Law Commons^™

Masthead

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Gender Identity, Health, And The Law: An Overview Of Key Laws Impacting The Health Of Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming People, Naomi Seiler, Amanda Spott, Mekhi Washington, Paige Organick-Lee, Aaron Karacuschansky, Gregory Dwyer, Katie Horton, Alexis Osei

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

A growing population of transgender, nonbinary, and other gender non-conforming Americans experience the burden of multiple physical and mental health inequities. Largely rooted in discrimination and stigma, these disparities are compounded by barriers to respectful, appropriate healthcare.

A range of new policies, including state laws attempting to limit access to gender-affirming care for minors, may further compound health disparities. However, in some states and at the federal level, protective laws seek to prohibit discrimination and support access to care. Meanwhile, the constitutional status of gender identity under the Equal Protection Clause, and the legality of certain federal protections challenged on …

The Battle For Medicare, Isaac D. Buck

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

America is aging. From 2019 to 2060, the total population of Americans over sixty-five will grow from fifty-four million to ninety-five million. Of all Americans, sixteen percent were aged sixty-five and older in 2019; nearly twenty-two percent are projected to be in this age group by 2040. This shift will put unprecedented pressure on the Medicare program. Its enrollment is already in the midst of an unparalleled boom, growing from forty-eight million in 2010 to eighty-six million by just 2035. As it grows in importance and size, the future of Medicare will be dominated by two competing pressures.

First, Medicare …

The Future Of Health Care Must Be Harm Reductionist—To Bring It About, We Need Moral Philosophy, Travis N. Rieder

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

In the United States, more than 100,000 people now die each year from drug overdose, but nearly all of these deaths are preventable. The purpose of this Article is to show that harm reduction interventions could go a long way towards saving these lives, but we don’t adopt many of these interventions, or fail to adopt them at the scale needed. Although it is often suggested by opponents of harm reduction that the interventions are unlikely to actually reduce harm, this Article argues that the empirical debate is largely over—decades of data demonstrate that harm reduction saves lives, promotes health, …

Inefficacy Of The Transparency In Coverage Final Rule In Promoting Cost-Effective Choices, Abigail Jaeger

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

The Transparency in Coverage Final Rule requires health plans to provide beneficiaries with financial information such as estimates of their personalized cost-sharing liabilities for items and services offered by different providers, the plan’s negotiated in-network rates with these providers, and the plan’s allowed out-of-network amounts. The Final Rule is designed to enhance consumers’ access to pricing information under their health plan so they have the ability to make well-informed and cost-effective decisions regarding their health care. However, empirical evidence suggests that the Final Rule will not effectuate its intended purpose. Many consumers lack the high level of health insurance comprehension …

Who Pays First?: Medicaid Third-Party Liability In Florida And Virginia’S Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Programs, Alexandra M. Robbins

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

In response to an impending obstetrician shortage and medical malpractice crisis, the states of Florida and Virginia adopted no-fault birth-related neurological injury compensation programs in the 1980s. Both of these programs provide lifetime coverage for eligible children with serious birth-related neurological injuries; however, both programs treated themselves as the payer of last resort and required families to submit claims to Medicaid first based on an inaccurate interpretation of Medicaid third party-liability (“TPL”) laws and the program-enabling statutes. Both programs’ policies treating themselves as the payer of last resort not only violated Federal and State Medicaid laws, they caused harm to …

Table Of Contents

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Foreword: Probing The Intersection Of Climate Change And Public Health, Ana Santos Rutschman

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Tribal Water Rights And Tribal Health: The Klamath Tribes And The Navajo Nation During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Robin Kundis Craig

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Pursuing Climate Justice: Learning The Lessons Of The Covid-19 Response, Lance Gable

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Meeting Water Affordability Challenges In The Era Of The Unexpected, Amy Hardberger

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Preventing Maternal Deaths: A Critical Feminist Approach To Maternal Mortality In The United States, Jemalyn Harvey

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Post-Pandemic, But Not Post-Racial, Courtney Lauren Anderson

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

The Fair Housing Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act have had measurable success in providing opportunities to address intentional discrimination in housing and voting contexts. Plaintiffs with evidence of direct illegalities have clear frameworks under which justice may be sought, and both Acts provide a path for relief upon violations of housing and voting rights because of one’s membership in a protected class. However, the disparate impact theories that are cognizable under both Acts have been scrutinized for lackluster results. Practitioners and academicians have written about and experienced the difficulties plaintiffs face in successfully proving that a particular housing …

Immigration Reforms As Health Policy, Medha D. Makhlouf, Patrick J. Glen

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

The 2020 election, uniting control of the political branches in the Democratic party, opened up a realistic possibility of immigration reform. Reform of the immigration system is long overdue, but in pursuing such reform, Congress should cast a broad net and recognize the health policies embedded in immigration laws. Some immigration laws undermine health policies designed to improve individual and population health. For example, immigration inadmissibility and deportability laws that chill noncitizens from enrolling in health-promoting public benefits contribute to health inequities in immigrant communities that spill over into the broader population—a fact highlighted by the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions …

