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Plus, Congressional efforts to mandate workplace retirement savings worries the
industry, PFAS blood tests lack insurance coverage, and federal records show
unions gained members last year.

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The Brief – Top News of the Day From Bloomberg Law
Monday, April 10, 2023

Inside:    Editor's Picks    Insights   

DRUG MANUFACTURER DANCO LABORATORIES is weighing label changes that could help
ensure health care providers can continue to prescribe mifepristone in the face
of efforts to restrict abortion access, Jeannie Baumann and Celine Castronuovo
report.

 * Dueling orders issued last week by a pair of federal district court judges
   have called into question the legal status of mifepristone, which is used in
   almost all medication abortions in the US.
 * Mifepristone is already widely prescribed off label as part of a regimen to
   manage miscarriages, and there is published research supporting its
   effectiveness. Danco, which markets the drug under the brand name Mifeprex,
   confirmed Monday that it is open to adding miscarriage as an official use on
   its label.
 * Appeal Underway: Danco also said Monday that it is heading to the Fifth
   Circuit to fight Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s order that the Food and Drug
   Administration suspend its decades-old approval of mifepristone. If that move
   proves unsuccessful, either the company or the Biden administration will
   likely go to the US Supreme Court, Hogan Lovells partner Jessica Ellsworth
   told reporters. Read More
 * The Biden administration on Monday asked a federal district court judge in
   Washington to explain how the FDA can comply with his order preserving
   mifepristone access in light of the Kacsmaryk ruling out of Texas, Madlin
   Mekelburg reports. Read More
 * Blue State Response: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday that
   she instructed the University of Massachusetts Amherst to stockpile enough
   mifepristone to ensure people can access it for at least a year, Allie Reed
   reports. Read More



A FEDERAL BILL to create guaranteed workplace retirement savings has some in the
industry concerned even as more states are passing laws to cover workers who
lack access to 401(k)s, Austin R. Ramsey reports.


 * Nearly half of working-age US adults lack access to retirement savings
   benefits at work. Members of Congress are preparing to reintroduce
   legislation to set up a federally-sponsored auto-IRA that matches worker
   contributions with Treasury-backed funds.
 * The $14.8 trillion workplace savings industry wouldn’t be able to compete
   with Congress’ ability to print money and set, maintain and potentially
   change benefits law, critics say. “If the government is going to be
   subsidizing people participating” nothing stops an employer from ending its
   own program, said Brian Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association.
   Read More



PFAS BLOOD TESTS can help doctors and patients manage risks for those with
significant exposure, but the tests aren’t generally covered by insurance and
can cost up to $600, Pat Rizzuto and Dean Scott report.

 * “Patients with high levels of PFAS, have a higher risk of certain diseases,”
   including increased cholesterol and certain cancers, said Rachel Criswell, a
   primary care physician with Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan,
   Maine. New Hampshire and Maine have led state efforts to mandate insurance
   coverage, and a nationwide insurance mandate is gaining traction at the
   federal level.
 * Having insurance pay for blood tests could increase the number of lawsuits
   plaintiffs file and the damage claims they make, said John Gardella, a
   shareholder focused on PFAS policies at CMBG3 Law LLC.
 * But expanding PFAS testing won’t necessarily be a game changer for
   plaintiffs, said Thomas B. Alleman, an attorney and director of Dykema
   Gossett PLLC’s Insurance Industry Group. “For a toxic tort suit to be
   successful, the plaintiffs have to prove both general causation and specific
   causation,” he said. Read More


EDITOR'S PICKS

Deep Dive


J&J TALC SUITS’ OUTSIDE FUNDERS UNVEILED VIA LITTLE-USED NJ RULE

The sweeping lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson over talc products got a boost
from at least two outside litigation funders, which have invested in hundreds of
claims in exchange for a portion of any winnings. Read More

Deep Dive


LONG COVID HELP GETS FUNDING PUSH FROM BIDEN HHS, LAWMAKERS

Hundreds of millions of dollars would go toward efforts to diagnose and treat
people suffering long-term Covid symptoms under funding plans put forth by the
Biden administration and lawmakers. Read More


