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.
Current Issue
Volume 18, Issue 2
Latest from the Blog
Too Much, Too Soon, Too Late? The Sudden Shift in Federal Childhood Obesity Policy
Pediatric obesity has been called “an epidemic within an epidemic” by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This condition causes hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and more, but has the potential to cause severe illnesses in adulthood such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. The number of cases diagnosed every year has been […]
Nitrogen Gas Asphyxiation: A Novel and Controversial Method of Capital Punishment
On Thursday, September 26th, Alan Eugene Miller was put to death in Alabama by nitrogen gas asphyxiation. Nitrogen is a physiologically inert gas, meaning that it has no toxic or anesthetic properties. When inhaled, nitrogen dilutes the concentration of oxygen in the blood to dangerously low levels. This deprives cells […]
How Preemption Affects Healthcare in Local Communities
Federal, State, and local laws all play a massive role in perpetuating healthcare inequities. Preemption is the idea that when two authorities conflict with each other, the higher authority of law will displace the law of lower authority. In recent years, many states have restricted local laws regarding public health […]
Dobbs’ Impact on Diversity and Representation in Clinical Trials
In the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, the future of the clinical research landscape for women’s health has largely been in question. Recent data suggests that the U.S. is moving backward when it comes to pregnancy-related complications and continues to have the highest rate of maternal […]
FTC Seeks to Put a Pin in Insulin Inflation: FTC Sues CareMark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx
The Federal Trade Commission filed another ambitious lawsuit on September 20, 2024, against three major pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) that serve as middlemen between pharmaceutical manufacturers and commercial insurers. The defendants are CVS Health’s CareMark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth’s OptumRx, who together control the affordability and accessibility of 80% […]