Via the Center for Health Law and Policy Clinic 

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation is pleased to welcome Karolina Gombert,  a PhD student from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, to Boston. Karolina is a recipient of Santander’s Mobility Award, given to postgraduate research students to help them gain the experience of a period of short-term study or research at a like-minded institution within the international Santander Universities network. Karolina says she chose Harvard Law School and CHLPI because “What I read and learned about the center sounded amazing and our project ‘Foodways and Futures’ fits right in with the center’s work.”

Karolina’s PhD project is an action research project falling under the “Pathways to a Healthy Life” theme at the University of Aberdeen. The “Pathways to a Healthy Life’” theme aims to cross disciplinary boundaries to enhance the University’s contribution to all aspects of healthy aging and wellbeing, aiming to improve not only life expectancy, but also life expectancy whilst free of disease. The program looks into complex mechanisms by which individuals, lifestyle, the local community, socio-economic and environmental conditions impact healthy aging. Specifically, her study aims to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences and lifestyles of so-called “vulnerable” young people in Scotland, including homeless and unemployed young people, and explore the relationship between them, their local communities, and the surrounding socio-cultural and economic environmental structures, and the influences and impact those factors have the decisions they make about the foods they consume.

She joins the CHLPI team during her study visit until the end of April. We wish Karolina the best of luck with her project and look forward to collaborating her.

Via the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation
By Michael Wysolmerski, J.D. ’16 

On January 12, 2015, I attended the 55th Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) in Washington, D.C. I attended the panel titled 2015 Healthcare Marketplace: A Review of Essential Health Benefits and Provider Networks. My supervisor at CHLPI, Carmel Shachar, presented on the panel, along with Doug Wirth, President and CEO of Amida Care, Melissa Harris, Acting Deputy Director of the Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and Brian Webb, Manager of Health Policy at the National Association for Insurance Commissioners.

I attended the panel as part of my work as a student in the Health Law and Policy Clinic of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI).  This semester at CHLPI, I am working on the Speak Up project. The Speak Up project encourages consumers living with HIV to report issues they are having with insurance as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is implemented to advocates.  Some of the data used in Carmel’s presentation was drawn from Speak Up activities.

The panel was extremely interesting because it demonstrated the difference in effectiveness of care in different parts of the country. Mr. Wirth started the panel with an uplifting presentation about Amida Care, a Medicaid Special Needs Plan for people with HIV in New York City. This Medicaid Managed Care Plan takes a holistic approach to providing HIV care, offering not only standard medical care but also whole person care services such as African dance classes and yoga classes. Amida Care includes a Member Advisory Council, which allows elected members to meet with the CEO, COO, Medical and Pharmacy Directors to make recommendations. Amida Care’s member participation struck me as refreshingly different than a normal insurance plan.

Continue reading here.

Via the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation
By Kristie Gurley J.D. ’15

It is widely acknowledged that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has a negative impact on public health—sodas and juices directly contribute to the obesity epidemic in America, and they can be especially harmful for children (those who drink at least one serving of SSBs per day have 55% increased odds of being overweight or obese). However, how to decrease consumption of SSBs is widely disputed. Some municipalities have considered adopting a tax on SSBs that would deter the purchase of SSBs, and thus the consumption of SSBs. This past November, Berkeley, California, became the first city to pass a “soda tax,” imposing a one-cent-per-ounce tax on all soft drinks.

While the Berkeley soda tax represented an historic victory for anti-SSB voters (they prevailed over a $10 million opposition campaign), it was unclear whether a one-cent-per-ounce tax on SSBs could make a difference at the point of consumption. In late January, voters witnessed an immediate impact: two local “Dollar Tree” stores pulled sodas from their shelves entirely. For a store stocking only products that can be sold for under $1, the tax—which is levied on distribution companies—raised the price of SSBs above the Dollar Tree threshold. Randy Guiler, Dollar Tree’s Vice President of Investor Relations, said the store could no longer cover the tax’s costs on beverages with a one-dollar price tag. The Dollar Tree locations in Berkeley currently stock only water and fruit juices.

Continue reading here.

Via the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation 

In an effort to support the provision of federal subsidies for purchasing health insurance for low-income individuals in all States, the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation spearheaded the filing of an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief requests that the Court affirm a court of appeals decision upholding the nationwide provision of federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The 43 non-profit organizations signing onto the brief, including AIDS United, HIV Medicine Association, and National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, serve populations that are deeply affected by the ACA’s expansion of health insurance access, including over two dozen organizations dedicated to addressing the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS.  The brief highlights the voices of individuals with the most at risk in this Supreme Court case — those who rely on the federal subsidies to access meaningful health care coverage.

The Harvard-led brief presents substantial studies and data that demonstrate that federal subsidies are critical to accomplishing Congress’s goal of achieving near-universal health insurance access under the ACA.  Included in the brief are personal accounts of individuals who, because of the subsidies, were finally able to access affordable insurance on the federal exchanges and obtain needed health care services with the help of subsidies.  The brief also demonstrates that eliminating subsidies in States where federal exchanges operate would harm vulnerable populations, middle- and low- income households, and higher-earning households alike.

