Volume 17 (2007-2008)
Annals of Health Law
The Health Policy and Law Review of Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Volume 17 (2007-08)
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Editor-in-Chief: |
Publications Editor: |
Technical Publications Editor: |
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Correspondence Editor: |
Colloquium Editor: |
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Senior Editors: |
Megan Simpson |
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Members: |
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Issue 1, Winter 2008
Articles
Whose Business is Your Pancreas? Potential Privacy Problems in New York City’s Mandatory Diabetes Registry
Authors: Harold J. Krent, J.D., Nicholas Gingo, Monica Kapp, Rachel Moran, Mary Neal, Meghan Paulas, Puneet Sarna, Sarah Suma
This article examines a recent New York City health regulation that mandates the compilation and storage of individual medical data from nearly all diabetics in a centralized registry. The authors distinguish this novel registry from prior health registries and scrutinize its potential to compromise individual privacy. In order to address privacy and other concerns, the authors offer suggestions for changes to the current statutory framework of the registry that will also be useful when considering the creation of similar public health registries in other cities.
"Body Property": Challenging the Ethical Barriers in Organ Transplantation to Protect Individual Autonomy
Author: Charles C. Dunham IV
One of two articles related to the current organ shortage, this article advocates the need for legislation to recognize organs and tissues separated from the body as a distinct category of personal property. After addressing the legislative history of organ procurement and psychological barriers to donor consent, the article examines the importance of separating the lifetime rights of ownership in our own bodies from postmortem rights. Ultimately, the author proposes a futures market approach to this problem in which individuals before death, or surviving family members after death, are permitted sell the decedent’s organs in a private contract.
Tax Policy as a Lifeline: Encouraging Blood and Organ Donation Through Tax Credits
Author: Joseph B. Clamon, J.D.
This article, the second concerning the organ donation crisis, proposes the use of tax policy to encourage blood and organ donation. After critiquing the ethical and logistical problems posed by other commercial and non-commercial solutions, the author demonstrates how tax credits can be used as an effective and ethical solution to address the shortage of donors. The author also offers two model statutes that provide guidance as to how a nonrefundable tax credit for blood and organ donation might operate in the tax code.
The Jurisdictional Bar Provision: Who is an Appropriate Relator?
Author: Carolyn V. Metnick, J.D., LL.M.
After explaining the role of the qui tam litigation and demonstrating its importance to fighting Medicare fraud and abuse, this article provides a detailed explanation of various court interpretations of the jurisdictional bar provision of the False Claims Act, a common and contentious statutory pitfall for qui tam litigators. The author provides a thorough evaluation of the law among different circuits to assist litigators in choosing favorable jurisdictions to increase their likelihood of success.
Patenting Medical Devices: The Economic Implications of Ethically Motivated Reform
Author: Kristen Nugent
This article explores whether the current patent system strikes the optimal balance between providing incentives to inventors to bring new medical devices to the marketplace and promoting public health by ensuring that these medical devices are widely available at a reasonable price. After providing an overview of the relationship of patent law to medical devices, the author explains how ethical and economic considerations suggest the need for an alternative patent system for medical devices and notes the difficulties with this proposal. The author concludes that a combination of alternatives to the current system most equitably account for the interests and needs of both healthcare device consumers and producers.
Issue 2, Summer 2008
Articles
The Consequences of Restricted Health Care Access for Immigrants: Lessons from Medicaid and SCHIP
Author: Janet M. Calvo, J.D.
This article explores the serious public health and health system concerns that arise from the exclusion of immigrants from healthcare access reform. Specifically, the author explains how Medicaid and SCHIP restrictions limit healthcare access for eligible citizens, undermine the functioning of the healthcare system, and hinder public health goals. These public health goals include: controlling contagious diseases, reducing infant mortality, and coordinating chronic disease care. Ultimately, the author concludes that providing health care access for noncitizens would further public health goals and implement a more rational and cost effective healthcare system.
Immigrant Access to Health Care and Public Health: An International Perspective
Author: Sana Loue, J.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
This article considers the extent of international migration and associated concerns for the public health and advocates for an international perspective on the provision of health care to migrants. After discussing factors affecting the health of immigrants and exploring the role of public health, this article focuses on immigrant access to health care and specifically addresses the relationships between legal status, financial resources for health care, and access to care from such an international perspective. The author concludes that the failure to address immigrant health care in this larger international context ultimately impacts not only the individual immigrants, but their communities of origin and destination as well.
The Immigrant Health Care Narrative and What it Tells Us About the U.S. Health Care System
Author: Brietta R. Clark, J.D.
