A charity that provides financial and other assistance to patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week, claiming the department is violating its First Amendment rights.
In its lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, Patient Services Inc. claimed a March 2017 HHS advisory opinion blocks the nonprofit from communicating with donors and potential donors about its patient programs, a move that altered guidance it's followed for years and severely limits its ability to operate. PSI general counsel Neil Millhiser said the change has contributed to a $17 million drop in the organization's budget.
"In the end, this is really hurting the patients," Millhiser said.An HHS spokeswoman said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. PSI is represented by a team from Sidley Austin that includes Carter Phillips, William Sarraille, Robert Keeling, Jack Pirozzolo and Paul Zidlicky.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Cogan Schneier
Cogan Schneier is a Washington, D.C.-based litigation reporter covering D.C. courts, national litigation trends, the Justice Department and the federal judiciary. She is the author of Trump Watch, an email briefing that covers the Trump administration and its imprint on the law.
