Insights

Washington – September 16, 2021: The Talbot County Council has adopted a resolution to remove the last Confederate statue remaining on public grounds in Maryland. This is a change of position for the Council and follows a lawsuit filed by Crowell & Moring and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland. The resolution, passed on September 14, 2021 with a 3-2 vote, orders the movement of the Talbot Boys statue from the Easton courthouse to a private park in Virginia “as soon as is practicable.”

California recently enacted two laws instituting new restrictions and requirements for health care transactions. On October 6, Governor Newsom signed SB 351, which codifies elements of the state’s corporate practice of medicine doctrine and strengthens restrictions against private equity, hedge fund, and other private investor control of health care organizations and operations. On October 11, Newsom signed AB 1415, which expands the scope of parties and relevant transactions that require pre-transaction notice to the state’s Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA). Both laws are intended to provide the State of California greater oversight of transactions involving health care entities, and raise additional hurdles for parties seeking to acquire or sell health care operations in the state,[1] consistent with a broader trend across the country. The key points of each of the California laws are summarized below:

On May 12, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled "Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients," which aims to reduce the costs of prescription drugs and biologics for American consumers and other payers. This Order revives a plan from President Trump’s first term and follows his April Executive Order, “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” which also sought to reduce drug prices. With drug prices in the United States nearly three times higher than many other countries, this second Order asks drug manufacturers to adopt Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) pricing for drugs sold in the United States or face potential regulation. MFN pricing would tether drug prices offered in the United States to the lower-cost prices offered in other comparably developed nations, such as Canada, Germany, or the United Kingdom.

On April 17, 2025, Arkansas recently became the first state to enact broad restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) owning retail pharmacies within the state.