Health and civil rights enforcement action. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield led a coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The suit challenges a December 18, 2025 HHS 'declaration' that claims certain gender-affirming care is 'unsafe and ineffective' and threatens to exclude providers from Medicare/Medicaid for offering such care. The attorneys general argue HHS violated federal administrative law by implementing a major policy change without required notice-and-comment rulemaking, creating fear for patients and providers and threatening state Medicaid programs.
The coalition is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to declare the HHS declaration unlawful and issue an injunction blocking its enforcement.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements where the entity is a healthcare provider, vendor, or contractor receiving Medicare/Medicaid funding or serving transgender patients. Focus on clauses governing compliance with federal healthcare regulations, termination rights, force majeure, change-in-law provisions, and definitions of covered medical services. Specific clauses to scrutinize include: (1) compliance certifications referencing federal program requirements; (2) termination clauses triggered by exclusion from federal programs; (3) service description clauses that define reimbursable or permitted care; and (4) indemnification or regulatory risk allocation provisions. Potential changes may involve adding language to address abrupt federal policy shifts, clarifying that service definitions follow prevailing medical standards rather than agency declarations, and negotiating cure periods or renegotiation triggers if federal funding or participation status is threatened.
Entity
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Also known as: HHS
Industry
HealthcareOfficial Press Release
https://www.doj.state.or.us/media-home/news-media-releases/ag-rayfield-leads-lawsuit-challenging-attack-on-gender-affirming-care/
Oregon v Kennedy Complaint 25cv02409
https://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Oregon-v-Kennedy-Complaint-25cv02409.pdf
Oregon Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/
"U.S. Department of Health and Human Services"
"HHS is attempting to use the declaration to circumvent basic legal requirements for policy changes. Federal law requires agencies to provide the public with notice and an opportunity to comment before making significant changes to health care policy."
"Joining Attorney General Rayfield in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania."
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and Pennsylvania’s governor in a letter urging HHS to keep federal vaccine recommendations grounded in scientific and medical evidence. The letter asks HHS to preserve the ACIP’s role and current vaccine recommendation categories; it is a policy advocacy action, not a privacy enforcement action.
An Oregon judge rejected RealPage’s attempt to have the state’s rent-pricing lawsuit dismissed, allowing the case to move forward. Oregon alleges that RealPage pooled landlords’ private pricing and availability information to recommend rents and encouraged property managers to accept those recommendations automatically; no penalty or final remedy was imposed in this ruling.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging NHTSA’s rollback of fuel economy standards. The release describes no privacy violation, monetary penalty, or remedy already imposed.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a multistate coalition filed suit alleging that DuPont (now EIDP) and Corteva shifted substantial assets to Vylor while PFAS contamination lawsuits were pending, potentially leaving insufficient resources to pay cleanup costs. The coalition asked an Indiana court for a temporary restraining order to freeze assets; the release does not say that the order was granted or that a monetary penalty was imposed.
$400.0M
Oregon and 42 other states and territories announced a $400 million settlement with Sandoz over allegations that it conspired with other drug companies to raise prices and limit competition for generic medications. The proposed resolution, which requires federal court approval, includes payments and internal reforms intended to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust law.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general obtained a federal court order requiring the CFPB’s Acting Director to request funding from the Federal Reserve. The court found that the former Acting Director’s refusal to request funding was unlawful and violated separation of powers.