Health Care Controversies (LAWS 5220)

In this experiential 2-credit course, students are confronted with a series of current, controversial, real-world problems in health law and policy, such as how to allocate transplant organs; how to ration expensive health care services; "reforming" the medical malpractice system; how the employment of physicians by hospitals alters the legal nature of the patient-physician relationship; legal issues associated with accountable care organizations under the Affordable Care Act; etc. To approximate real-world experience in the practice of health law, students are teamed with other students on a rotating basis and required to produce a team response and present and defend it in class. For each problem, the student also is required to write a short memo (approximately 5 pages) describing their own personal solution or response. Six memos are due over the course of the semester, approximately one every two weeks. The students' grade will be based on the grades they receive on the memos. Students from other health professional schools may enroll in the course and will be included in the teams. In addition to the law instructor there will be an outside medical or policy expert assisting with each problem.