Health Insurance and Access to Care
SLN #: 12367Course Prefix: LAW-791
Course Section: 1012
Credit Hours: 2
Instructor(s): Michaels
Course Books: View List of Books
Course Description:
This seminar addresses the health insurance marketplace from a legal perspective, with a focus on how access to health care services is impacted by the manner in which this marketplace is financed and managed. Topics to be explored include (1) the Affordable Care Act’s insurance reform provisions and how the expanded role of federal subsidies in this marketplace facilitates consumer access to coverage; (2) Federal laws and regulations that address increased health care price transparency to consumers from both hospitals and health plans, while also protecting consumers from unanticipated health care costs; (3) How the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) affects health care coverage offered by employer group health plans and whether this law operates as a barrier to meaningful State health insurance reforms; (4) Changing provider health care payment systems and their relationship to costs, quality and consumer satisfaction with health care services; (5) The role of private health insurers in providing coverage to Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid recipients on a full risk basis, and whether there is sufficient accountability to ensure access and quality of care while managing program costs; (6) Prescription drug pricing, including the prescription drug price negotiation provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and the pending legal initiatives taken by the pharmaceutical industry to delay or defeat their implementation; and (7) The role of the Supreme Court in determining consumer access to certain health care services, such as preventive health services and contraceptive benefits, as well as potential discrimination claims related to health care coverage. Course requirements include a seminar paper on a topic directly related to seminar content and of potential interest to a prospective employer in the healthcare sector.
Additional Information:
Credit Hours: 2
Grading Option: Letter Grade Only
Graduation Writing Requirement: No
Flexible/Upper-Level Writing Requirement: Yes
Skills Requirement: No
Simulation Course: No
Experiential Learning: No
Seminar: Yes
Special Withdrawal Course: No
Limited Enrollment Number: 16
Final Exam Given: No
Paper Or In-Class Presentation: Yes, Paper
Attendance Policy: Per Statement Of Student Policies
Teaching Method: In Person
* The law school has a policy that is used to calculate credit hours. Please see the Statement of Student Policies.