As federal and state policy changes accelerate, legal departments inside health systems are taking on a more operational role. At Chicago-based Rush University System for Health, that shift has intensified over the past year as political and regulatory developments increasingly…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s agencies and universities to freeze all new H-1B visa petitions through May 2027.  In a Jan. 27 letter, Mr. Abbott instructed Texas agencies and universities to review the H-1B program, which was created…

A woman who repeatedly posed as a registered nurse to gain employment in multiple states has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison. Leticia Gallarzo, 51, formerly of Wayland, Mich., was sentenced Jan. 26 to 75 months…

While a lawsuit against its former CEO remains ongoing, Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y., has filed separate lawsuits against seven other former executives over alleged improper termination payments. Seven things to know: 1. The safety-net hospital’s parent…

San Francisco-based Dignity Health is facing a class-action lawsuit over claims that it improperly stored remains of deceased patients at an off-site morgue and routinely failed to notify next of kin in a timely manner after patients died. The complaint,…

Washington, D.C.-based Children’s National, which operates two hospitals, does not have to fulfill the Justice Department’s request for patient records related to gender-affirming care, a federal judge ruled Jan. 21.  The order, issued in the U.S. District Court for the…

Flint, Mich.-based Insight Health Systems has agreed to surrender the license for its Warren, Ohio-based Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull, a spokesperson for the system confirmed with Becker’s.  “Once that license has been received, Insight is free to submit…

President Donald Trump released a sparsely detailed healthcare policy framework Jan. 15 that raises questions about its implementation and legislative viability.  The president’s proposal calls on Congress to codify voluntary drug pricing agreements with pharmaceutical companies, provide direct payments to…

False Claims Act settlements and judgments totaled more than $6.8 billion in fiscal year 2025, the highest annual amount on record, according to a Jan. 16 report from the Justice Department.  Six things to know:  1. The $6.8 billion total…

In a Jan. 20 letter to CMS, 10 national healthcare organizations asked the federal agency to issue clear guidance on emergency department signage that discourages violence against healthcare workers.  Hospital surveyors have questioned and cited workplace violence signs as potential…