Executive Authority to Reform Health: Options and Limitations

Presidential power has provoked increasingly vigorous debate since the turn of this century. In recent years, scholars and lawyers have been grappling with how Congress\u27s dictates may limit the President\u27s Commander-in-Chief power to detain enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, to fight wars abroad, and to conduct intelligence activities at home. But policymakers have not yet explored the many possibilities for invoking the President\u27s Take Care power to change health care policy. This paper explores the scope and limits of President Barack Obama\u27s ability to invoke his executive authority to reform health care. Specifically, it identifies ways the Obama Administration can use directives to: (1) expand Medicaid and SCHIP coverage through section 1115 waivers; (2) test quality initiatives through Medicare demonstration authority; (3) expand health information technology; (4) allow drug reimportation and experiment with contracting power under Medicare; (5) enhance patient protections and private coverage requirements; (6) lift coverage restrictions on Medicaid and SCHIP; and (7) build on the health insurance program for federal employees. Consistent with the mission of the Legal Solutions in Health Reform project, this paper does not endorse a particular policy. Instead of recommending what, it explains how

Legal Solutions in Health Reform: Executive Authority to Reform Health: Options and Limitations

Examines which healthcare reforms the president can implement without congressional approval and how. Identifies options for promoting and directing agency actions on specific policy goals, as well as legal, budgetary, and legislative constraints

Law and Engineering: In Search of the Law-Science Problem

Lawyers and scientists both have the intellectual conceit that a well-defined problem is not only a necessary, but almost a sufficient, condition for a successful solution. Mashaw examines the applied science of engineering in the context of health and safety regulation, focusing on the law-science interface at the NHTSA

Palestinian Refugees in Gaza

Events since Arthur Helton\u27s death - including the change in leadership of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli proposal for disengagement from Gaza make it even timelier to examine some practical solutions. For improving Palestinian lives in the short term, much can be learned from the approaches taken in other refugee situations. This Article begins with background information on Palestinian refugees in Gaza. It then discusses Israeli plans for disengagement from Gaza. In the following section, the Article reviews options for addressing the problems faced by Palestinian refugees in Gaza, utilizing the broader literature devoted to the integration of refugees and displaced persons in post-conflict and post-occupation societies. It concludes with an agenda of action for the international community, Palestinian Authority, and Israel

What Local Climate Change Plans Can Teach Us About City Power

Discussions of city power have long focused on cities’ power relative to higher levels of government and to each other. The diffuse causes of climate change offer an opportunity to revisit the question of city power by focusing more closely on the intended object of influence. Although these two perspectives on power will at times overlap, they are not identical. If we consider greenhouse gas emissions as the target, cities can employ their relatively minor powers to substantial effect and many of them appear to be trying to do so. But consideration of cities’ climate change policies alters the usual analysis of city power further. While local government theorists have generally evaluated cities’ autonomy in terms of residents’ ability to shape their local community or their metropolitan region, municipal climate change policies aim to meaningfully contribute to resolution of a global problem. Although some elements of climate change plans may provide fiscal or other benefits that may make cities better providers of services to “consumer-voters” on a public choice model, many other elements cannot be explained other than recognizing these as efforts to engage their residents in a community building effort that encompasses the entire world. Perhaps Frug’s future vision for cities is already taking shape in the realm of local climate change policies, but on a grander vision of geographic interconnection than even he envisioned

Dreams and Schemes in Queens, New York: Immigrant Struggles to Find Work and Get Status in the Face of Consumer Fraud

This report documents the systemic nature of consumer frauds committed against immigrants and offers solutions for improved laws, policies, and enforcement mechanisms to better protect immigrants. While this research focuses on the experience of Latino immigrants in one area of Queens, our findings speak to a larger problem affecting New York City and the rest of the country

Law and Engineering: In Search of the Law-Science Problem

Lawyers and scientists both have the intellectual conceit that a well-defined problem is not only a necessary, but almost a sufficient, condition for a successful solution. Mashaw examines the applied science of engineering in the context of health and safety regulation, focusing on the law-science interface at the NHTSA