This article examines the political, legal, and popular discourse in favor of and against healthcare benefit restrictions for immigrants. The author explains how this discourse creates narratives of immigrants’ character and relationship to the rest of society. These narratives influence our perception of immigrants and their effect on society, and this perception, in turn, seems to influence the policies enacted to regulate immigrants and immigration. However, the author points out that immigrant-specific discourse or advocacy will not solve the fundamental problems of immigrant access to care and can serve to reinforce, rather than challenge, the fundamental defects of our health care system. Rather, this discourse can effectively serve to facilitate coalition building and advocacy to fight for meaningful and comprehensive healthcare reform that will benefit everyone.
Comments
Access to Health Care for Elderly Immigrants
Author: Marguerite Angelari, J.D.
This comment argues that our current approach of limiting immigrant access to federal healthcare programs for the elderly is not only unjust, but also shortsighted. The author points out that many undocumented immigrants make significant tax contributions to the Medicare and Social Security programs. By not permitting undocumented immigrants to receive Medicare benefits associated with their contributions, the incentive for immigrants to contribute to Medicare will be eliminated and further strain will be placed on the Medicaid program. The author concludes that this policy approach will increase the costs to society of providing health care to an aging immigrant population and to our elderly population as a whole.
Articles from the First Annual Beazley Symposium on Access to Health Care:
Immigration From the Mayflower to Border Patrols: Who Should Have Access to Health Care in the United States
The Nexus Between Immigrant Eligibility and Access: An Analysis of the Economic, Social, andLinguistic Barriers to Health Care
Author: Cory S. Bagby
Transcribed Speech of Sonal Ambegaokar, J.D.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and Sources of Funding
Author: Morgan Greenspon
Transcribed Speech of Jennifer Cutrer, Ph.D.
Emergency? How the Federal Focus on Emergency Care Shifts the Cost of Immigrant Health Care toPublic Hospitals
Author: Angela Epolito
Transcribed Speech of Robert Earley
Immigrant Health Care: Social and Economic Costs of Denying Access
Author: Ann Weilbaecher
Transcribed Speech of José Pagán, Ph.D.
Left Out in the Cold: How the United States' Healthcare System Excludes Immigrants
Author: Tamara Forys
Transcribed Speech of E. Richard Brown, Ph.D.
Annals of Health Law
The Health Policy and Law Review of Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Volume 17 (2007-08)
|
Editor-in-Chief: |
Publications Editor: |
Technical Publications Editor: |
|
Correspondence Editor: |
Colloquium Editor: |
|
|
Senior Editors: |
Megan Simpson |
|
|
Members: |
|
|
Issue 1, Winter 2008
Articles
Whose Business is Your Pancreas? Potential Privacy Problems in New York City’s Mandatory Diabetes Registry
Authors: Harold J. Krent, J.D., Nicholas Gingo, Monica Kapp, Rachel Moran, Mary Neal, Meghan Paulas, Puneet Sarna, Sarah Suma
This article examines a recent New York City health regulation that mandates the compilation and storage of individual medical data from nearly all diabetics in a centralized registry. The authors distinguish this novel registry from prior health registries and scrutinize its potential to compromise individual privacy. In order to address privacy and other concerns, the authors offer suggestions for changes to the current statutory framework of the registry that will also be useful when considering the creation of similar public health registries in other cities.
"Body Property": Challenging the Ethical Barriers in Organ Transplantation to Protect Individual Autonomy
Author: Charles C. Dunham IV
One of two articles related to the current organ shortage, this article advocates the need for legislation to recognize organs and tissues separated from the body as a distinct category of personal property. After addressing the legislative history of organ procurement and psychological barriers to donor consent, the article examines the importance of separating the lifetime rights of ownership in our own bodies from postmortem rights. Ultimately, the author proposes a futures market approach to this problem in which individuals before death, or surviving family members after death, are permitted sell the decedent’s organs in a private contract.
Tax Policy as a Lifeline: Encouraging Blood and Organ Donation Through Tax Credits
Author: Joseph B. Clamon, J.D.
This article, the second concerning the organ donation crisis, proposes the use of tax policy to encourage blood and organ donation. After critiquing the ethical and logistical problems posed by other commercial and non-commercial solutions, the author demonstrates how tax credits can be used as an effective and ethical solution to address the shortage of donors. The author also offers two model statutes that provide guidance as to how a nonrefundable tax credit for blood and organ donation might operate in the tax code.
The Jurisdictional Bar Provision: Who is an Appropriate Relator?
Author: Carolyn V. Metnick, J.D., LL.M.
