Legal & Regulatory Issues

Today's special election to fill the late Massachusetts' Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat is a critical point in healthcare reform efforts as Democratic Massachusetts' Attorney General Martha Coakley struggles to stave off defeat from Republican state Sen. Scott Brown, according to…

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons has asked Health and Human Services Director Mike Willden to examine a possible opt-out of the federal Medicaid program, according to a report by the Las Vegas Sun.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that hospitals must warn patients that state law prohibits medical malpractice suits for birth-related neurological injuries, according to a report in the Miami Herald.

Congressional Democrats have asked officials from the pharmaceutical industry to contribute an additional $10 billion, on top of a promised $80 billion, to help offset the cost of the healthcare overhaul over the next 10 years, according to a report…

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and 18 Senators have sent a letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging the leaders to press for inclusion of language to repeal the federal antitrust exemption for…

Thirteen Detroit-area residents have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged home healthcare scheme to defraud the Medicare program of more than $14.5 million, according to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Maryland Court of Appeals has upheld the state's $812,500 limit on malpractice awards for pain and suffering, overturning a lower court's award of a higher amount, according to a report by the Baltimore Business Journal.

Lower Bucks Hospital, a 183-bed facility in Bristol Township, Pa., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after losing $14 million in the last three years, according to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A federal grand jury has indicted Lillian Pagkaliwangan and Raymundo Arellano, who are married, of Lakeland, Fla., with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, according to a report in Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Key Congressional Democrats, along with Pres. Obama, held a nearly day-long session yesterday to negotiate a joint healthcare reform legislation package with the aim of submitting a final plan to the Congressional Budget Office early next week. Negotiations are expected…