On January 1, 2019, portions of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Final Rule expanding the availability of Association Health Plans (AHPs) went into effect. AHPs allow small businesses to band together and negotiate better deals when buying insurance for their members.

The partial government shutdown hasn’t slowed the raging debate over how states are to implement the DOL’s final rule. On December 28, 2018, a federal judge ordered litigation concerning the rule to continue despite the shutdown.

States have reacted to the final rule in dramatically divergent ways. Some states believe that AHPs will make it finally possible for small employers to offer affordable healthcare options for their employees. Other states worry that AHPs will destabilize the individual insurance marketplace. They predict that healthy people will join AHPs because they are less expensive than other insurance options, and this shift will leave sicker people in a smaller pool with higher premiums.  
Continue Reading Taking the Pulse of New Association Health Plans

Internet defamation (and intellectual property infringement) cases are on the rise.  And cases involving anonymous defendants are becoming more common.  They of course present tricky First Amendment issues.  Indeed, most such cases result in the anonymous defendants remaining masked and escaping liability.  But in four example health care cases – a scare tactic, accidental disclosure,

Crowell & Moring’s 2015 Litigation and Regulatory Forecasts provide an in-depth look at the trends in the courts and in the regulatory agencies, both inside the Beltway and beyond, that will impact business in the coming year.

The Litigation Forecast examines the latest litigation developments facing companies in areas ranging from health care and antitrust