To date, we count twenty forfeiture lawsuits filed in a variety of jurisdictions (although predominantly in federal courts in California). Five decisions on motions to dismiss have been issued so far – two favoring plaintiffs and three favoring defendants. Two of the three favoring defendants – including the most recent decision issued in the Thermo Fisher matter and discussed more fully below – however, were without prejudice to plaintiffs filing amended complaints.

On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published Final Regulations under HIPAA’s Privacy Rule introducing greater protections for information related to reproductive health care. One aspect of the Final Regulations requires all covered entities, including self-insured group health plans and all business associates, to obtain, under certain circumstances, an attestation meeting specified content requirements from anyone seeking information potentially related to reproductive health care. HHS issued a Model Attestation at the end of July, and self-insured group health plans are urged to use it.