AMERICAN UNIVERSITY | WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW

Health Law & Policy Brief

The Health Law & Policy Brief is an online publication run by law students at American University Washington College of Law. Founded in 2007, the Health Law & Policy Brief publishes articles on a wide array of cutting-edge topics in health law. Such topics include health care compliance, fraud and abuse enforcement, health insurance payment and reimbursement issues, intellectual property issues, international human rights issues, FDA initiatives and policies, and a host of other matters. Beginning with a staff of just five, the Health Law & Policy Brief now boasts over twenty members and nearly 1,500 readers.


Latest from the Blog

Cancer in America: History, Progress, and Challenges Ahead

Guy CheathamMar 19, 2023
“Its palliation is a daily task, its cure is a fervent hope.”- William Castle, describing leukemia in 1950. In The Histories, Herodotus records the story of Queen Atoosa of Persia (Atoosa), specifically the unusual illness that struck her in the form of a bleeding lump in her breast rising from […]

The Rise of Ozempic & Prescription Weight Loss Drugs

Sarah JieMar 19, 2023
Ozempic is an injectable drug used to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes and to lower the risk of heart disease. But over the past few months, Ozempic has been hailed as a “miracle drug” by celebrities, tech moguls, and social media influencers alike. In September 2022, […]

Gender-Inclusive Health Care Means Access to Gender-Affirming Care

Maria MartinezMar 19, 2023
Gender-affirming care is a form of healthcare that includes medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people. Early-gender affirming care is crucial to the well-being of transgender and nonbinary children (TGNB) and adolescents because it helps with social transitions and can provide resources while navigating the complicated […]

Threatening Affordable Access to Abortion: Mifepristone, The “Abortion Pill”

Sarah AberMar 19, 2023
On January 3, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) for reproductive health relating to “the abortion pill,” mifepristone. Mifepristone is a pill, used in combination with misoprostol, to terminate intrauterine pregnancies no later than 10 weeks past the individual’s last […]

“Ending” the Public Health Emergency Will Further the Suffering of Elderly Individuals

Alexander NaumFeb 27, 2023
The elderly population (those 65 and older) in the U.S. continue to face a disproportionately negative impact from the COVID-19 epidemic. While elderly individuals account for only 16% of the total U.S. population, they represent close to 90% of recent COVID-19 deaths in just the last few months. Throughout 2022, […]

The Dangers of E-Cigarette Marketing: The Fight to Protect Our Youth

It comes as no surprise that children are heavily influenced by the social makeup of their environment, especially as they enter adolescence. Today, parents face a particularly unique fear with peer pressure: the fear that their children will develop an addiction to nicotine. Peer pressure is a contributing factor influencing […]

Medications-The Next Battleground on Abortion in the United States

Margaret RiceFeb 25, 2023
Anti-abortion supporters won a significant legal battle this summer in the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, overturning the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. But they aren’t stopping there. Another approach to limiting abortions is gaining traction in the form of several current lawsuits that are utilizing various methods […]

Can East Palestine, OH Seek Derailment Relief Through a Medical Monitoring Program?

Emilee DanielFeb 25, 2023
On February 3rd, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The village rests on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Investigators believe that a broken axle caused approximately fifty of the 100 car train to derail. Five derailed cars carried vinyl chloride. Over the following days, the vinyl chloride was […]

Cell-Based Meat: Meet the Future

Maria MartinezNov 19, 2022
In recent years, plant-based meat products have gone from an option for a vegan diet to a popular dish, in fact one in every ten Americans say they do not eat meat. However, plant-based meat products are no longer the only alternative to traditional meat. Cell-based meat is a new […]

States Support Abortion in Midterm Elections

Margaret RiceNov 19, 2022
Abortion has long been a contentious issue in American politics, but the debate has been revived, perhaps more than ever, since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, altering the landscape of abortion access across the nation. One major impact of the Dobbs decision was a distinct shift […]