West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health successfully defended against a proposed class-action lawsuit that claimed it disclosed patients' personal health information with third parties.

Marlton, N.J.-based Virtua Health has sued Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health and is seeking no less than $12 million in compensatory damages regarding Virtua's acquisition of two Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services hospitals from Trinity in 2019. 

The Federal Trade Commission voted to implement a sweeping noncompete ban that would have seismic effects on the healthcare industry and the U.S. economy more broadly. But questions remain around which nonprofit hospitals and other providers may be affected by the ban and how far the FTC's jurisdiction reaches under its final rule.

A group of 22 state attorneys general is urging UnitedHealth Group to provide more financial assistance to providers hurt by the hack on Change Healthcare. 

Three owners of an independent laboratory have been charged for their alleged roles in a $36 million fraud scheme. 

A Senate committee opened an investigation into Novo Nordisk's list prices for Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk's diabetes and weight loss drugs. 

A 31-year-old man was shot and killed by an officer in Washington County Regional Medical Center in Sandersville, Ga., April 23, after what local officials describe as an attempted escape from correctional officers. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is asking a federal court to halt the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, alleging it violates the law in "numerous ways." 

A civil case between the Kowalski family and St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital entered mediation, but according to court documents, it has been unsuccessful, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported April 24. 

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear recently signed a bill into law that shields healthcare providers from being criminally charged for medical errors, making it the first state to do so.

The Federal Trade Commission on April 23 voted 3-2 to ban noncompete agreements in a move it estimates will save up to $194 billion in healthcare costs over the next decade. 

HHS on April 22 finalized a rule to shield patients' reproductive healthcare data from being used in criminal investigations. 

Seattle Children's Hospital and the Texas Office of the Attorney General have reached an agreement for the hospital to withdraw its state business registration voluntarily on or before April 26.

The owner of a Pittsburgh-based healthcare facility was indicted on 33 total charges of healthcare fraud, making false statements relating to healthcare matters and money laundering. 

Renton, Wash.-based Providence has been ordered by King County (Wash.) Judge Averil Rothrock to pay $200 million to more than 33,000 hourly employees after evidence revealed wage and meal break violations, The Seattle Times reported April 20. 

From three Pennsylvania health systems suing Aetna to the former CEO of Desert Healthcare filing a wrongful termination claim, here are eight lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since April 12:

Within a new package of Florida healthcare laws is a debated measure to allow advanced birth centers to perform cesarean deliveries, permitting the surgical procedure outside of the hospital setting. 

CMS is auditing vertically integrated Medicare Part D sponsors, including pharmacy benefit managers and payers, according to HHS' Office of Inspector General.

Winston-Salem, N.C.,-based Novant Health has fired back against a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that aims to prevent the health system's acquisition of two hospitals from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems. 

A nearly 40-year old federal law requires Medicare hospitals to provide all patients experiencing a medical emergency a medical screening and stabilizing care. Whether that includes abortion has been at the center of several lawsuits in states with strict abortion bans.