Health Law and Policy | Open Access Articles

Consumer Financial Protection In Health Care, Erin C. Fuse Brown Oct 2017

Consumer Financial Protection In Health Care, Erin C. Fuse Brown

Erin C. Fuse Brown

There are inadequate consumer protections from harmful medical billing practices that result in unavoidable, unexpected, and often financially devastating medical bills. The problem stems from the increasing costs shifting to patients in American health care and the inordinate complexity that makes health care transactions nearly impossible for consumers to navigate. A particularly outrageous example is the phenomenon of surprise medical bills, which refers to unanticipated and involuntary out-of-network bills in emergencies or from out-of- network providers at in-network facilities. Other damaging medical billing practices include the opaque and à la carte nature of medical bills, epitomized by added “facility fees,” …

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Fallout From Chaoulli: Is It Time To Find Cover?, Joan M. Gilmour Oct 2015

Fallout From Chaoulli: Is It Time To Find Cover?, Joan M. Gilmour

Joan M. Gilmour

This article examines the implications of the decision in Chaoulli v. Quebec (A.G.) for Canadian health policy. The author assesses whether governments are likely to strengthen medicare, given past performance and the exit option Chaoulli presents. The article analyzes the consequences of increasing private care and private insurance, concluding this will diminish the publicly funded system. It contrasts Chaoulli -with courts' dismissals of claims for Charter protection of minimal social and economic security, despite the profound effects of the latter on health status. It concludes by noting Chaoulli is one more example of the increasing prevalence of discourse normalizing privatization …

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Lessons From Personhood’S Defeat: Abortion Restrictions And Side Effects On Women’S Health, Maya Manian Dec 2012

Lessons From Personhood’S Defeat: Abortion Restrictions And Side Effects On Women’S Health, Maya Manian

Maya Manian

State personhood laws pose a puzzle. These laws would establish fertilized eggs as persons and, by doing so, would ban all abortions. Many states have consistently supported laws restricting abortion care. Yet, thus far no personhood laws have passed. Why? This Article offers a possible explanation and draws lessons from that explanation for understanding and resisting abortion restrictions more broadly. I suggest that voters’ recognition of the implications of personhood legislation for health issues other than abortion may have led to personhood’s defeat. In other words, opponents of personhood proposals appear to have successfully reconnected abortion to pregnancy care, contraception, …

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Reform Of The United States Health Care System: An Overview, Robert B. Leflar Dec 2012

Reform Of The United States Health Care System: An Overview, Robert B. Leflar

Robert B Leflar

This essay, written for readers unfamiliar with the details of American health law and policy, portrays the essential features of the battle for health reform in the United States and of the law that survived the battle: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The essay summarizes key aspects of the U.S. health care system and how it compares in terms of costs and results with other advanced nations’ systems. The political and legal conflicts leading up to and following PPACA’s enactment are described. The major features of the law, attempting to address problems of access to health care, …

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Reform Of The United States Health Care System: An Overview, Robert B. Leflar Dec 2012

Reform Of The United States Health Care System: An Overview, Robert B. Leflar

Robert B Leflar

This essay, written for readers unfamiliar with the details of American health law and policy, portrays the essential features of the battle for health reform in the United States and of the law that survived the battle: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The essay summarizes key aspects of the U.S. health care system and how it compares in terms of costs and results with other advanced nations’systems. The political and legal conflicts leading up to and following PPACA’s enactment are described. The major features of the law, attempting to address problems of access to health care, quality, …

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Antidote: Strategies For Containing America's Runaway Health Care Costs, Leslie Meltzer Henry, M. Gregg Bloche Jul 2010

Antidote: Strategies For Containing America's Runaway Health Care Costs, Leslie Meltzer Henry, M. Gregg Bloche

Leslie Meltzer Henry

Soaring healthcare costs have put medical spending at the top of the national agenda and in the spotlight of the 2008 elections. Both the public and private spheres are struggling with this urgent problem. Medicare and Medicaid spending are straining federal and state budgets, private employers are abandoning coverage or shifting costs to workers and their families, and firms that provide generous coverage are risking their competitiveness in the global economy. Meanwhile, nearly 50 million uninsured Americans remain hostage to uncontrolled health costs, while the combustible combination of third-party payments and technological advances continues to fuel spending. Quality and value …

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Reasons To Pass Health Reform, Robert B. Leflar, Hershey Garner Md Mar 2010