Pennsylvania
Appeals court says state can siphon cash from state-chartered medical malpractice insurer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court is reversing lower court decisions that had blocked Pennsylvania state government from siphoning cash from a state-chartered medical malpractice insurer of last resort.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday against the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association, saying state government created the insurer, imbued it with its power and held the only interest in it.
The state, the court said, can amend or repeal the law that created the nonprofit association “as it sees fit, free from interference by federal courts.”
The decision came seven years after the association first sued the state in federal court, asking a judge to block Pennsylvania’s threat to shut it down if it didn’t hand over at least $200 million from its reserves.
The association, created by the state in 1975 amid a medical malpractice crisis, provides coverage to hundreds of health care providers, and reported a $342 million surplus last Dec. 31.
It can ask the appeals court for a rehearing or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. A lawyer for the association declined comment Tuesday, and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said it had no immediate comment.
For three years, from 2017 to 2019, the Legislature and then-Gov. Tom Wolf sought the association’s cash to help plug a deficit in the state government’s operating budget.
The association sued, winning repeatedly in federal court. U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner ruled that the association was a private entity and that it was unconstitutional to take its surplus without fair compensation.
But in Tuesday’s decision, Judge Kent A. Jordan of the 3rd Circuit wrote that the state created the association as part of a broader effort to maintain a health care system. The association’s cash is the result of those goals and its policyholders and members don’t have a legal interest in its assets, Jordan wrote.
“It is difficult to imagine where the assets, including the surplus, would go except to the Commonwealth, as the JUA has no private stakeholders, no property in trust, and no charitable purpose,” he wrote.
The association has said in court papers that its reserves were generated from policyholder premiums and that taxpayer money never funded any of its operations.
Washington
DOJ files complaint against CVS for facilitating unlawful sale of prescription opioids
The Justice Department unsealed a civil complaint Wednesday alleging CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries filled “unlawful” prescriptions in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
The complaint also says CVS sought reimbursement from federal health care programs for such prescriptions in violation of the False Claims Act. CVS is the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., where there are more than 9,000 pharmacies.
A representative of CVS said the company has cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation for more than four years, and strongly disagrees with the allegations and what it called the “false narrative” within the complaint.
Among the unlawful prescriptions that CVS allegedly filled from Oct. 17, 2013, to the present were for dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, early fills of opioids, and “trinity” prescriptions — a dangerous combination of drugs made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant, according to prosecutors.
CVS also allegedly filled large quantities of prescriptions for controlled substances written by prescribers it knew to be engaged in “pill mill practices” — that is, prescribers who issue large numbers of controlled substance prescriptions without any medical purpose, investigators said.
According to the complaint, CVS ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, indicating that its stores were dispensing such prescriptions.
“This lawsuit alleges that CVS failed to exercise its critical role as gatekeeper of dangerous prescription opioids and, instead, facilitated the illegal proliferation of these highly addictive drugs, including by pill mill prescribers,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha for the District of Rhode Island said in a press release.
If CVS is found liable, it could face civil penalties for each unlawful prescription filled and treble damages and other penalties for each prescription reimbursed by federal health care programs.
The company said it’s cooperated with investigators.
“We will defend ourselves vigorously against this misguided federal lawsuit, which follows on the heels of years of litigation over these issues by state and local governments — claims that already have been largely resolved by a global agreement with the participating state Attorneys General,” said Amy Thibault, director of external communications for CVS in a written statement.
Each of the prescriptions in question was for an FDA-approved opioid medication prescribed by a practitioner who the government itself licensed, authorized and empowered to write controlled-substance prescriptions, Thibault added.
The filing of the complaint follows the announcement on Friday that the McKinsey & Company consulting firm has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work to help opioids manufacturer Purdue Pharma boost the sales of the highly addictive drug OxyContin.
It’s the latest effort by federal prosecutors to hold companies accountable that officials say helped fuel the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis, with opioids linked to more than 80,000 annual deaths in some recent years. For the past decade, most of these deaths have mostly been attributed to illicit fentanyl, which is laced into many illegal drugs. Earlier in the epidemic, prescription pills were the primary cause of death.
Over the past eight years, drugmakers, wholesalers and pharmacies have agreed to about $50 billion worth of settlements with governments — with most of the money required to be used to fight the crisis.
Wisconsin
Judge puts on hold a ruling restoring collective bargaining rights
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday temporarily put on hold his recent ruling that restored collective bargaining rights to teachers and most other public workers that were lost under a 2011 state law that sparked weeks of protests and made the state the center of the national battle over union rights.
