Law Commons^™

Problems With Employer-Provided Health Insurance — The Employee Retirement Income Security Act And Health Care Reform, Wendy K. Mariner

Faculty Scholarship

Health care reform is in the wind. As the nation prepares for a new presidential term, a more equitable and cost-effective health care system is beginning to sound inevitable.1 But the shape of that system remains a matter of debate. Employer-provided health insurance is the cornerstone of several national proposals for reform.2 3 4 5 6 The Bush administration's preference for tax credits rested on the assumption that most employers would continue to provide health insurance to their employees. President-elect Bill Clinton's proposal relies on insurance reform to enable small businesses to buy affordable private health insurance. Lawmakers …

Risky Business: Setting Public Health Policy For Hiv-Infected Health Care Professionals, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

In JULY 1991, THE UNITED STATES SENATE VOTED 81 to 18 to impose a $10,000 fine and a ten-year jail sentence on any HTV-infected physicians who treated patients without disclosing their HIV status. Senator Jesse Helms, the sponsor of the measure, explained his rationale: “Let the punishment fit the crime. . . . I believe in horsewhipping. I feel that strongly about it” (Tolchin 1991). Later, Senator Helms wrote that HIV-infected physicians who practice medicine “should be treated no better than the criminal who guns down a helpless victim on the street” (Helms 1991). In his article he explained that …

The Economics And Politics Of Emergency Health Care For The Poor: The Patient Dumping Dilemma, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

As the numbers of uninsured mount⁴ because of job dislocations, exhaustion of benefits, and unaffordably high premiums, the incidence of "dumping" by private hospitals is, predictably, on the rise. Dumping occurs when a hospital, in violation of federal or state law, transfers an emergency patient to another (usually public) hospital or simply refuses any treatment based on the patient's inability to pay.5 In addition to the completely uninsured, favorite dumping targets include Medicare and Medicaid patients, AIDS patients, and cancer patients whose therapy may cost more than the maximum reimbursement under private insurance.

Dumping is merely a part of …