Legal & Regulatory Issues

In a lawsuit filed April 26, a nurse alleges Providence Portland (Ore.) Medical Center wrongfully terminated him in 2021 after he raised concerns about inadequate staffing and patient safety. 

In this episode we are joined by regular guest Alan Condon, Editor-in-Chief at Becker's Healthcare, to discuss CMS pitching inpatient payment rule for 2024 and Fitch reporting that there are signs of easing labor pressures for hospitals.

After Florida did away with the certificate-of-need requirement to build new hospitals in 2019, healthcare companies announced plans to build at least 65 hospitals from 2020 to 2022, KFF HealthNews reported April 26.

A federal judge has granted preliminary approval of a settlement between Ascension Michigan and healthcare workers who alleged they were denied a religious exemption to their employer's COVID-19 vaccination policy and were either suspended or otherwise lost their job as…

James Heaps, a former OB-GYN at the University of California Los Angeles, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted in October 2022 of sexual abuse of patients, the Los Angeles Daily News reported April 26.

A jury awarded nearly $183 million to a family who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Philadelphia-based Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, who alleged that a birth injury left their son with cerebral palsy, Law360 reported April 26. 

A lawsuit filed April 25 against AbbVie alleges the company engaged in a "fraudulent scheme" to hike prices by 470 percent of its most profitable drug, Humira. 

A physician has filed a lawsuit alleging that executives at an Iowa hospital discriminated against those who do not share their religious beliefs and political views, according to court documents accessed by Becker's. 

Disability rights advocates are suing to overturn California's physician-assisted death laws, claiming recent changes have made assisted suicide too accessible to people with terminal diseases, KFF Health News reported April 25.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will mark up four bills targeting pharmacy benefit managers on May 2, according to a news release from Committee Chair and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.