That law, known as Act 10, effectively ended the ability of most public employees to bargain for wage increases and other issues, and forced them to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits.
Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost on Wednesday granted a temporary stay of his Dec. 2 ruling striking down most of the law as unconstitutional. The stay is in place while Frost considers written arguments over whether to place his ruling on hold while the Legislature appeals it.
Those arguments are due to the court by Jan. 24, meaning the ruling will likely be on hold until at least then and maybe longer. Some unions had pushed for the reopening of contract negotiations after Frost struck down the law.
An attorney for the unions that filed the lawsuit declined immediate comment.
Under his ruling, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place before 2011. They would be treated the same as the police, firefighter and other public safety unions that were exempted
under the law.
Republicans immediately appealed and the case is ultimately expected to go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Supporters of the law have said it provided local governments more control over workers and the powers they needed to cut costs. Repealing the law, which allowed schools and local governments to raise money through higher employee contributions for benefits, would bankrupt those entities, backers of Act 10 have argued.
Democratic opponents argue that the law has hurt schools and other government agencies by taking away the ability of employees to collectively bargain for their pay and working conditions.
New York
Cuomo moves to sue a former aide who accused him of sexual harassment
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday filed a legal notice that he intends to sue a woman who accused him of sexual harassment.
The filing accuses former aide Charlotte Bennett of defaming Cuomo in a Dec. 9 statement that said the former governor sexually harassed her.
Bennett came forward in 2021 as the second woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, alleging he subjected her to invasive questions about her personal life and sexual relationships. Cuomo denies Bennett’s allegations. She later sued over the alleged misconduct in separate cases in state and federal court.
Cuomo resigned in 2021 after a report from the state attorney general found he sexually harassed at least 11 women.
Earlier this month, Bennett dropped her federal lawsuit against Cuomo before she was to be deposed. In a statement announcing the case was being dropped, a law firm representing Bennett said Cuomo “sexually harassed” her. Bennett reposted the statement on the social platform X.
Cuomo’s attorneys wrote on Thursday that the statement “was false and defamatory, and Bennett made it knowing full well that it was false and intending to cause harm to Governor Cuomo.”
His lawyers added that “Cuomo fully intends to clear his name and to ensure that Bennett and her agents never again repeat the falsehood that he sexually harassed Bennet.”
Cuomo is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, according to the filing.
Bennett’s attorney on Thursday said a defamation case from Cuomo has no merit.
“There is a long history of using defamation lawsuits to silence and punish accusers of sexual harassment. It is shameful that Mr. Cuomo has apparently now chosen to go down that path,” said attorney Debra S. Katz.
Bennett’s lawsuit in state court is ongoing.
A separate investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice found that Cuomo subjected at least 13 state employees to a sexually hostile work environment and that his staffers retaliated against four women who raised complaints.
Cuomo, a Democrat, has denied the allegations and has dismissed the investigations as political smears. He has spent the years since his resignation working to rehabilitate his image and hint at a return to political office.
He is rumored to be considering a run for mayor of New York City.
Virginia
Former sheriff convicted of bribery in cash-for-badges scheme
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A former Virginia sheriff was convicted Wednesday night on federal bribery charges for deputizing individuals in exchange for cash payments.
The jury in Charlottesville, Virginia, convicted former Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins on all counts after several hours of deliberations.
Jenkins was indicted in 2023 on 16 counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
Jenkins took the stand in his own defense and said there was no connection between the payments he received and the badges he handed out, according to news reports.
Testimony against Jenkins included two undercover FBI agents who were sworn in as auxiliary deputies in 2022 and immediately thereafter gave Jenkins envelopes with $5,000 and $10,000 cash, respectively.
Another individual, northern Virginia businessman Rick Rahim, testified that Jenkins helped him achieve restoration of his gun rights in 2019 and 2020 and then had him deputized in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in cash payments and loans that were never repaid.
Rahim entered a plea deal earlier this year and will be sentenced for his role in January.
Prosecutors said some of the bribes went to Jenkins’ campaign fund, while others were kept for personal use.
Jenkins was first elected sheriff in 2011 and won reelection twice before his defeat in 2023. He ran as both a Republican and an independent.
In 2019, Jenkins made headlines when he vowed to deputize county residents if the then-newly elected Democratic majority in the state legislature passed what he called “further unnecessary gun restrictions.”
Attorneys for Jenkins did not respond to an email on Thursday asking whether they plan to appeal the verdict. A sentencing hearing has been set for March 31.
