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 thirty staffers and nearly 1,500 readers.
Current Issue
Volume 19, Issue 2
Latest from the Blog
A Crisis of Accountability: Medical Neglect and Preventable Deaths in Immigration Detention
On September 14, 2025, Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, a lawful permanent resident, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and transferred to Krome Detention Center in Miami, Florida for removal proceedings. On October 10th, Saleh was transported to Larkin Community Hospital due to a fever; the next day, he […]
Accessibility Behind Bars: ADA Compliance in Prisons
Among the limited rights of incarcerated individuals, those ensuring fair and human treatment are often the subject of debate and frequently go unenforced. In the past few years, complaints have arisen concerning the poor and unequal treatment of inmates with disabilities, sparking lawsuits and questions over whether U.S. prisons are […]
A Foot in the Door: Virginia’s New Doula Law, S.B. 1384, Guarantees Their Presence, but not Their Access
Virginia has taken a critical step to address its maternal health crisis with a new law guaranteeing a birthing person’s right to have both a doula and a partner (or other support person) present during labor and childbirth. This legislation is a direct response to the state’s alarming maternal mortality […]
The AI Doctor Will See You Now—But Is It Regulated?
In early 2025, two-thirds of doctors reported using artificial intelligence (AI) for a wide range of purposes, including “documentation of billing codes, medical charts, and visit notes; generating discharge instructions, care plans, and progress notes; providing translation services; supporting diagnostic decisions; and more.” Although the healthcare sector was initially hesitant […]
Destination Unknown: Navigating Abortion Training in Post-Dobbs America
Abortion is not only common but an essential component of comprehensive care, with one in four pregnant people accessing abortion care in the United States. During my annual physical this summer, I reflected on what challenges people seeking abortion care in my home state of Georgia – and across the […]
The Beginning of the End for Vaccine Mandates?: What Happens When Ideological Opposition to Vaccination Invades Public Health Policy
“We did it everybody!” exclaimed Leslie Manookian, “We passed the first true medical freedom bill in the nation!” Ms. Manookian and other members of the anti-vaccine group Health Freedom Idaho were celebrating the Idaho Medical Freedom Act being signed into Idaho state law on April 4, 2025, which protects those […]
The MIND Act: Congress’s Attempt to Protect Americans’ Brain Data
Neurotechnologies are devices that have been used in the clinical context for decades to collect data about brain or nervous system activity. Examples include the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to diagnose brain tumors, electroencephalograms (EEG) to predict strokes, and deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s […]
Acetaminophen, Pregnancy, and Neurodevelopment: What the Science Really Says
Acetaminophen, more commonly recognized by the brand name Tylenol, has been recommended by physicians to pregnant women as a safe fever-reducer and effective pain-reliever for decades. However, in September of this year, President Donald Trump and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a warning regarding […]
Florida Lawmakers Hope to Close Medical Malpractice Loophole with House Bill 6003
Earlier this month, Florida lawmakers introduced House Bill 6003 to close the “deadly legal loophole” for the current medical malpractice law. Under current Florida medical malpractice law, people who are 25 years old or older cannot collect “non-economic” damages for the wrongful death of a family member who is also […]
Detaining Medical Information: The Growing Threat to Immigrants’ Health Care Access
Emboldened by President Trump, armed and masked immigration enforcement agents are increasingly threatening the public and conducting raids to detain people whom they suspect are undocumented immigrants. Attention, both in popular and social media, has primarily focused on immigration enforcement in areas once considered safe, including raids occurring in schools, […]