Month: August 2017

Housing Equity Week in Review

Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research Leave a comment

Here’s the latest news in housing law and equity, for the week of August 15-21, 2017:

  • The Urban Institute has released a new tool about using fair housing data. The report contains details on data sources related to demographics and segregation, housing, land use, disability, education, employment, environment, health, and public safety.
  • The Washington Post reports that California lawmakers are planning on putting housing as a top priority after the summer.
  • Richard Rothstein, author of the critically acclaimed book The Color of Law, writes an op-ed for the LA Times about the role law plays in maintaining racial segregation in Los Angeles.
  • From the Brookings Cafeteria Podcast: How past racial segregation predicts modern-day economic (im)mobility.
  • Durham County, the county with the highest eviction rate in North Carolina, is taking on the eviction crisis by launching an eviction diversion program. Story via IndyWeek.
  • Bill de Blasio signed the first law in the nation to establish a right to counsel for the poor in housing cases. Story via CityLab.
  • New York Magazine and ProPublica collaborate on an in-depth look into Ben Carson’s HUD.

New CBO Analysis: Cutting Subsidies Would Backfire on Trump

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

By Wendy Netter Epstein 

The cost-sharing reduction payments are an essential component of the ACA.  These payments reduce out-of-pocket costs for lower income enrollees so that individuals can actually use their insurance coverage and not be prevented from seeking care because of a high deductible or a copay they can’t afford.  President Trump has been threatening since he took office to end these payments.  And there is at least some possibility that he has the authority to do (see House v. Price).

Politically speaking, Trump’s goal in threatening to end these payments is either to hasten what he sees as the inevitable demise of Obamacare—or at least to use the threat of ending the payments to hold the feet to the fire of those who have resisted “repeal and replace.”  Either way, Democrats have widely condemned Trump’s threats and the instability they cause in the market. Read More

Innovation and the Firm: Vertical Integration in Patent-Intensive Industries – Seminar 9/8 at the University of Copenhagen

Timo Minssen Leave a comment

Looking forward to hear Professor Peter Lee’s (UC Davis) talk on “Innovation and the Firm: Vertical Integration in Patent-Intensive Industries” at the University of Copenhagen on Friday, Friday, September 8th 2017 from 10:00 – 12:00. If you are interested to join, please register here.

Abstract of Professor Lee’s talk:

Recent scholarship has highlighted the prevalence of vertical disintegration in high-technology industries, whereby distinct, specialized entities along a value chain transfer intellectual assets between them. Patents play an important role in vertical disintegration, for they lower the cost of technology transactions between upstream suppliers and downstream users.

This presentation, however, draws on empirical accounts to explore the peculiar persistence of vertical integration in patent-intensive fields. In biopharmaceuticals, agricultural biotechnology, and information technology, firms are increasingly acquiring technology providers rather than simply licensing their patents. This dynamic is even evident to a certain extent in university-industry technology transfer, where universities and commercializing firms frequently engage in institutional meshing to transfer patented technologies. Read More

Biobanks as Knowledge Institutions – Seminar 11/3 at the University of Copenhagen

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Biobanks as Knowledge Institutions

“Global Genes –Local Concerns” Seminar with Prof. Michael Madison (University of Pittsburgh, U.S.)

Join us at the University of Copenhagen on November 3rd, 2017 to discuss the legal implications of “Biobanks as Knowledge Institutions” with Professor Michael Madison. 

Abstract

The presentation characterizes the material and immaterial attributes of biobanks as knowledge resources, and it characterizes the broader questions that they pose as resource governance questions rather than as questions solely of law or of public policy. Biobanks are knowledge institutions. Professor Madison argues that despite the varied and diverse nature of biobanks today (indeed, precisely because of their diversity), their social and scientific importance dictates the need for a robust program of research of a comparative nature to identify shared features that contribute to their success (where they succeed) and features that likely contribute to problems or even failure. Both their importance and the associated governance challenges have only grown larger and more complex as biobanks meet the era of data science. In that regard Professor Madison points to emerging scholarly literature that focuses on governance challenges of material and data in biobank contexts, which builds on a knowledge commons governance framework. He concludes by suggesting directions for future work. Read More

Petrie-Flom Panelists Contribute to new Guiding Framework for Designing and Implementing Serious Illness Programs

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By Mark Sterling

As part of the Project on Advanced Care and Health Policy, the Petrie-Flom Center hosted two convenings on Critical Pathways to Improved Care for Serious Illness.  Through roundtable discussions and working sessions at these convenings, expert panelists reviewed innovative programs designed for the aging population with chronic illnesses, focusing on those with declining function and complex care needs.  These convenings contributed to the development of a framework to guide healthcare providers in developing and scaling programs to deliver high quality care to individuals with serious illness, which is of increased importance given the growth of this population and the development of alternative payment models.  The convenings were held in March and June, and the panelists, agendas, slide decks, and related program materials remain available on the Petrie-Flom website (Session 1 & Session 2).

