On July 2, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the reinvigoration of their False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement efforts through the formation of a joint FCA...more
7/9/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare
On May 12, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the executive order (EO) “Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing To American Patients.” The EO sets forth policy positions that attempt to further rein in drug...more
5/14/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Executive Orders ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
Companies that interact with FDA are likely to find that the layoff of 3,500 employees on April 1, 2025, affects their dealings in a variety of ways....more
On April 15, 2025, President Trump issued the executive order “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” aimed at lowering the prices of prescription drugs and biologics, encouraging competition in the drug...more
There has been a flurry of activity at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since the start of the Trump administration. Day-to-day operations at FDA are already significantly altered, and we expect the trickle-down effects...more
Dr. Martin Makary has been confirmed by the Senate as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Makary is taking the helm at FDA during an unprecedented time for the agency, which has been subject...more
3/27/2025
/ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On March 10, 2025, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initiated a significant shift in the regulation of ultra-processed foods by directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise the GRAS (Generally Recognized...more
3/13/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Safety ,
GRAS ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Life Sciences ,
Policy Updates ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has been confirmed by the Senate as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this capacity, RFK Jr. will oversee 13 agencies that are critical to U.S. health policy,...more
2/13/2025
/ Alternative Medicine ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Research and Development ,
Trump Administration ,
Vaccinations
Since the announcement that president-elect Donald Trump would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), media reports have featured opinions from...more
1/23/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Safety ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GRAS ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
User Fees
Key Points -
- It remains to be seen what priorities Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marty Makary might set if confirmed as HHS secretary and FDA commissioner, respectively.
- The Trump administration will likely focus on drug...more
1/21/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Trump Administration
Circuit Split Widens Over AKS-Based FCA Causation Element -
The Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) continues to form the basis of hundreds of millions of dollars of annual recoveries for the government under the federal False...more
3/25/2024
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Life Sciences ,
OIG ,
Personal Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Regulatory Reform
We are pleased to present the first issue of our newsletter analyzing recent trends and developments impacting the life sciences industry, including DOJ policy updates and key provisions of the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform...more
6/8/2023
/ Clawbacks ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Life Sciences ,
New Regulations ,
OIG ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
In this month’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we look at Washington state’s passage of the first-ever state-level health data privacy law and the finalized California Consumer Privacy Act regulations. We also examine a...more
5/2/2023
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Fraudulent Wire Transfers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Industry ,
Medical Devices ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
State Privacy Laws
In 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) entered into 30 new corporate integrity agreements (CIAs) with companies and individuals to resolve exclusion authority arising out of...more
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 public health emergency in 2020, the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) entered into the highest number of corporate integrity...more
On November 16, 2020, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert regarding the inherent fraud and abuse risks associated with...more
11/25/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fraud Alerts ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Speaker Programs
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a proposed rule that would make sweeping changes to the discount and rebate arrangements between drug manufacturers on the one hand and Medicare Part D plans and...more
2/5/2019
/ Amended Rules ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Manufacturers ,
MCOs ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rebates ,
Safe Harbors
While the number of new corporate integrity agreements (CIAs) declined since last year, and was below the trailing five-year average, 2018 was an important year on the policy front for the Office of Inspector General (OIG),...more
On October 30, 2018, Skadden hosted its Eighth Annual Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Enforcement and Litigation Seminar in New York City, which focused on U.S. enforcement issues faced by companies throughout the industry....more
12/13/2018
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Drug Pricing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethical Standards ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FDA Approval ,
First Amendment ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Internal Investigations ,
Kickbacks ,
Life Sciences ,
Materiality ,
Medical Devices ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
PHRMA ,
Popular ,
Product Labels ,
Rebates ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sunshine Act ,
Transparency ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Whistleblowers