Articles Tagged with health care

The Center for Reproductive Rights has taken legal action in an effort to clarify and expand patient rights in states with strict abortion bans.

Earlier this week, Google decided to extend the contracts of many temporary staff members by 60 days. These extensions apply automatically to staff members whose assignments were due to end between March 20 and May 15 of this year. Even if an assignment has reached its maximum length, a 60-day extension…

In what is believed to be the first settlement of its kind in the country, Sutter Health has agreed to pay $575 million and be the subject of ongoing monitoring in a class action antitrust lawsuit. The action, which was brought by the California Attorney General, unions, and employers, alleged anti-competitive conduct by the large Northern California health system, and represented renewed interest in major health care providers using their market share to discourage competition.

Five parents have filed a lawsuit in response to an emergency order issued last week by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration declaring a public health emergency and requiring all residents within certain Brooklyn zip codes to be vaccinated against measles or face a $1,000 fine. According to news reports, the action was filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court against the New York City Department of Health, and alleges that the order exceeds the powers of the Public Health Commissioner. It also claims that the City's measures are too drastic in light of its reasons for issuing the order. A judge denied the parents' request for an emergency injunction yesterday, but the parties will appear in court on Thursday.

Last week, the federal government issued a rule to withhold federal funding for family planning from groups that provide abortions or abortion referrals. To receive federal funding, clinics will need to physically and financially separate any services that receive government funding from organizations that provide abortions or referrals.

A federal court case that may alter the way the University of Arkansas System handles coverage of healthcare to transgender employees is set to resume this year.

The ACLU in Michigan has filed a lawsuit on Rachel Peterson’s behalf against the supermarket company, Meijer, citing that Peterson was a victim of sex discrimination after her prescription was denied by a pharmacist at the Meijer store located in Poteskey. Rachel Peterson was prescribed Misoprostol by her doctor after suffering a miscarriage in July. She drove three hours to the Meijer store in Poteskey, but the pharmacist, Richard Kalkman, refused to provide her with the medication. Kalkman cited his Catholic beliefs as the reason behind his refusal; he thought that Peterson wanted to use the medication to terminate her pregnancy and did not accept Peterson's response that her doctor said the pregnancy was not viable. Peterson also stated that Kalkman neither let her speak with another pharmacist or a supervisor, nor did he allow her to transfer her prescription to another pharmacy. Peterson was on vacation at the time of the incident and drove back three hours to a pharmacy near her hometown to get the prescription filled.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced a high-profile lawsuit against Sutter Health for allegedly engaging in anticompetitive conduct that has driven up health care costs for patients and employers across the state. Sutter is one of the largest health care systems in California, and one study has shown that its hospital costs are 25% higher than other providers.