Appeals court says state can siphon cash from state-chartered medical malpractice insurer
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court is reversing lower court decisions that had blocked Pennsylvania state government from siphoning cash from a state-chartered medical malpractice insurer of last resort.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday against the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association, saying state government created the insurer, imbued it with its power and held the only interest in it.
The state, the court said, can amend or repeal the law that created the nonprofit association “as it sees fit, free from interference by federal courts.”
The decision came seven years after the association first sued the state in federal court, asking a judge to block Pennsylvania’s threat to shut it down if it didn’t hand over at least $200 million from its reserves.
The association, created by the state in 1975 amid a medical malpractice crisis, provides coverage to hundreds of health care providers, and reported a $342 million surplus last Dec. 31.
It can ask the appeals court for a rehearing or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. A lawyer for the association declined comment Tuesday, and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said it had no immediate comment.
For three years, from 2017 to 2019, the Legislature and then-Gov. Tom Wolf sought the association’s cash to help plug a deficit in the state government’s operating budget.
The association sued, winning repeatedly in federal court. U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner ruled that the association was a private entity and that it was unconstitutional to take its surplus without fair compensation.
But in Tuesday’s decision, Judge Kent A. Jordan of the 3rd Circuit wrote that the state created the association as part of a broader effort to maintain a health care system. The association’s cash is the result of those goals and its policyholders and members don’t have a legal interest in its assets, Jordan wrote.
“It is difficult to imagine where the assets, including the surplus, would go except to the Commonwealth, as the JUA has no private stakeholders, no property in trust, and no charitable purpose,” he wrote.
The association has said in court papers that its reserves were generated from policyholder premiums and that taxpayer money never funded any of its operations.
Washington
DOJ files complaint against CVS for facilitating unlawful sale of prescription opioids
The Justice Department unsealed a civil complaint Wednesday alleging CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries filled “unlawful” prescriptions in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
The complaint also says CVS sought reimbursement from federal health care programs for such prescriptions in violation of the False Claims Act. CVS is the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., where there are more than 9,000 pharmacies.
A representative of CVS said the company has cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation for more than four years, and strongly disagrees with the allegations and what it called the “false narrative” within the complaint.
Among the unlawful prescriptions that CVS allegedly filled from Oct. 17, 2013, to the present were for dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, early fills of opioids, and “trinity” prescriptions — a dangerous combination of drugs made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant, according to prosecutors.
CVS also allegedly filled large quantities of prescriptions for controlled substances written by prescribers it knew to be engaged in “pill mill practices” — that is, prescribers who issue large numbers of controlled substance prescriptions without any medical purpose, investigators said.
According to the complaint, CVS ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, indicating that its stores were dispensing such prescriptions.
“This lawsuit alleges that CVS failed to exercise its critical role as gatekeeper of dangerous prescription opioids and, instead, facilitated the illegal proliferation of these highly addictive drugs, including by pill mill prescribers,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha for the District of Rhode Island said in a press release.
If CVS is found liable, it could face civil penalties for each unlawful prescription filled and treble damages and other penalties for each prescription reimbursed by federal health care programs.
The company said it’s cooperated with investigators.
“We will defend ourselves vigorously against this misguided federal lawsuit, which follows on the heels of years of litigation over these issues by state and local governments — claims that already have been largely resolved by a global agreement with the participating state Attorneys General,” said Amy Thibault, director of external communications for CVS in a written statement.
Each of the prescriptions in question was for an FDA-approved opioid medication prescribed by a practitioner who the government itself licensed, authorized and empowered to write controlled-substance prescriptions, Thibault added.
The filing of the complaint follows the announcement on Friday that the McKinsey & Company consulting firm has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work to help opioids manufacturer Purdue Pharma boost the sales of the highly addictive drug OxyContin.
It’s the latest effort by federal prosecutors to hold companies accountable that officials say helped fuel the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis, with opioids linked to more than 80,000 annual deaths in some recent years. For the past decade, most of these deaths have mostly been attributed to illicit fentanyl, which is laced into many illegal drugs. Earlier in the epidemic, prescription pills were the primary cause of death.
Over the past eight years, drugmakers, wholesalers and pharmacies have agreed to about $50 billion worth of settlements with governments — with most of the money required to be used to fight the crisis.
Wisconsin
Judge puts on hold a ruling restoring collective bargaining rights
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday temporarily put on hold his recent ruling that restored collective bargaining rights to teachers and most other public workers that were lost under a 2011 state law that sparked weeks of protests and made the state the center of the national battle over union rights.
