Episode Details

Based on AHLA's annual Health Law Connections article, this special ten-part series brings together thought leaders from across the health law field to discuss the top ten issues of 2026. In the tenth episode, Jennifer Smith, Partner, Wright Lindsey & Jennings LLP, speaks with David O’Neal, Partner, Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs LLP, about the current landscape of federal civil rights enforcement in health care. They discuss DOJ’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, the government’s use of the False Claims Act to enforce civil rights laws, investigations of large educational institutions, and enforcement related to conscience and religious freedom protections. From AHLA’s Health Care Liability and Litigation Practice Group.

Watch this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRt4rt2wIec

Read AHLA's Top Ten 2026 article: https://www.americanhealthlaw.org/content-library/connections-magazine/article/a879dda5-35f9-46fb-ad45-1b0799343d74/Health-Law-Forecast-2026

Access all episodes in AHLA's Top Ten 2026 podcast series: https://www.americanhealthlaw.org/education-events/speaking-of-health-law-podcasts/top-ten-issues-in-health-law-podcast-series

Learn more about AHLA’s Health Care Liability and Litigation Practice Group: https://www.americanhealthlaw.org/practice-groups/practice-groups/health-care-liability-and-litigation 

Essential Legal Updates, Now in Audio

AHLA's popular Health Law Daily email newsletter is now a daily podcast, exclusively for AHLA Comprehensive members. Get all your health law news from the major media outlets on this podcast! To subscribe and add this private podcast feed to your podcast app, go to americanhealthlaw.org/dailypodcast.

Stay At the Forefront of Health Legal Education

Learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community at https://www.americanhealthlaw.org/.