Using evidence from Massachusetts, the brief shows that expanded health insurance access has a demonstrable effect in controlling the HIV epidemic and improving individual health outcomes.  Congress’s adoption of subsidies and private health insurance reform has created a national capacity to both replicate Massachusetts’s successes with ongoing epidemics such as HIV, and to strengthen public health.  The brief also highlights that the challengers’ proposed interpretation of the ACA would harm the Nation’s ability to resist and fight epidemics and other emerging public health threats.  The brief argues that, by depriving millions of people access to health insurance, a victory for challengers would negate these public health gains in a majority of States, thwarting national efforts to promote public health security to the detriment of the entire population.

The amicus brief was prepared by the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation and WilmerHale.

Read the amicus brief.

Via the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation

Open enrollment for Marketplace plans will begin November 15, 2014 and close February 15, 2015.  For individuals living with one or more chronic conditions, selecting a health plan that provides affordable and adequate coverage is critical. CHLPI’s assessment tool is designed to assist individuals in identifying which plans offer the most appropriate coverage by focusing on elements such as provider networks, pharmaceutical formularies, out of pocket costs, and treatment limitations.  The assessment tool includes a workbook that walks users through health plan analysis step by step, and a worksheet that allows users to compare the advantages and disadvantages of several plans simultaneously.

Marketplace Health Plans Template Assessment Tool Oct 2014

Marketplace Health Plans Template Assessment Workbook Oct 2014

Via the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation 

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation welcomes new staff clinicians Katie Garfield and Carmel Shachar to the team.

Katie Garfield, Clinical Fellow, Health Law and Policy Clinic

Katie Garfield
Clinical Fellow in the Health Law and Policy Clinic

Katie joined the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation as a Clinical Fellow in September 2014. Katie earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 2011, where she served on the Board of Student Advisers. Katie is a licensed member of the Massachusetts bar.

Prior to joining the Center, Katie was an associate in the litigation department of Ropes & Gray LLP. While at Ropes & Gray, Katie worked on a variety of matters, including advising clients in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries on issues related to promotional practices, regulatory compliance, and anti-corruption laws. She also co-authored an article with her colleagues at Ropes & Gray regarding developments in the classification of Qualified Health Plans in Law360. Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Katie spent a year working in the Housing Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services as part of the Ropes & Gray New Alternatives Program. At GBLS, she represented low-income families with dependent children who were seeking to gain or retain access to Emergency Assistance shelter benefits. Katie received a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Yale University, summa cum laude, in 2007 and an MPhil in Medieval Literature from the University of Cambridge in 2008.

Carmel Shachar, Staff Attorney, Health Law and Policy Clinic

Carmel Shachar
Staff Attorney in the Health Law and Policy Clinic

Carmel joined the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation in September 2014. Carmel earned her J.D., cum laude, in 2010 from Harvard Law School and her M.P.H. in 2010 from the Harvard School of Public Health. She clerked for Judge Jacques L. Wiener, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 2010-2011. Carmel is a licensed member of the bars of the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Prior to joining the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, Carmel was an associate in the health care group of Ropes & Gray LLP. She focused her practice in regulatory and compliance work, including advising client on topics such as data privacy and security, implementation of health care reform and public payer billing and reimbursement. Carmel has significant experience advising on managed care network construction, regulation and strategy for non-profit and for profit clients. She also served as temporary-in house counsel to a large medical device company. During her time at Ropes & Gray, she authored two articles on Medicaid premium assistance programs in Bloomberg BNA’s Health Care Policy Report, an article on the placement of laboratory staff in physician offices in G2 Intelligence and an overview of data privacy and security regulations for health insurance exchange entities in Bloomberg BNA’s Health IT Law & Industry Report.

Sarah Downer, Clinical Instructor on Law, speaks about diabetes policy to Massachusetts senators, representatives, and legislative aids

Via the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation 

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation’s work on PATHS – a project targeting diabetes-specific health advocacy – has caught the attention of Massachusetts’s legislators.

Bringing a broad policy focus to the Together on Diabetes initiative funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, PATHS collaborates with health care providers, legislators, and other stakeholders to provide policy guidance and technical support for legislative implementation. Its most recent publication is an exhaustive 150-page state report that provides evidence-based policy recommendations for North Carolina.

Last Wednesday, clinical instructor and one of the authors of the report, Sarah Downer, presented at the Diabetes State Briefing held at the State House. The three-hour event was one of several educational conferences hosted by Women in Government (WIG), a national, non-profit organization of women state legislators that provides networking and leadership opportunities for members to address public policy concerns. WIG handles a spectrum of policy issues including (but not limited to) economic development, education, energy and environment, and health.

Continue reading the full story here.