C-TAC, which collaborates with Petrie-Flom on the Project on Advanced Care and Health Policy, now has published a Report, Toward a Serious Illness Program Design and Implementation Framework, to help providers develop, replicate, and scale programs across a variety of serious illness populations and settings.  The Report’s Framework provides steps to allow healthcare organizations to assess evidence-based options for each facet of care model design and implementation.  As noted in the Report, the Framework is designed to:

  • Inform serious illness program development, replication, and scaling;
  • Integrate with care model payment design;
  • Inform care model and proforma simulator development;
  • Inform other aspects of design and development such as policy, standardized measurement, and regulatory analysis.

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Introducing new blogger Wendy Netter Epstein

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff 2 Comments

Wendy Netter Epstein is joining Bill of Health as a regular contributor.

epstein-hi-res-blogProfessor Epstein is a Visiting Associate Professor at the University Chicago Law School, and an Associate Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Jaharis Health Law Institute at the DePaul University College of Law.  She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Recent Developments. Prior to starting her academic career, Professor Epstein was a partner in commercial litigation at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, concentrating on health industry clients.  Professor Epstein’s teaching and research interests focus on health care law and policy, contracts, and commercial law.  Her work takes an interdisciplinary approach, applying both law and economics and behavioral science principles to problems negatively impacting vulnerable parties.  In 2017, Professor Epstein won both the University-wide and law school Excellence in Teaching Awards at DePaul University.

Representative publications:

Welcome, Wendy!

Back To School Special Part 1 on ‘The Week in Health Law’ Podcast

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By Nicolas Terry and Frank Pasquale

Subscribe to TWIHL here!twihl 5x5

Our annual Back To School Special returns in time for a new semester. In this first part we welcome TWIHL all-stars Nick Bagley, Micah Berman, Glenn Cohen, and Nicole Huberfeld. Our conversations covered a lot of ground including CSR payments, House v. Price, gene editing, the Trump administration’s approach to regulation, healthcare federalism, and the future of waivers under CMS’s new management. Our guests on Twitter include @MicahLBerman, @CohenProf, and @nicholas_bagley.

The Week in Health Law Podcast from Frank Pasquale and Nicolas Terry is a commuting-length discussion about some of the more thorny issues in Health Law & Policy. Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, listen at Stitcher Radio Tunein, or Podbean, or search for The Week in Health Law in your favorite podcast app. Show notes and more are at TWIHL.com. If you have comments, an idea for a show or a topic to discuss you can find us on Twitter @nicolasterry @FrankPasquale @WeekInHealthLaw

Recovery Navigators: How an Overlooked ACA Program Could Be a Tool in Addressing the Opioid Crisis

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By Matthew J.B. Lawrence

benefits

Research indicates that one of many challenges in addressing the opioid epidemic is getting people who are theoretically eligible for government-funded drug abuse treatment through CHIP or Medicaid to actually make use of those programs when their sickness or circumstances give them a window of opportunity to try to get help. The hassle of actually enrolling in these programs—knowing they are there, filling out the paperwork, having access to available information, and having the patience to navigate the process—is one impediment. The ACA’s sometimes-overlooked “Navigator” program could help. The ACA provision creating the program is broad enough for HHS to use it to award grants to community groups to serve as recovery navigators, enrolling addicts in Medicaid, CHIP, or Exchange coverage for substance abuse treatment.

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Housing Equity Week in Review

Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research Leave a comment

Here is our weekly round-up of developments from the world of housing law and health. For the week of August 7-14, 2017:

  • HUD released its “Worst Case Housing Needs” report to Congress providing national data and analysis of the problems facing low-income renting families. CityLab offers a summary of the report here.
  • Is California’s housing laws making its housing crisis worse? Natalie Delgadillo at Governing analyzes the impact of the 1985 Ellis Act, which allows landlords to mass-evict tenants in order to leave the rental business.
  • A new study from University of Hawaii researchers finds homelessness and inadequate housing are major causes of unnecessary hospitalizations. Read more.
  • HUD is inviting paper submissions for a symposium on housing and health. Submissions will be accepted through September 30. Full details here.
  • A new Colorado law requires landlords to give 21-days notice of rent increases and lease terminations, via HousingWire.
  • Amy Clark at the National Housing Conference offers an explanation of YIMBYism — “yes, in my backyard” — via NHC’s Open House blog.

Applications Due TODAY, 8/11! 2017-2018 Petrie-Flom Student Fellowship

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

PFC_Logo_300x300The Center and Student Fellowship

The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics is an interdisciplinary research program at Harvard Law School dedicated to the scholarly research of important issues at the intersection of law and health policy, including issues of health care financing and market regulation, biotechnology and intellectual property, biomedical research, and bioethics. The Student Fellowship Program is designed to support closely-mentored student research in these areas. For more information on our recent fellows and their work, see our website and check out profiles of some of our past Fellows in the PFC Spotlight.

Eligibility

The student fellowship program is open to all Harvard graduate students who will be enrolled at the University during the fellowship year and who are committed to undertaking a significant research project and fulfilling other program requirements. Although the fellowship is open to all graduate students, including those in one-year programs, we encourage those who are in multi-year programs to wait until after their first year to apply. Read More