Law Commons^™

"Tools For Success": The Trips Agreement And The Human Right To Essential Medicines, Melissa Mcclellan

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Standing To Sue: Extending Third-Party Standing To Physician-Providers To Enforce The Medicaid Act., Alejandro R. Almanzan

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

One Pill, Many Prices: Variation In Prescription Drug Prices In Selected Government Programs, Dawn Gencarelli

National Health Policy Forum

This paper updates a June 2002 National Health Policy Forum Issue Brief, "Average Wholesale Price for Prescription Drugs: Is There a More Appropriate Pricing Mechanism?" Since the release of that paper, Congress enacted the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003, which created a new, comprehensive outpatient prescription drug benefit and reduced Medicare’s reliance on the average wholesale price (AWP) in paying for prescription drugs. This paper discusses the continued use of AWP as well as other pricing benchmarks that pertain to prescription drugs. It explains the relevance of these pricing mechanisms to different government programs and …

“Racially-Tailored” Medicine Unraveled, Sharona Hoffman

ExpressO

In June 2005, the FDA approved BiDil, a heart failure medication that is labeled for use only by African-Americans and thus, is the first treatment of its kind. The drug likely portends a future of growing interest in “race-based” medicine. This phenomenon is emerging at the same time that scientists, in light of the Human Genome Project, are reaching an understanding that “race” has no biological meaning, and consequently, “racially-tailored” medicine is both puzzling and troubling.

This Article explores the reasons for the new focus on “racial-profiling” in medicine. It analyzes the risks and dangers of this approach, including medical …

Clinical Preventive Services: When Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze?, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

This paper provides an overview of clinical preventive services, including a definition of such services and the role of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in recommending which services should be routinely offered to patients. It also describes efforts to analyze the cost effectiveness of clinical preventive services and reviews the insurance coverage policies of private and public payers. Barriers to increased uptake of appropriate services are discussed and policy relevant issues are summarized.

Caring For "Ryan White": The Fundamentals Of Hiv/Aids Treatment Policy, Jessamyn Taylor

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper provides an overview of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic in the United States and discusses how treatment of the disease and the populations most affected by it have changed over time. The federal government’s domestic and global efforts in prevention, research, and treatment of the disease are highlighted. The paper outlines the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, a set of programs that fund treatment services for uninsured and underinsured individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and places it in the context of other federal programs that fund treatment for HIV/AIDS. Policy issues for Ryan White’s potential congressional …

Principles Of Fairness For International Economic Treaties: Constructivism And Contractualism, John Linarelli

ExpressO

No legal system deserving of continued support can exist without an adequate theory of justice. This paper is about the elaboration of a theory of justice to underpin international economic law and international economic institutions. A world trade constitution cannot credibly exist without a clear notion of justice upon which to base a consensus. There is yet no consensus on the public reason underpinning the rules and the institutions. Economic efficiency concepts are widely used in the assessment of the welfare effects of world trade institutions and policies. Efficiency, however, is one of several standards that may be used, but …

Keeping Track Of Care: Quality And Technology At Lifebridge Health System (Baltimore), Judith Moore

National Health Policy Forum

This one-day site visit focused on quality and technology in acute, post-acute and long-term care at Sinai Hospital and Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, both components of LifeBridge Health System in Baltimore. Participants traced the treatment paths of hypothetical cardiac and cancer patients through the hospital and explored the range of home- and community-based as well as institutional care available through the geriatric center. The role of clinical information technology was highlighted in both settings.

Learning The Wrong Lessons From "An American Tragedy": A Critique Of The Berger-Twerski Informed Choice Proposal, David E. Bernstein

George Mason University School of Law Working Papers Series

This paper is a critique of Margaret Berger and Aaron Twerski, “Uncertainty and Informed Choice: Unmasking Daubert”, forthcoming the Michigan Law Review. Berger and Twerski propose that courts recognize a cause of action that would allow plaintiffs who claim injury from pharmaceutical products, but who do not have sufficient evidence to prove causation, to recover damages for deprivation of informed choice. Berger and Twerski claim inspiration from the litigation over allegations that the morning sickness drug Bendectin caused birth defects. Considering the criteria Berger and Twerski suggest for their proposed cause of action in the context of Bendectin, it appears …

Executing The Factually Innocent: The U.S. Constitution, Habeus Corpus, And The Death Penalty: Facing The Embarrassing Question At Last, Charles I. Lugosi

Charles I. Lugosi

No abstract provided.

