The Role of ERISA Preemption in Health Reform: Opportunities and Limits

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is a federal law regulating the administration of private employer-sponsored benefits including health benefits (i.e., health insurance offered by an employer). In general, since the federal government has exercised its authority to preempt state regulation of the administration of private employer-sponsored health plans, states are blocked from enforcing laws interfering with ERISA. As many states pursue health care reform experiments, ERISA preemption becomes relevant as a potential limit on the scope and type of reforms states are able to enact. The dominant trend in ERISA litigation has been to preempt state legislation and litigation interfering with the administration of private employer sponsored health plans, making large-scale state health care reform initiatives difficult. The purpose of this paper is to examine the trajectory of judicial interpretation of ERISA and to discuss what opportunities exist to facilitate health care initiatives given the constraints of ERISA preemption

The development of social class sensitive proxies for infant mortality at the PCT level: An appraisal of candiate indicators for the commission for health improvement

The main aim of the work is to identify social class-sensitive proxies for infant mortality at Primary Care Trust level that could be used in the CHI performance ratings process for PCTs in 2003/4

Reducing Distracted Driving: Regulation and Education to Avert Traffic Injuries and Fatalities

In this article, we consider the legal and policy implications of distracted driving (the tendency of people to use electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle). After reviewing the empirical evidence showing that distracted driving has serious adverse consequences, we discuss the legal basis for governmental interventions to reduce distracted driving. These interventions include laws restricting the use of electronic devices while driving, especially sending text messages. Since drivers have at best a reduced expectation of privacy, these restrictions should easily survive legal challenges. At the same time, it is important to consider the responsibility of automobile manufacturers to improve safety though design changes. We also advocate health education to change social norms to reduce distracted driving

From Lahure Legacies to Moving Peoples: A Study of Opportunity and Mobility in the Annapurna Hills

This study examines the interplay between the politics of mobility and changing notions of opportunity in the face growing trends of tourism in the southern Annarpurna Conservation Area (ACA) of Nepal. Research was conducted in three villages that have been the sites of rapid change in recent years, both due to the widespread adoption of local trekking economies, and to demographic change engendered by growing trends of outmigration. By adopting a political ecological framework, which challenges common apolitical explanations of exclusion, inaccessibility and unequal distribution of costs and benefits with particular regard to environmental challenges, this paper jointly applies what I will refer to as a “mobility lens” to understand issues of power and inequality through the forms and configurations of (im)mobilities faced by people of varying socioeconomic backgrounds. In particular, this paper will examine the legacies of wealth and political structures present in these communities, which have acted as barriers to both the mobilities and opportunities accessible to lower class and marginalized peoples, and more broadly, to the sustainable development of resources and communities in Nepal’s ruralities. Questions of how migration, in particular, has become an adaptation implement for disadvantaged actors to facilitate new forms of socioeconomic mobility will be addressed

Teaching Health Law

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98778/1/j.1748-720X.2011.00598.x.pd

Properties of polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposites reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals of red oak residues

Cellulose is an abundant, low cost, and robust biopolymer that is possible to implement in reinforcement of composite materials. Utilizing cellulosic nanocrystals, which can be isolated from cellulose fibers, nanocomposite biofilms are currently of interest to the packaging, medical, and pharmaceutical industries. At this time, hardwood cellulosic nanocrystals and nanocomposites are understudied. Therefore, this research characterized and examined the possibility of using hardwood residues for nanocomposite formation and implementation. Red oak (Quercus rubra) heartwood and sapwood residues were collected from 2005, 2006, and 2007 harvest sites located within West Virginia and were de-lignified by acidified sodium chlorite. Cellulosic nanocrystals were then isolated from the de-lignified red oak residues through a combination of sulfuric acid hydrolysis, ultrasonication, and homogenization. Upon isolation, nanocrystals were combined with a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix to form fully biodegradable cellulosic nanocomposite biofilms, via film casting. Morphology and thermal gravimetric results indicated that while de-lignification was a success, nanocrystal isolation was only partly successful, with some amorphous cellulose and lager cellulosic microfibrils remaining within the suspensions. Thermal gravimetric data also revealed that the composites experienced thermal degradation behaviors quite similar to their constituent materials. Tensile mechanical properties (strength and elastic modulus) of the nanocomposites were improved when compared to neat PVA; however, these increases in strength were coupled with decreases in elongation to break behaviors. Water vapor transmission rates were significantly decreased at the 2% and 6% loading levels, with the use of highly crystalline cellulose. Constructed composites did not hinder water vapor transmission at the 10% crystal loading level. Solubility testing revealed that cellulosic nanocomposites were able to remain intact at a wide range of temperatures, while being submerged in water, unlike neat PVA. All data found during this research suggested that any differences in properties of cellulosic nanocomposites, can be attributed to the initial processing methods used for nanocrystal isolation, not the year (2005, 2006, and 2007), or type (heartwood and sapwood) of materials used for biofilm formation. These materials are expected to be very useful for packaging and food barrier devices that are safe to the consumer and biodegradable. Formation of cellulosic nanocomposite biofilms utilizing red oak residues will benefit the wood industry by incorporating previously wasted materials into new environmental friendly products