Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences

A federal court in Florida has upheld CMS's controversial 2020 rule that fundamentally restructures how organ procurement organizations are evaluated and ranked, potentially leading to widespread decertification. The ruling addresses critical legal challenges regarding the competitive ranking system, performance metrics, and data sources while four other courts continue to consider similar cases.

The enforcement and regulatory landscape facing healthcare and life sciences organizations has never been more volatile, or more consequential. During Health Litigation, Compliance, and Investigation Forum 2026 in October, we cut through the noise to offer practitioners and policymakers space to discuss what’s next. Here are ten takeaways from the event.

In Snyder v. Virginia Mason Medical Center, No. 104136-5 (Wash. Oct. 1, 2026), the Washington Supreme Court held that corporate defense counsel, risk managers, and claims adjusters may not communicate ex parte with a hospital’s former employee health care providers about patient care. The Court reaffirmed Loudon v. Mhyre, 110 Wn.2d 675, 756 P.2d 138 (1988) prohibiting ex parte communication by defense counsel with a plaintiff’s treating physicians, held that prejudice is presumed when Loudon is violated, and ruled that a quality improvement (QI) committee member’s involvement in defense strategy waives the committee’s statutory privilege under Wash. Rev. Code § 70.41.200.