Legal & Regulatory Issues

From health groups suing HHS over a rule that could invalidate thousands of regulations to a health insurer suing a cloud vendor over data exposed during a cyberattack, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines. 

Aetna can't pursue any overpayments it claims it made to hospitals because of alleged fraudulent billing from Mednax, a Pennsylvania court said.

A federal judge revived a class-action lawsuit alleging Delta (Colo.) County Memorial Hospital District did not compensate off-the-clock work performed by hourly staff, according to the Montrose Press.

A former employee of Surgical Care Affiliates sued the company, UnitedHealth Group and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare subsidiary United Surgical Partners International, claiming they all agreed to not compete for senior-level executives. 

The Supreme Court removed hearings on Medicaid work requirement cases from its March argument calendar, according to Bloomberg Law.

A judge has granted preliminary approval of a Sutter Health $575 million antitrust settlement more than a year after it was reached.

A former pharmacy technician was arrested and charged March 10 with stealing prescription HIV medications from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange, N.J., according to the U.S. Justice Department. 

Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health acknowledged that a female clinical psychologist at Northern Light Acadia Hospital in Bangor, Maine, was paid less than male colleagues, but it said her pay was not based on gender, according to the Bangor Daily News. 

A class-action lawsuit accusing UnitedHealthcare of improperly denying a cancer treatment known as proton beam therapy moved forward this week after a federal judge refused to toss the case, according to court documents obtained by Becker's Hospital Review.

A coalition of health groups and others sued HHS March 9 over a Trump administration rule that was finalized the day before President Joe Biden's inauguration.