That law, known as Act 10, effectively ended the ability of most public employees to bargain for wage increases and other issues, and forced them to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits.
Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost on Wednesday granted a temporary stay of his Dec. 2 ruling striking down most of the law as unconstitutional. The stay is in place while Frost considers written arguments over whether to place his ruling on hold while the Legislature appeals it.
Those arguments are due to the court by Jan. 24, meaning the ruling will likely be on hold until at least then and maybe longer. Some unions had pushed for the reopening of contract negotiations after Frost struck down the law.
An attorney for the unions that filed the lawsuit declined immediate comment.
Under his ruling, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place before 2011. They would be treated the same as the police, firefighter and other public safety unions that were exempted
under the law.
Republicans immediately appealed and the case is ultimately expected to go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Supporters of the law have said it provided local governments more control over workers and the powers they needed to cut costs. Repealing the law, which allowed schools and local governments to raise money through higher employee contributions for benefits, would bankrupt those entities, backers of Act 10 have argued.
Democratic opponents argue that the law has hurt schools and other government agencies by taking away the ability of employees to collectively bargain for their pay and working conditions.
New York
Cuomo moves to sue a former aide who accused him of sexual harassment
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday filed a legal notice that he intends to sue a woman who accused him of sexual harassment.
The filing accuses former aide Charlotte Bennett of defaming Cuomo in a Dec. 9 statement that said the former governor sexually harassed her.
Bennett came forward in 2021 as the second woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, alleging he subjected her to invasive questions about her personal life and sexual relationships. Cuomo denies Bennett’s allegations. She later sued over the alleged misconduct in separate cases in state and federal court.
Cuomo resigned in 2021 after a report from the state attorney general found he sexually harassed at least 11 women.
Earlier this month, Bennett dropped her federal lawsuit against Cuomo before she was to be deposed. In a statement announcing the case was being dropped, a law firm representing Bennett said Cuomo “sexually harassed” her. Bennett reposted the statement on the social platform X.
Cuomo’s attorneys wrote on Thursday that the statement “was false and defamatory, and Bennett made it knowing full well that it was false and intending to cause harm to Governor Cuomo.”
His lawyers added that “Cuomo fully intends to clear his name and to ensure that Bennett and her agents never again repeat the falsehood that he sexually harassed Bennet.”
Cuomo is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, according to the filing.
Bennett’s attorney on Thursday said a defamation case from Cuomo has no merit.
“There is a long history of using defamation lawsuits to silence and punish accusers of sexual harassment. It is shameful that Mr. Cuomo has apparently now chosen to go down that path,” said attorney Debra S. Katz.
Bennett’s lawsuit in state court is ongoing.
A separate investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice found that Cuomo subjected at least 13 state employees to a sexually hostile work environment and that his staffers retaliated against four women who raised complaints.
Cuomo, a Democrat, has denied the allegations and has dismissed the investigations as political smears. He has spent the years since his resignation working to rehabilitate his image and hint at a return to political office.
He is rumored to be considering a run for mayor of New York City.
Virginia
Former sheriff convicted of bribery in cash-for-badges scheme
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A former Virginia sheriff was convicted Wednesday night on federal bribery charges for deputizing individuals in exchange for cash payments.
The jury in Charlottesville, Virginia, convicted former Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins on all counts after several hours of deliberations.
Jenkins was indicted in 2023 on 16 counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
Jenkins took the stand in his own defense and said there was no connection between the payments he received and the badges he handed out, according to news reports.
Testimony against Jenkins included two undercover FBI agents who were sworn in as auxiliary deputies in 2022 and immediately thereafter gave Jenkins envelopes with $5,000 and $10,000 cash, respectively.
Another individual, northern Virginia businessman Rick Rahim, testified that Jenkins helped him achieve restoration of his gun rights in 2019 and 2020 and then had him deputized in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in cash payments and loans that were never repaid.
Rahim entered a plea deal earlier this year and will be sentenced for his role in January.
Prosecutors said some of the bribes went to Jenkins’ campaign fund, while others were kept for personal use.
Jenkins was first elected sheriff in 2011 and won reelection twice before his defeat in 2023. He ran as both a Republican and an independent.
In 2019, Jenkins made headlines when he vowed to deputize county residents if the then-newly elected Democratic majority in the state legislature passed what he called “further unnecessary gun restrictions.”
Attorneys for Jenkins did not respond to an email on Thursday asking whether they plan to appeal the verdict. A sentencing hearing has been set for March 31.