Achieving "Readiness" In Medi-Cal's Managed Care Expansion For Persons With Disabilities: Issues And Process, Sara J. Rosenbaum, Sara E. Wilensky, Peter Shin

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This Policy Brief examines issues that can be expected to arise as California moves to significantly expand the use of mandatory managed care arrangements for Medi-Cal enrollees with disabilities. This analysis is based on information gleaned from more than a decade of Medicaid managed care specification analyses for the federal government and private funders, focusing on both the general beneficiary population and persons with chronic illnesses and disabilities. This Policy Brief also reflects experiences in furnishing technical assistance to state purchasers and in developing model managed care purchasing specifications for both general and special needs managed care populations for both …

Mental Disorders And The Law, Richard Redding

Working Paper Series

This chapter provides an introduction to the major classes of mental disorder and the ways in which they are salient to selected aspects of American criminal and civil law, focusing particularly on criminal law issues.

Equity Measures And Systems Reform As Tools For Reducing Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Health Care, Sidney D. Watson

All Faculty Scholarship

Many health care quality regulators, including officials of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other agencies, have embraced systems reform—largely through mandates that require health care providers to implement Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) initiatives. Currently, however, no QAPI requirements stipulate that individual plans or providers measure racial and ethnic disparities. Performance measurements that do not track data by race and ethnicity, the author says, not only miss inequities but are likely to overlook promising techniques for reaching patients of particular racial and ethnic backgrounds. Incorporating equity measures into existing QAPI requirements, the report finds, would not …

Mental Health And Juvenile Justice: Moving Toward More Effective Systems Of Care, Jane Koppelman

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief discusses the mental health needs of youth who are involved with the juvenile justice system, how they come into contact with the system, and the evidence of the availability and quality of mental health services for such youth. The paper also explores public policy options for avoiding dependence on the juvenile justice system as a last resort for treating youth with mental disorders.

Tragedy & Remedy: Black Reparations For Racial Disparities In Health, Kevin Outterson

ExpressO

This Article makes unique and powerful contributions to Black reparations, health care law, biomedical and social science research into racial disparities in health, and critical race theory.

The starting point is the tragedy of Black health in America, with dramatically higher death rates and shorter life expectancies. Current research is ill-equipped to consider the deeper historical roots of Black health disparities; while the development of racially-specific therapies (such as the FDA’s approval in July 2005 of BiDil, a heart drug for Blacks) actually contributes to racial profiling in medicine. Biomedical research has a race problem.

The Black reparations movement suffers …

Specialty Hospitals: Can General Hospitals Compete?, Laura A. Dummit

National Health Policy Forum

The rapid increase in specialty cardiac, surgical, and orthopedic hospitals has captured the attention of general hospitals and policymakers. Although the number of specialty hospitals remains small in absolute terms, their entry into certain health care markets has fueled arguments about the rules of “fair” competition among health care providers. To allow the smoke to clear, Congress effectively stalled the growth in new specialty hospitals by temporarily prohibiting physicians from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients to specialty hospitals in which they had an ownership interest. During this 18-month moratorium, which expired June 8, 2005, two mandated studies of specialty hospitals …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Summer 2005

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

On Hastening Death Without Violating Legal Or Moral Prohibitions, Norman L. Cantor

Rutgers Law School (Newark) Faculty Papers

While the vast majority of fatally afflicted persons have a powerful wish to remain alive, some stricken persons may, for any of a host of reasons, desire to hasten death. Some persons are afflicted with chronic degenerative diseases that take a grievous toll. Chronic pain may be severe and intractable, anxiety about a future treatment regimen may be distressing, and helplessness may erode personal dignity and soil the image that the afflicted person wants to leave behind.

A dying patient’s interest in hastening death is often said to be in tension with a bedrock social principle that respect for sanctity …

Reframing The Issue: Aids As A Global Workforce Crisis And The Emerging Role Of Multinational Corporations, Elizabeth M. Chitty

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

No abstract provided.

