Photo of Lorinda Holloway

Lorinda Holloway

An experienced litigator and advisor, Lorinda helps clients resolve compliance concerns, government investigations, and disputes, both in and out of court.

Follow:Read more about Lorinda HollowayLorinda's Linkedin Profile

Recently, Attorney General Pam Bondi purportedly issued an internal memorandum in response to Executive Order 14187 (“Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation”) concerning the treatment of transgender minors by medical practitioners, hospitals, clinics, and pharmaceutical companies. The memo set forth guidance for all Department of Justice (DOJ) employees to investigate individuals and entities who provide gender-affirming care to minor patients. To be clear, the memorandum—which has been posted in various locations on the internet and widely reported on by various media outlets but has not been verified as authentic by Husch Blackwell—is an internal policy statement directed to DOJ personnel and is not law. While it purports to issue “guidelines” pursuant to an executive order from the President, that executive order is itself under scrutiny (and has been partially enjoined).

Supreme Court Sunrise

The Supreme Court issued a number of headline-grabbing decisions this term on topics like religious accommodation, LGBTQ protections, and consideration of race in college admissions. These decisions are wide-reaching and impact individuals, employers, and higher education institutions. Though not nearly as wide-reaching, the Supreme Court also issued two important decisions this year dealing with the False Claims Act (FCA) that could have dramatic impact nonetheless for those ensnared in an FCA action.

Executive Order GA-40

Following two weeks of trial testimony, a Travis County jury recently rendered a $10 million verdict in a novel corporate practice of medicine (CPOM) case. The jury found in favor of a physician hospitalist group that claimed a management company repeatedly broke its promise to comply with the state’s CPOM prohibition, putting profits over patients, among other wrongdoings.

Due to expanded COVID-19 diagnostic testing availability, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS) is encouraging providers to test both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, if the clinician’s medical judgment determines it is necessary. At the same time, MDHSS also posted words of caution regarding the use of serological testing, which is not considered diagnostic for COVID-19 but rather detects antibodies which could reveal exposure to SARS-CoV- 2 (the virus which causes COVID-19) or a different  infection, including other strains of coronavirus, altogether. The recent MDHSS COVID-19 Serological Testing Quick Facts (Quick Facts) cautions that:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held recently that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”)—which prohibits sex discrimination in the “education programs or activit[ies]” of entities receiving federal financial assistance—can apply to residency programs at hospitals. The ruling may profoundly impact how hospitals respond to complaints of sex…

Given the transformations taking place at every level in healthcare, it is no surprise that the 2017 SXSW Interactive Conference has a big spotlight on the industry. One superstar in the spotlight this year is wearables. The accelerator pitches during SXSW include ones for wearables designed to improve prenatal care and early breast cancer detection, and there is even a presentation on brain wearables to detect stress, improve focus, and even to let you play video games with your brain. That’s right, brain wearables that help you focus and let you play video games.