US Legal System
Constitutions, Statutes, Regulations, and Common law
What are the sources of law?
The US does not guarantee a right to healthcare but it does guarantee these rights
What are rights when receiving healthcare services?
The conditions in which people live, work, play, and grow
What are the social determinants of health?
The government regulates providers, defines standards of care, and measures quality in order to do this.
What are some ways the government regulates healthcare quality?
Health insurance market reforms, state health insurance exchanges, Medicaid expansion, and both employer and individual health insurance mandates
What are the key components of the Affordable Care Act?
The division of authority between the branches of government.
What is the separation of powers?
This right includes obtaining information about treatment options and the ability to refuse treatment when competent.
What is the right to make healthcare decisions?
These forces shape how society functions and allocates resources, can't be changed by the individual, and are based the foundational beliefs of our society.
What are structural drivers of health?
The concept that hospitals can be held responsible for the actions of their employees because they function as agents of the organization.
What is vicarious liability?
Federalism, separation of powers, interest group opposition, and ideological divides over government’s role in healthcare.
What are key challenges to reforming healthcare in the U.S.?
This describes the distribution of authority between different levels of government.
What is federalism?
The four standards that need to be meet: public health necessity, reasonable means, proportionality, and harm avoidance
What are the standards for the use of police powers in public health to be considered constitutional?
The forces governing society influence everyday conditions which affect health.
What is the relationship between structural drivers and social determinants of health?
Peer review, standardized procedures, and anonymous reporting systems
What are strategies used to prevent medical errors?
After the ACA was passed, the SCOTUS decided that this component of the ACA was optional
What is Medicaid expansion?