Revisiting Health Care Fraud In The Biden Administration, Joan H. Krause

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

Although not one of the Biden administration’s initial priorities, health care fraud inevitably will be a major concern. First, the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic—including the disbursement of more than $175 billion in provider relief funds and the loosening of traditionally strict rules on Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services—has created new opportunities to divert health care funds for fraudulent purposes. Second, President Joseph Biden took office in the midst of the incomplete transition from volume-based to value-based payment in the federal health care programs, which will allow fraud to flourish in the gaps between multiple reimbursement systems. Third, …

Insurer Accountability In The Next Generation Of Health Reform, Katie Keith

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

Democrats continue to debate how to extend health insurance coverage to the remaining uninsured and improve the affordability and quality of coverage and care. Prior intraparty debates—over whether to build upon the Affordable Care Act, create a public option, or expand the Medicare program to all (or more)—have centered on how to best accomplish these goals and whether health care delivery should be mediated through public versus private payers. These are worthwhile debates, but the history of health reform suggests that private health insurers are here to stay. This Article accepts the premise that future coverage expansions will likely rely …

Beyond Disability Rights: A Way Forward After The 2020 Election, Robyn M. Powell

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, people with disabilities and other historically marginalized communities experienced incessant attacks on their rights. From continuous attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, to decreased enforcement of federal disability rights laws, to reductions to social safety net programs, to the intentional disregard of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s presidency threatened nearly every facet of disabled people’s lives. However, even before the Trump administration, people with disabilities experienced a range of pervasive and persistent social, economic, and health inequities. Moreover, many of these injustices endure today—nearly two years since President Trump left office.

The disability rights movement originated …

Access To Court Cases From The Supreme Court’S 2020–2021 Term: The New Majority’S Debut, Sarah Somers, Jane Perkins, Abigail Coursolle, Sarah Grusin

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

Throughout the Supreme Court’s first term without Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Court issued only a few major opinions with respect to access to the Court for civil litigants, and it issued none that discarded major precedents. Yet, in several areas, the Court demonstrated an increasingly conservative bent and began to lay the groundwork for major changes. In this Article, we discuss selected opinions from the Court’s 2020–2021 term that may have an impact on access to the courts for individuals seeking to vindicate civil and constitutional rights. In particular, it focuses on cases that may affect access for low-income …

“Woman Enough” To Win? An Analysis Of Sex Testing In College Athletics, Brenna M. Moreno

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

In recent years, dozens of bills restricting the rights of transgender, or trans, individuals have been introduced in state legislatures throughout the country. To date, ten states have successfully passed laws prohibiting trans athletes from competing on teams in accordance with their gender identities. For its athletes, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the United States’ largest intercollegiate athletic organization, has pursued a compromise to balance trans inclusion and fair competition. Established in 2011, the NCAA’s conditionally inclusive policy permits trans women—meaning those who were assigned the sex of male but identify as women—to compete on a women’s team only …

The Impact Of Bostock V. Clayton County On Access To Health Care For Lgbtq Persons, Hiba B. Al-Ramahi

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

LGBTQ individuals face countless acts of discrimination in health care insurance and delivery. In spite of this inequality, there are zero LGBTQ-inclusive health insurance protections in over half of the United States. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) are two federal statutes that prohibit discrimination, in relevant part, on the basis of sex. Both federal statutes have been greatly impacted by the Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which interpreted “sex” in Title VII to include gender identity and sexual orientation. This …

Developing A Health Care Workforce That Supports Team-Based Care Models That Integrate Health And Social Services, Jessica Mantel, Mcclain Sampson, David S. Buck, Winston Liaw, Lechauncy Woodard, Jasmine Singh

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

Across the country, health care professionals are joining forces to improve the health care of populations with complex social, financial, and behavioral health needs. One promising approach relies on community-based integrated health teams (CIHTs), or interprofessional teams that integrate a broad range of medical, behavioral health, and social services, offer intensive case management, and link patients to available community resources. Yet whether CIHTs fulfill their potential depends in part on policymakers enacting policies that support CIHTs delivering comprehensive, high-value care to their patients. Drawing on the insights of CIHT professionals shared with the authors, this Article highlights several factors that …

Making Rights Meaningful: Advocating For Simple Changes In Federal Agency Practice To Promote Health Equity, Mary Quandt

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Alexander Williams

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Centering Racial Equity: Disparities Task Forces As A Strategy To Ensure An Equitable Pandemic Response, Dawn M. Hunter, Betsy Lawton

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

COVID-19 has had a stark and severe impact on health, economic stability, housing, and education in communities of color in the United States. As the pandemic has unfolded, the disproportionate number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19 among Black, Hispanic and Latinx, and Indigenous people has served as a stark reminder that the systems and structures that lead to these disparities need to be changed in order to achieve equitable outcomes.

This Article assesses efforts by cities, counties, states, and organizations to address the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color through formal task forces or working groups …