Our Latest Works
Plotting a Future of Integrated Care for the Elderly
Christina Principe
The notion of respecting our elders is ingrained in us from a young age. Yet, a pervasive lack of respect for the elderly is glaringly obvious in the quality of health care they receive today. Illustrative of this point is the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 182,000 residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, representing about one-third percent of all coronavirus fatalities in the U.S. The subject matter of this Comment will generally speak to improving access to quality health care within a targeted, vulnerable population: the elderly. Elders have higher rates of hospitalization and institutionalization that are exacerbated by social isolation and placement in institutional settings. As a class, elders incur an estimated annual cost of nearly $800 billion to our nation’s healthcare system. The current pro-institutionalization system must be replaced with new models that effectively address problems such as quality of care, unpaid family caregivers, and excessive costs…
“Follow The Science”: A Discussion Of Public Policy, Scientific And Empirical Research, And American Culture During The COVID-19 Era
Alex Jensen
After COVID-19 quickly spread through most countries in early 2020, science became the key to saving lives. Americans, especially business owners, were hit particularly hard economically, socially, and emotionally by the necessary shift to lockdowns. Life for Americans as we knew it changed in an instant. As Americans, we were forced inside our homes with no real plan but to wait and watch. The initial “two weeks to stop the spread” turned into an ongoing journey to fight COVID-19. Some used the isolative pandemic to create new hobbies and lifestyles while others gave up routine and consistency due to the changed state of the world. While some chose to focus the extra time toward an exercise regimen to strengthen their personal health, many individuals remained physically inactive
The Calamitous Pandemic: How to Achieve Herd Immunity for COVID-19 Through Vaccine Uptake
Kelly Johnson
Extremely fatal and highly infectious, the Coronavirus disease [“COVID-19”] pandemic has threatened the United States since before the WHO’s characterization of the virus as a pandemic in March 2020. Herd immunity is the only solution to stopping the spread of the virus and saving lives, with millions infected and thousands of deaths. Herd immunity is “a reduction in the risk of infection with a specific communicable disease (such as measles or influenza) that occurs when a significant proportion of the population has become immune to infection (as because of previous exposure or vaccination) so that susceptible individuals are much less likely to come in contact with infected individuals.” Herd immunity can be reached naturally, through recovery from the virus, or artificially, through vaccination. It was initially estimated that approximately 50-66% of the population in the United States would have to be immunized, either naturally or artificially, to achieve herd immunity, though Dr. Fauci and others have estimated that it may even take up to 90% of the population to reach herd immunity…
Too Few Thimbles on the Monopoly Board: How Concentration in Provider Markets have Driven Healthcare Costs
Dan Gogerty
Debates surrounding the American healthcare system often try to address the coinciding issues of cost and access to the consumer. This can be attributed to the fact that the United States spends more than any other economically developed country on health care, both as a percentage of GDP and per capita, while having almost 29 million uninsured nonelderly citizens. Moreover, the United States spends more on health care than on any other sector of the economy, including defense, transportation, education, or housing. Although more spending is not facially problematic, our uninsured rate and adequate health outcomes prompt an important debate about why this country spends so much without better results. Unfortunately, the system functions as a complex web and has resulted in hamstrung consumers and a concentrated market of suppliers and third-party payers…
E-Cigarettes: Ban All Flavored Products and Enact Greater State and Local E Cigarette Laws and Regulations to Protect Young People
Michele Norton
The use of e-cigarettes has become epidemic among young people in the United States. E-cigarettes have been portrayed as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, as a means to help smokers quit, and as a way to prevent non-smokers from starting to smoke conventional cigarettes in the first place. However, none of these claims has been established, and there are many unanswered questions regarding how dangerous e-cigarettes are when used over the long-term.
A significant public health concern is e-cigarette use by young people. The nicotine in e‑cigarettes can harm brain development in adolescents and young adults and can prime young brains for future addiction to other drugs…
"Incident to Service": Narrowing the scope of the feres doctrine in military medical malpractice
Tom Campbell
In 1950 the Supreme Court ruled that the government is not liable for injuries sustained by United States military personnel arising out of or in the course of activity “incident to service”. The practical effect of this ruling, referred to as the Feres Doctrine, is that servicemembers are barred from collecting punitive damages from the United States government for any personal injuries sustained while on active duty. This bar on legal remedies has been applied to cases of medical malpractice, sexual assault, rape, physical violence, driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, exposure to deadly substances, and discrimination. While each of these categories warrant further discussion, the focus of this Essay will be limited to…
Teachers are Essential: Reducing the Barriers to workers' compensation for public school teachers who contract COVID-19
Matthew Morales
While COVID-19 has affected nearly all sectors of society, public school closures have had a particularly high social and economic cost, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.1 Research suggests that the sudden switch to online instruction has cost some students a full year of academic progress.2 In addition to major disruptions to the learning process for students, lack of in-person classes exposes gaps in childcare on which working parents traditionally rely.3 Given the far-reaching effects of school closures, many states have prioritized reopening schools as a crucial first-step in society’s return to normalcy.4 However, in being the forerunners, public school employees, particularly teachers, are putting themselves at higher risk of exposure to COVID-19.5 Alongside the health concerns that COVID-19 infection poses, teachers are rightfully concerned with the financial costs of missing work due to contracting COVID-19.6 This Essay examines the…
A cautionary tale: theranos, the lDT loophole, and IMplications on the cOVID-19 pandemic
William Martinez
COVID-19 has thrusted the world into a global public health crisis not seen since the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. At the time of this writing, 85,229,481 positive cases have been reported, with 1,845,408 deaths, across all nations. As the United States reached the grim milestone of 400,000 COVID-19 deaths, casualties continue to rise and have surpassed the World War II American fatality count. On December 11, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued the first emergency use authorization (“EUA) for a vaccine for the prevention of COIVD-19. Despite the arrival of the long awaited COVID-19 vaccine, a vast majority of the American public will likely not be vaccinated until June 2021. This is why the implementation of proactive, population based testing strategies is essential to contain the pandemic as the United States begins vaccine distribution…
The Patient Assistance Problem
John DeFuria
Prescription drug prices and rising healthcare costs in the United States continue to be a topic of controversy as drug manufacturers, governments, insurance companies and patients battle over who to blame for high drug prices. Due to increasingly high healthcare costs, the reality of how insurance companies cover the cost of prescription medicines has left many Americans “functionally uninsured” meaning that their health insurance either does not cover certain medications or requires them to pay out-of-pocket costs that they simply cannot afford. Patient Assistance Programs (“PAPs”) serve as an important safety net for the many Americans who do not have insurance or whose insurance does not sufficiently cover the costs of their medications. PAPs come in various forms and facilitate patient access to prescription drugs by providing financially needy patients with cash subsidies and co-pay assistance. At first glance, relieving the financial burdens that would otherwise keep patients from accessing life-saving medications appears to be a reasonable solution. However…