After explaining the role of the qui tam litigation and demonstrating its importance to fighting Medicare fraud and abuse, this article provides a detailed explanation of various court interpretations of the jurisdictional bar provision of the False Claims Act, a common and contentious statutory pitfall for qui tam litigators. The author provides a thorough evaluation of the law among different circuits to assist litigators in choosing favorable jurisdictions to increase their likelihood of success.
Patenting Medical Devices: The Economic Implications of Ethically Motivated Reform
Author: Kristen Nugent
This article explores whether the current patent system strikes the optimal balance between providing incentives to inventors to bring new medical devices to the marketplace and promoting public health by ensuring that these medical devices are widely available at a reasonable price. After providing an overview of the relationship of patent law to medical devices, the author explains how ethical and economic considerations suggest the need for an alternative patent system for medical devices and notes the difficulties with this proposal. The author concludes that a combination of alternatives to the current system most equitably account for the interests and needs of both healthcare device consumers and producers.
Issue 2, Summer 2008
Articles
The Consequences of Restricted Health Care Access for Immigrants: Lessons from Medicaid and SCHIP
Author: Janet M. Calvo, J.D.
This article explores the serious public health and health system concerns that arise from the exclusion of immigrants from healthcare access reform. Specifically, the author explains how Medicaid and SCHIP restrictions limit healthcare access for eligible citizens, undermine the functioning of the healthcare system, and hinder public health goals. These public health goals include: controlling contagious diseases, reducing infant mortality, and coordinating chronic disease care. Ultimately, the author concludes that providing health care access for noncitizens would further public health goals and implement a more rational and cost effective healthcare system.
Immigrant Access to Health Care and Public Health: An International Perspective
Author: Sana Loue, J.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
This article considers the extent of international migration and associated concerns for the public health and advocates for an international perspective on the provision of health care to migrants. After discussing factors affecting the health of immigrants and exploring the role of public health, this article focuses on immigrant access to health care and specifically addresses the relationships between legal status, financial resources for health care, and access to care from such an international perspective. The author concludes that the failure to address immigrant health care in this larger international context ultimately impacts not only the individual immigrants, but their communities of origin and destination as well.
The Immigrant Health Care Narrative and What it Tells Us About the U.S. Health Care System
Author: Brietta R. Clark, J.D.
This article examines the political, legal, and popular discourse in favor of and against healthcare benefit restrictions for immigrants. The author explains how this discourse creates narratives of immigrants’ character and relationship to the rest of society. These narratives influence our perception of immigrants and their effect on society, and this perception, in turn, seems to influence the policies enacted to regulate immigrants and immigration. However, the author points out that immigrant-specific discourse or advocacy will not solve the fundamental problems of immigrant access to care and can serve to reinforce, rather than challenge, the fundamental defects of our health care system. Rather, this discourse can effectively serve to facilitate coalition building and advocacy to fight for meaningful and comprehensive healthcare reform that will benefit everyone.
Comments
Access to Health Care for Elderly Immigrants
Author: Marguerite Angelari, J.D.
This comment argues that our current approach of limiting immigrant access to federal healthcare programs for the elderly is not only unjust, but also shortsighted. The author points out that many undocumented immigrants make significant tax contributions to the Medicare and Social Security programs. By not permitting undocumented immigrants to receive Medicare benefits associated with their contributions, the incentive for immigrants to contribute to Medicare will be eliminated and further strain will be placed on the Medicaid program. The author concludes that this policy approach will increase the costs to society of providing health care to an aging immigrant population and to our elderly population as a whole.
Articles from the First Annual Beazley Symposium on Access to Health Care:
Immigration From the Mayflower to Border Patrols: Who Should Have Access to Health Care in the United States
The Nexus Between Immigrant Eligibility and Access: An Analysis of the Economic, Social, andLinguistic Barriers to Health Care
Author: Cory S. Bagby
Transcribed Speech of Sonal Ambegaokar, J.D.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and Sources of Funding
Author: Morgan Greenspon
Transcribed Speech of Jennifer Cutrer, Ph.D.
Emergency? How the Federal Focus on Emergency Care Shifts the Cost of Immigrant Health Care toPublic Hospitals
Author: Angela Epolito
Transcribed Speech of Robert Earley
Immigrant Health Care: Social and Economic Costs of Denying Access
Author: Ann Weilbaecher
Transcribed Speech of José Pagán, Ph.D.
Left Out in the Cold: How the United States' Healthcare System Excludes Immigrants
Author: Tamara Forys
Transcribed Speech of E. Richard Brown, Ph.D.