Using examples of contemporary risks to public health drawn from diseases, consumer products, personal behavior, and environmental or occupational hazards, the course analyzes and compares justifications for regulating different types of risks in different ways. Particular attention is paid to differences between regulating risks resulting from personal behavior and risks resulting from products or the environment. This course introduces students to the legal principles governing the structure and operation of managed care organizations and health insurance plans. Students write three papers analyzing proposals to reform managed care and insurance practices in light of current state and federal legislation. This course explores the jurisprudential basis for bioethical decision making at the doctor-patient, institutional, courtroom, and legislative levels.
Special emphasis is placed on the fields of human experimentation and genetics.
A paper is required. Topics include air and water pollution, toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes, and new federal policies regarding pollution prevention, right to know, recycling, and enforcement. Special issues considered include health risk assessment, judicial review, economic incentives, and other alternatives to prescriptive regulation. A term paper is required. This course provides the opportunity for advanced students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a faculty member.