"Many of the directives, particularly those relating to drug prices and price negotiations, require legislative action by Congress. Bipartisan legislation has already been introduced in the House that would align the timeline for eligibility and price negotiation for small molecule drugs with biologics as set forth in [Executive Order 14273]. However, many other provisions in the EO, such as the Importation Program, have historically not received broad bipartisan support"  MORE >>

122 pages. "Justice Kavanaugh [to counsel for Braidwood]: Your theory, I think, depends on us treating the Task Force as this massively important agency that operates with unreviewable authority ... to make really critical decisions that are going to affect the economy.... And I just don't see indications of that." [Braidwood Mgmt, Inc. v. Becerra, No. 23-10326 (5th Cir. Jun. 21, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jan. 10, 2025; oral arg. Apr. 21, 2025; audio recording)]  MORE >>

"Following oral arguments [on April 21], legal onlookers are giving the edge to the federal government in a lawsuit against employer Braidwood Management as the company tries to overturn a provision requiring private insurers to cover certain cost-free preventive services through the [ACA] marketplace or in employer-based coverage." [Braidwood Mgmt, Inc. v. Becerra, No. 23-10326 (5th Cir. Jun. 21, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jan. 10, 2025; oral arg. Apr. 21, 2025)]  MORE >>

"The Supreme Court ... appeared to side with the federal government in a dispute over the constitutionality of the structure of ... the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force ... The challengers in the case contend that the group's recommendations are invalid because the members of the task force were not appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but most of the justices seemed skeptical of that argument." [Braidwood Mgmt, Inc. v. Becerra, No. 23-10326 (5th Cir. Jun. 21, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jan. 10, 2025; oral arg. Apr. 21, 2025)]   MORE >>

"Following in the footsteps of the prior administration, OCR continues to focus on the HIPAA Risk Analysis Initiative, with its most recent enforcement action highlighting the importance of comprehensive risk analyses, access management, and workforce training in the wake of a hospital ransomware attack."  MORE >>

"Nationally, telehealth utilization rose by 6.13 percent, from 4.74 percent in July to 5.04 percent in December. From July to December 2024, mental health conditions ranked as the number one telehealth diagnostic category nationally ... In the Midwest, the top five diagnostic categories from July to December 2024 included two categories not found at the national level: substance use disorders and sleep disorders."  MORE >>

"The Court acknowledged the 'serious' practical implications of its holding but suggested that a variety of procedural mechanisms may be available to discourage meritless lawsuits from being filed, including limited discovery, fee shifting, Rule 11 sanctions, and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7(a)(7)." [Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 23-1007 (S.Ct. Apr. 17, 2025)]   MORE >>

"[E]mployers often provide enhanced benefits for employees losing their employment as part of a group termination.... What are the impacts to our 401(k) plan for a group termination? ... What about severance? ... What happens to health coverage for employees who are terminated? ... How are outstanding stock options or other equity incentive plan awards treated? ... Will the company need to make payments on deferred compensation plans?"  MORE >>

"The Court sanctioned Schlichter's position that an ERISA prohibited transaction claim can be filed with bare-bones allegations that an employee benefit plan entered into a service provider contract -- something that is essential to run every modern plan.... [N]ow all excessive fee lawsuits, including the new genre of excessive fee lawsuits against health plans, will be recast as prohibited transaction claims to avoid a motion to dismiss. This distorts ERISA beyond any possible legislative intent." [Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 23-1007 (S.Ct. Apr. 17, 2025)]  MORE >>