 workers who were not properly compensated for working through breaks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
