• Indiana: Eli Lilly has sued four telehealth companies that prescribe compounded versions of its GLP-1 drugs. The four companies are Mochi Health, Adonis Health, Aios, and Willow Health. In the lawsuit, Lilly argued that the companies misled consumers and illegally prescribed compounded versions of its GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. Lilly alleged the companies broke the law and deceived patients by using its branded medications to help market compounded drugs. Previously, companies were allowed to offer compounded GLP-1 drugs while the branded versions were in shortage. However, FDA has taken both Eli Lilly's and Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 medications off its shortage list, meaning that companies can no longer sell compounded versions of the drugs. Now, companies that previously offered compounded GLP-1 drugs are working to adjust the medications they provide. In addition, some companies still plan to offer compounded GLP-1 drugs. "We were expecting lawsuits and we were expecting that [Lilly] would throw everything at the wall to try and make a narrative," said Mochi Health CEO Myra Ahmad. "Our mission is still the same." (Turner, Modern Healthcare, 4/23)
• Mississippi: Labcorp has acquired North Mississippi Health Services' (NMHS) ambulatory outreach laboratory business. Under the deal, Labcorp plans to open three patient service centers in different areas of Mississippi by mid-year and will become a referral laboratory for NMHS' hospitals and clinics. Separately, NMHS will continue to operate its own hospital and clinic labs. According to Modern Healthcare, Labcorp has been focused on growth over the last year. Last month, it agreed to acquire BioReference Health's oncology diagnostic testing assets for up to $225 million. Labcorp has also agreed to operate hospital labs for certain health systems and acquired select assets from several others. Currently, many hospitals and health systems are looking to downsize their lab assets and operations to redirect resources to other parts of their business. (DeSilva, Modern Healthcare, 4/21)
• New Jersey: Earlier this month, CarePoint Health exited Chapter 11 Bankruptcy after a U.S. bankruptcy court approved a deal to transfer control of its three hospitals to Hudson Regional Hospital. According to Healthcare Dive, CarePoint has faced financial difficulties for years due to growing operating costs, insufficient state funds, and reimbursement challenges. Last November, the health system filed for bankruptcy, with approximately $165 million in debt. Currently, Hudson Regional is the likely frontrunner to take over CarePoint's operations. The hospital provided CarePoint with at least $25 million in debtor-in-possession financing during its restructuring process, took over operations of Bayonne Medical Center on an interim basis, and agreed to provide oversight services to CarePoint's remaining facilities. In a statement, Hudson Regional said it plans to rebrand CarePoint's hospitals, taking a step toward creating Hudson Health System. (Vogel, Healthcare Dive, 4/15)

Our experts weigh in on the state of obesity care, including how far bariatric surgery volumes have dropped, updates on GLP-1 coverage, the rise of new competitors, and what the end of shortages means for compounding.