Health Law and Policy Commons^™

The Science Of Policy-Making, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The need for science-based evidence for policy makers to understand issues, manage risks and handle tradeoffs

A Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On: Movement Disorders Caused By Brain Trauma, Jack E. Hubbard, Samuel D. Hodge, Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

There has been a lot of publicity directed to the consequence of brain trauma, such as headaches forgetfulness, irritability, and depression. That is only part of the sequelae. A little-known but challenging result of brain trauma is the development of or aggravation of a movement disorder such as a tremor, dystonia, a tic, or Parkinson’s Disease.

A movement disorder is an all-encompassing term that refers to a constellation of neurological issues that cause involuntary or voluntary movements or abnormal positioning of a body part. Various regions of the brain interact with each other to control movements of the body. If …

Anti-Homosexual Legislation And Hiv-Related Stigma In African Nations: What Has Been The Role Of Pepfar?, Amy Hagopian, Deepa Rao, Aaron Katz, Sallie Sanford, Scott Barnhart

Articles

Background: Gay men and other men who have sex with men are disproportionately burdened by HIV infection. Laws that penalize same-sex intercourse contribute to a cycle of stigma, homonegativity and discrimination. In many African nations, laws criminalizing homosexuality may be fueling the epidemic, as they dissuade key populations from seeking treatment and health care providers from offering it.

Objectives: We analyzed the ways in which policies and practices of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program addressed pervasively harsh anti-homosexuality laws across Africa. Given the aim of the US PEPFAR program to reduce stigma surrounding HIV, we …

On Health, Law, And Religion, Stacey A. Tovino

Washington and Lee Law Review

The Supreme Court recently decided a number of cases involving health, law, and religion, including Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, Zubik v. Burwell, and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. These cases were important for understanding constitutional undue burden limitations and the boundaries of religious exercise during the Obama Administration. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s recent opinions addressing health, law, and religion have little value for many health law professors and most practicing health care attorneys. These individuals, tasked with teaching and applying the thousands of federal and state statutes, regulations, and government guidance documents that address a …

In The "Best Interests" Of The Disabled: Legislating Morality And The Power To Initiate Support Orders For Disabled Adults In Ohio, Kalynne Proctor

Cleveland State Law Review

Today’s reality is that many families have children who are faced with disabling conditions that prevent them from relinquishing their dependency on others. Often, the need for specialized treatment and care does not terminate once a severely disabled child reaches adulthood. While typically parents are relieved of their legal parental obligations to their adult-aged children, this is not the same case for parents with severely disabled children. In some respects, Ohio has recognized the financial difficulties divorced parents face when they are the sole caregivers of disabled adult children. Although Ohio law requires that the noncustodial parent in a divorce …

A Chill Wind Blows: Undue Burden In The Wake Of Whole Woman’S Health V. Hellerstedt, Catherine Gamper

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sieglein V. Schmidt: Securing The Legitimacy Of All Children Created Through Assisted Reproductive Technology, Gabrielle C. Phillips

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workin’ 9:00–5:00 For Nine Months: Assessing Pregnancy Discrimination Laws In Georgia, Kaitlyn Pettet

Georgia State University Law Review

As demonstrated in this Note, there is still a considerable way to go before women are no longer forced to choose between pregnancy and keeping their career. Allegations of pregnancy discrimination in the workplace are also on the rise.

In 1997, 4,000 plaintiffs filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). By 2011, that number rose to 5,800. The EEOC won significant damages in pregnancy discrimination cases, demonstrating a greater tendency towards discrimination in the workplace. Additionally, this rise in claims and awards caught the attention of the nation’s media, placing new emphasis on the treatment of pregnant women …

An Empirical Assessment Of Georgia’S Beyond A Reasonable Doubt Standard To Determine Intellectual Disability In Capital Cases, Lauren Sudeall Lucas

Georgia State University Law Review

In Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court held that execution of people with intellectual disabilities violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In doing so, the Court explicitly left to the states the question of which procedures would be used to identify such defendants as exempt from the death penalty. More than a decade before Atkins, Georgia was the first state to bar execution of people with intellectual disability. Yet, of the states that continue to impose the death penalty as a punishment for capital murder, Georgia is the only state that requires capital defendants …

Panel 6a Local Enforcement Efforts In Maryland: Tobacco Free Baltimore: Tobacco Enforcement, Shovaughn Chism

Maryland Tobacco Control Conference

Retail tobacco compliance checks are among the most effective strategies to reduce prevent youth tobacco use. This session will highlight the retail tobacco compliance check programs in three diverse Maryland communities: Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and St. Mary’s County. Panelists will discuss the challenges facing these programs and recent successes in reducing retail violations and youth access to tobacco products. Topics will include: inspection procedures and evidence gathering, working with law enforcement, administrative bodies reducing or eliminating fines, legal challenges, and much more!