Autonomy And End-Of-Life Decision Making: Reflections Of A Lawyer And A Daughter, Ray D. Madoff

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Midwifery Stalemate And Childbirth Choice: Recognizing Mothers-To-Be As The Best Late Pregnancy Decisionmakers, Amy F. Cohen

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Examining The Underlying Purposes Of Municipal And Statewide Smoking Bans, Mark J. Horvick

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Local Coverage Initiatives: Solution Or Band-Aid For The Uninsured?, Jennifer Ryan

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief surveys health coverage expansion initiatives that are operating on the county or local level, often without the benefit of federal funding. The paper explores the circumstances that have made these initiatives possible and considers the ongoing barriers that local policymakers face in sustaining the programs. Descriptions of four initiatives illustrate the range and variety of programs in operation today and offer both best practices and lessons learned for other communities. The paper also includes a brief analysis of the key elements that make up a successful coverage initiative. Finally, this issue brief considers the role of local …

Children With Special Health Care Needs: Minding The Gaps, Christie Provost Peters

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper examines the issue of children with special health care needs and their interaction with the health care system. Results from recent national and state surveys and studies were used to review the medical expenditures, utilization, and insurance coverage of these children. The paper also discusses weaknesses within the private and public delivery and financing systems that may hinder the access of certain families with children with special health care needs to important services.

Autonomy And End Of Life Decision Making: Reflections Of A Lawyer And A Daughter, Ray D. Madoff

ExpressO

This short essay reflects upon end of life decision making from both a legal perspective as well as from the perspective of a family member living the experience of facing end of life decisions of a loved one. Most importantly, the reflections focus on the vast gulf that exists between these two perspectives.

Dying In America - An Examination Of Policies That Deter Adequate End-Of-Life Care In Nursing Homes, Diane E. Hoffmann, Anita J. Tarzian

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines current health care policies and government practices that deter appropriate end-of-life care, focusing on the use of hospice services for dying nursing home patients. The authors conclude that hospice and nursing home regulations, reimbursement for hospice and nursing homes, and enforcement of the fraud and abuse rules collude to “chill” utilization of hospice by nursing homes and result in inadequate end-of-life care for many nursing home patients. They argue that these policies and practices have at their roots a number of questionable assumptions and call for a shift in existing paradigms affecting care to this group and …

Pursuing Justice For The Mentally Disabled, Grant H. Morris

University of San Diego Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series

This article considers whether lawyers act as zealous advocates when they represent mentally disordered, involuntarily committed patients who wish to assert their right to refuse treatment with psychotropic medication. After discussing a study that clearly demonstrates that lawyers do not do so, the article explores the reasons for this inappropriate behavior. Michael Perlin characterizes the problem as “sanism,” which he describes as an irrational prejudice against mentally disabled persons of the same quality and character as other irrational prejudices that cause and are reflected in prevailing social attitudes of racism, sexism, homophobia, and ethnic bigotry. The article critiques Perlin’s characterization …

Evaluation Of Florida's Medicaid Managed Mental Health Plans: Year 8 Report, David L. Shern, Pat Robinson, Julienne Giard, Amy Vargo, Patty Sharrock, Roger A. Boothroyd

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bartering With A Nation's Health Or Improving Access To Pharmaceuticals? The United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Katherine M. Van Maren

Washington International Law Journal

Providing access to affordable medicines and rewarding innovation produces a difficult tension in the global economy. Different nations deal with this tension differently, as illustrated by the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement ("U.S.-Australia FTA") negotiations. Both nations stood to benefit greatly from reduced or eliminated tariffs. During negotiations, both nations sought to capitalize on the opportunity to alter certain practices that hindered trade. One such practice was Australia's fifty-five-year-old Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ("PBS"). The PBS controls prices for most medicines within Australia. Australian consumers are concerned that the U.S.-Australia FTA will adversely affect access to affordable medicines because free trade …

Hospital Oversight In Medicare: Accreditation And Deeming Authority, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

To be eligible to receive payment from Medicare, hospitals must be certified to meet certain conditions. Hospitals may gain such credentials by choosing to be reviewed by a state certification agency under contract to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or to be accredited by either the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or the American Osteopathic Association. This issue brief looks at how accreditation of hospitals developed and how it continues to change. It considers the legal and practical reasons that a majority of hospitals choose accreditation and why some hospitals do not, along with broader consideration …