MEDICARE DRUG PRICE TALKS COULD DRIVE MORE PATIENT-REPORTED DATA

Documents Attached

Medicare’s drug price negotiations could advance broader use of the patient
experience into drug development if there’s more clarity on what to submit and
the level of impact it will have. Read More


FLORIDA ARGUES ‘UNPROVEN’ TRANSGENDER CARE BARRED FROM MEDICAID

Documents Attached

Current medical consensus supports the conclusion that gender dysphoria
treatments are experimental and can be excluded from Medicaid coverage,
Florida’s health-care agency told a federal court. Read More


ANALYSIS: CHAPTER 11 MEGACASES MOUNT AS DELAWARE STAYS DOMINANT

Chapter 11 megacase filings got off to a fast start in US federal bankruptcy
courts this year, with Delaware remaining the leading venue for megacase
petitions. Read More


FHLB DEBT ISSUANCE PLUNGES IN SIGNAL OF EASING US BANK CRISIS

The Federal Home Loan Bank system issued $37 billion in debt in the last week of
March, a sharp drop-off from the $304 billion two weeks earlier, according to a
person familiar with the matter. That plunge from an all-time peak earlier in
the month is an early sign that the banking crisis has started to subside. Read
More


UNIONS REPORT KEY MEMBERSHIP GAINS IN 2022, FEDERAL FORMS SHOW

AMID A TIGHT LABOR market and growing worker dissatisfaction, several large US
unions saw double-digit growth in 2022, Ian Kullgren reports.

 * There was a collective net membership increase of 3% among the more than 50
   groups that filed disclosures in the past month. Read More




WHAT THE LEAKED PAUL HASTINGS ASSOCIATE 'GUIDE' COULD HAVE SAID

Big Law’s competitive, client-driven pace is no secret, but a training slide
leaked last week from a senior Paul Hastings associate revealed an unvarnished
take on performance expectations, such as to be “‘online’ 24/7" and deliver work
“perfectly” and “yesterday.” Plus, “‘I don’t know’ is never an acceptable
answer.”

In response, Hogan Lovells’ Sean Marotta delivers a more measured version of
this guidance to Big Law associates. His take aims to set clear expectations,
more diplomatically: “Attention to detail and meeting deadlines matter,” and
“Take ownership of everything that you do.” Read More


INSIGHTS


PERSPECTIVES FROM LEGAL PRACTITIONERS, LAW PROFESSORS AND OTHER THOUGHT LEADERS


OUTBOUND INVESTMENT REVIEW SWIFTLY TAKES SHAPE AMID CHINA WORRIES

By Stephenie Gosnell Handler, Annie Motto, and Chris Mullen of Gibson Dunn

As information trickles out about how the government will implement an outbound
investment review program or “reverse CFIUS,” Gibson Dunn attorneys Stephenie
Gosnell Handler, Annie Motto, and Chris Mullen say the program should be
narrowly tailored to critical technologies used in national security. Read More


THE BANKING SYSTEM NEEDS WHOLESALE REFORM, NOT BIDEN’S PROPOSAL

By Yasho Lahiri of Kramer Levin

Kramer Levin partner Yasho Lahiri reviews President Joe Biden’s recent proposal
for addressing holes in the US banking system, contending that deeper systemic
reform is needed across agencies to prevent collapses from happening in the
future. Read More


STATES START TO REGULATE AI-BASED HIRING WITHOUT FEDERAL GUIDANCE

By Paul Daugherity, Bruce Liebman, and Kevin Yombor of Kaufman, Dolowich &
Voluck

States are moving to regulate use of artificial intelligence to prevent bias and
ensure applicants’ consent, while the federal government has been sluggish about
issuing guidance, Paul Daugherity, Bruce Liebman, and Kevin Yombor of Kaufman,
Dolowich & Voluck say. Read More


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