Trending @ Rwu Law: Dean Yelnosky's Post: The Path To Commencement: Maria Viveiros '17 05-08-2017, Michael Yelnosky

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

Do Desperate Times Really Call For Desperate Measures? The Ethical Dilemma Behind The Regulation And Use Of Experimental Drugs, Lauren Kuehn

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

This Note will argue that, unlike what many patients believe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays an invaluable and imperative role in seeking the efficacy and safety of new treatment options and drugs. The balance of interests between those who are terminally ill, who wish to see increased access to unapproved medicines; the general public, who has an interest in preserving the drug approval process; and the FDA, who has been mandated by law to safeguard the safety of the general public, creates a tension that will continue to go unresolved. Thus, the patients who continue to advocate …

Leaders And Laggards: Tackling State Legislative Responses To The Youth Sports Concussion Epidemic, Chris Lau

Fordham Law Review

In 2009, state legislatures began to enact concussion safety laws to protect youth athletes suffering from traumatic brain injuries sustained during the course of play. By 2014, all fifty states and the District of Columbia had enacted some form of youth sports concussion legislation. Yet these statutes vary widely across states in terms of the protections offered to youth athletes. This Note provides an analysis of state legislation by classifying all fifty-one statutes among distinct tiers ranging from least to most protective.

Zika And The Failure To Act Under The Police Power, Jacqueline Fox

Faculty Publications

Zika is a mosquito-borne and sexually transmitted disease that is a dangerous threat to pregnant women, causing catastrophic birth defects in a large percentage of fetuses when their mothers become infected while pregnant. It raises numerous issues related to abortion, birth control, poverty, and women’s control over their procreative choices. While the United States received ample warning from January 2016 onward that it was at risk of local transmission of this virus and public health officials at all levels generally behaved properly, the state and federal legislative responses in the summer of 2016 were entirely inadequate. For example, no state …

The Eeoc, The Ada, And Workplace Wellness Programs, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Articles

It seems that everybody loves workplace wellness programs. The Chamber of Commerce has firmly endorsed those progarms, as have other business groups. So has President Obama, and even liberal firebrands like former Senator Tom Harkin. And why not? After all, what's not to like about programs that encourage people to adopt healthy habits like exercise, nutritious eating, and quitting smoking? The proponents of these programs speak passionately, and with evident good intentions, about reducing the crushing burden that chronic disease places on individuals, families, communities, and the economy as a whole. What's not to like? Plenty. Workplace wellness programs are …

Can You Keep It? An Examination Of The Individual Health Insurance Market, Rachael Carnale

Honors Scholar Theses

The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, ACA, or Obamacare) in 2010 significantly altered the structure of the individual health insurance market. The new regulatory environment and establishment of the health insurance exchanges forced insurers to adopt to be successful in the reformed individual market. However, the complexity of the law and uncertainty surrounding both the law itself and the newly insured have threatened the stability of the individual market. This thesis will explore the history of the individual health insurance market, the issues that current afflict the exchanges, and viability of possible solutions. Special attention …

Frozen Ethics: Melting The Boundaries Between Medical Treatment And Organ Procurement, George J. Annas, Michael A. Grodin

Faculty Scholarship

When Renee Fox, medical sociologist and noted historian of organ transplantation, first learned of the proposal to use "non-heart-beating cadavers" as organ sources more than 25 years ago, she was appalled. She labeled the proposal "the most elaborately macabre scheme for obtaining organs that I have encountered," adding that "it borders on ghoulishness." She saw the procedure as "beyond the pale of the medically decent, morally allowable, and spiritually acceptable" (Fox 1993, 232). But medically decent has seldom gotten in the way of procuring organs for transplant, and we now seem to be on the verge of adopting an "uncontrolled" …

Federalism And The End Of Obamacare, Nicholas Bagley

Articles

Federalism has become a watchword in the acrimonious debate over a possible replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Missing from that debate, however, is a theoretically grounded and empirically informed understanding of how best to allocate power between the federal government and the states. For health reform, the conventional arguments in favor of a national solution have little resonance: federal intervention will not avoid a race to the bottom, prevent externalities, or protect minority groups from state discrimination. Instead, federal action is necessary to overcome the states’ fiscal limitations: their inability to deficit-spend and the constraints that federal law …

The Prescription Drug Pricing Moment: Using Public Health Analysis To Clarify The Fair Competition Debate On Prescription Drug Pricing And Consumer Welfare, Ann Marie Marciarille

Faculty Works

Fair competition law and public health law talk past each other when discussing pharmaceutical pricing and distribution. The former cannot agree on the relevant definition of consumer welfare. The latter does not fully comprehend the highly complex but inherently collective nature of pharmaceutical drug acquisition in the United States. This essay proposes to inject public health discourse into this debate to enrich it, focus it, and render it more accessible to those who must live by its outcome.

Legal Mapping Analysis Of State Telehealth Reimbursement Policies, Kate E. Trout, Sankeerth Rampa, Fernando A. Wilson, Jim P. Stimpson

Publications and Research

Background: There exists rapid growth and inconsistency in the telehealth policy environment, which makes it difficult to quantitatively evaluate the impact of telehealth reimbursement and other policies without the availability of a legal mapping database. Introduction: We describe the creation of a legal mapping database of state-level policies related to telehealth reimbursement of healthcare services. Trends and characteristics of these policies are presented.

Materials and Methods: Information provided by the Center for Connected Health Policy was used to identify state-wide laws and regulations regarding telehealth reimbursement. Other information was retrieved using: (1) LexisNexis database, (2) Westlaw database, and (3) retrieval …