Category: Legal & Regulatory Issues

Supreme Court upholds FDA's mifepristone approval

A year and a half after four organizations and four physicians filed a lawsuit against the FDA’s approval of mifepristone to terminate a pregnancy, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled June 13 in favor of the FDA. 

HCA Mission Hospital's immediate jeopardy removed

Asheville, N.C.-based HCA Mission Hospital has had its immediate jeopardy designation lifted, Blue Ridge Public Radio reported June 12.

Labor union ordered to pay $6M+ to California HCA hospital

Service Employees International Union 121RN was ordered May 31 by a Los Angeles-based federal arbitrator to pay Riverside (Calif.) Community Hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, $6.26 million in damages for holding an “unlawful stri…

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes appeals fraud conviction

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the now-defunct blood testing startup Theranos, is appealing her fraud conviction, according to CNN.

Washington governor directs hospitals to provide abortions in emergency cases

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a directive June 11 that hospitals are legally required to provide abortions in emergency cases. 

California system gets $1.2M settlement after neurosurgeon walkout

Inspire Health Medical Group has agreed to pay a $1.2 million settlement to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Calif., after neurosurgeons allegedly planned a walkout in 2021 and gave the system less than 32 hours’ notice. 

Judge denies latest FTC attempt to halt Novant-CHS deal

A North Carolina federal judge denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request to bar Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health from acquiring two North Carolina hospitals from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems until its appeal is resolved.

Proposed legislation hopes to remove healthcare 'corporate greed': 7 things to know

Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey have introduced the Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act of 2024 in an attempt to remove “corporate greed and private equity abuse” in healthcare.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pitches rule to ban medical debt on credit reports

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule that it said would eliminate as much as $49 billion of medical debts that “unjustly lowers credit scores for 15 million Americans.”

Feds indict hospital whistleblower for HIPAA violation

Surgeon Eithan Haim, MD, is being charged with four counts of criminal HIPAA violations after he leaked internal documents from Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital regarding gender-affirming services, Houston Public Media reported June 10.