Law Commons^™

Witch Doctors, Zombies, And Oracles: Rethinking Health In America, Ali S. Khan

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

To the extent we can even refer to an American healthcare "system," it functions brilliantly ... to make money. The system is designed to reward executives or major shareholders of pharmaceutical & health insurance companies, healthcare facilities, and related entities. With a rapidly aging population, healthcare will soon surpass a fifth of our economy. Of course, the American healthcare system does not function brilliantly when one considers the perspective of patients and over-extended primary care providers. Prices are growing faster than inflation or wages, healthcare is twice as costly as other comparable nations, and one third is a result of …

Make America Discriminate Again? Why Hobby Lobby's Expansion Of Rfra Is Bad Medicine For Transgender Health Care, Alexis M. Florczak

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

The article highlights the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in "Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc." which held for-profit corporations could be exempt from the Affordable Care Act's (ACA)contraceptive mandate because of their sincerely held religious beliefs. Topics discussed include ACA Nondiscrimination or Civil Rights provision provides valuable protections to transgender individuals; and Department of Health and Human Services' further guidance on the ACA's provision.

Modernizing The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act To Harmonize With The Affordable Care Act To Improve Equality, Quality And Cost Of Emergency Care, Katharine A. Van Tassel

Faculty Publications

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal statute passed almost 30 years ago which was designed to ensure equal access to emergency treatment and to halt the practice of “patient dumping.” Patient dumping is a situation where some patients—typically uninsured, disabled, and minority individuals—receive inferior emergency medical care or are denied emergency medical treatment altogether. The goal of EMTALA is to ensure that everyone coming to the emergency room will receive equal care.

Unfortunately, despite EMTALA, the practice of patient dumping has continued to this day. The most recent case in the news is the …

Taxation Without Representation: The Illegal Irs Rule To Expand Tax Credits Under The Ppaca, Jonathan H. Adler, Michael F. Cannon

Faculty Publications

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provides tax credits and subsidies for the purchase of qualifying health insurance plans on state-run insurance exchanges. Contrary to expectations, many states are refusing or otherwise failing to create such exchanges. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule purports to extend these tax credits and subsidies to the purchase of health insurance in federal exchanges created in states without exchanges of their own. This rule lacks statutory authority. The text, structure, and history of the Act show that tax credits and subsidies are not available in federally run exchanges. The IRS rule is …

What Is The Meaning Of Health? Constitutional Implications Of Defining 'Medical Necessity' And 'Essential Health Benefits' Under The Affordable Care Act, B. Jessie Hill

Faculty Publications

One consequence of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is that government will come to play a more extensive role in healthcare decision-making by individuals and their providers. The ACA does not directly regulate access to health services, but by means of a system of funding, mandates, and penalties, it essentially requires many employers to provide, and most individuals to carry, a certain minimum level of health insurance. Governmental decisions about which medical services qualify as medically necessary and appropriate may take on a new and greater importance, because government officials will be required to decide what sorts of procedures must …