HEALTH LAW SURVEY: THE LEGAL REGULATION OF HEALTH CARE ACCESS, QUALITY, & COST IN THE U.S.
(LAWA-4023) - 3 UNITS

This survey course introduces students to the regulation of health care, emphasizing five concerns that animate debates over U.S. health law and policy - access, quality, choice, cost, and equity.

Consider the following questions arising from these concerns: Are we able to access the health care services, drugs or devices we need? If not, what are the barriers to care? Who ensures that we are getting good quality care? What happens if we are harmed due to poor care? How much choice do we have in where or from whom we get care? How is the cost of providing health care distributed and contained? What are the personal and societal costs of foregoing care? Who bears the burden when health care is not provided? How do the answers to the above questions vary based on one's social status or identity, especially as it relates to race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, immigration status, age, disability, socioeconomic status, and religion? How has interpersonal and structural discrimination in health care delivery and financing contributed to poor health outcomes and health inequity?

Students will learn how these issues are addressed through a complex patchwork of state and federal laws, including the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and will be able to identify the competing values and assumptions that inform different legal approaches. Throughout the course, we will center the lived experiences of patients to add social context relevant for understanding patients' health care journeys, and students will have the opportunity to think critically about the role that law and policy play in either advancing or impeding health and equity goals. We will also consider the varied interests and perspectives of key health care actors, including medical and allied health professionals, hospitals and other health facilities, private insurers, public programs (Medicaid & Medicare), and government and private regulatory bodies. Finally, this course provides students with a practical foundation for pursuing a career in any area of health law, including corporate/compliance work, litigation/administrative practice, and public interest advocacy/policy.

There is a take-home exam for this course.

Pass/Fail:
No

Prerequisites:
None