Taking the Pulse: A Health Care & Life Sciences Video Podcast | Episode 239: Understanding the 340B Pricing Program with Chuck Melendi of Disruptive Dialogue
Understanding Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The PBM Landscape Explained
EpiPen RICO Ruling Opens Door for Private AKS Enforcement
Part Two: The MFN Drug Pricing Rule and the Rebate Rule: Where Do We Go From Here?
Part One: Two new Medicare Drug Pricing Rules in One Day: What are the MFN and the Rebate Drug Pricing Rules?
Drug Pricing Initiatives During the Trump Presidency
Two long weeks until August recess - This is the last week with both chambers in session until September, and things are relatively slow as lawmakers count down the days to the month-long August recess. With reconciliation...more
The U.S. House of Representatives returns from a district work period. The U.S. Senate is expected to consider the $9.4 billion rescissions package that passed the House last month. If not passed by July 18, 2025, the...more
Welcome to the seventh issue of Health Headlines, a newsletter created by lawyers in our Healthcare practice. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 383 into law, placing new restrictions on pharmacy benefit...more
U.S. House of Representatives committees are scheduled to begin markups on additional portions of the budget reconciliation package on May 13, 2025. Both the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Energy...more
News Briefs - Judge Blocks Trump from Cutting Billions in State Health Funding - A federal judge said she will grant a request from 23 states to issue an emergency block on the federal government's rescindment of billions in...more
Holland & Knight Health Dose is an in-depth weekly dose of legislative and regulatory insights to keep stakeholders abreast of happenings in Washington, D.C., impacting the health sector....more
House Passes Budget Resolution. On February 25, the House voted 217 – 215 to advance its version of a budget resolution to outline the reconciliation process. In a dramatic display of how quickly things can change, the vote...more
In the wake of the December 4, 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson, questions were raised about insurance claim denial practices. Several news outlets noted that UnitedHealth Group’s profits have been...more
News Briefs - Hospitals Urged to Check for Accuracy as AI Use Increases -About 65 percent, or 1,696, of U.S. hospitals surveyed reported using artificial intelligence or predictive models integrated with their electronic...more
As the new year begins, change is afoot inside the Beltway as the 119th Congress gets underway and Washington prepares for President Trump’s second administration. While change is bringing uncertainty on some fronts, health...more
Below is Alston & Bird’s Health Care Week in Review, which provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and congressional committee action; reports, studies,...more
Following a hotly contested election, Donald Trump is once again the president-elect and will return to the White House on January 20, 2025. He will do so with a dominant electoral college win, potentially a win of the...more
News Briefs - 20 AGs Seek Immediate Injunction Over Nursing Home Staffing Rule - A group of 20 attorneys general asking a federal court to strike down the nursing home staffing rule also has now asked the court for an...more
Congress Votes on CR, Health-Related Legislation. After reaching a deal over the weekend, both chambers passed a CR to avoid a government shutdown and fund the federal government through December 20, 2024. This tees up a push...more
DOJ recently formed the Antitrust Division’s (the “Division”) Task Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion (“HCMC”), signaling anticompetitive activity in health care markets as an enforcement priority....more
On August 15, 2024, CMS announced the results of the first round of the negotiated prices between CMS and participating drug manufacturers for the 10 selected drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Medicare Drug...more
Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act has grown significantly since its enactment in 1992 – both in the number of covered entities eligible to participate and in the volume of drugs purchased through the program. The...more
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Cybersecurity. During the hearing, there was bipartisan concern about UnitedHealth Group’s response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack and consensus around the...more
Earlier this week, President Biden released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 President’s Budget. As a reminder, every year, the White House releases a budget that serves as its official funding request to Congress for the following...more
IT’S SHUTDOWN WEEK . . . AGAIN - Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Congress returns to session this week, with precious little time to avert a looming partial government shutdown at midnight on Friday. After...more
The Lower Costs More Transparency Act of 2023, passed by the House 320-71 on Monday, December 11, 2023, would institute new transparency and pricing rules on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and hospitals. The bill would...more
Senate Finance Committee Examines Drug Shortages. The hearing addressed concerns and explored potential solutions related to drug shortages in the United States, particularly focusing on essential medications. The hearing...more
CONGRESS - Senate Finance Committee Holds Markup on Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act. The bipartisan package includes Medicare and Medicaid extenders, provisions to expand the mental health...more
In a significant development with far-reaching implications for health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has recently struck down a federal...more